The Nonprofit Marketing Ideas Blog

The idea for a fund for small investors came to me this morning. Why isn't there a way for many small investors to pool resources and support "green" technology and similar work. Many businesses are too small for venture capital and too big for micro credit. An investment model that combines Kiva.org with something akin to a mutual fund might be useful to people who want to invest in sustainable development and not just make a donation now or buy some fair-trade chocolate on the weekend. I imagine this fund would invest in key technologies or business services that promote socially and ecologically sustainable development. Water conservation, environmental remediation, renewable energy, and sustainable agriculture would be some key areas of investment. There are probably other areas too. The point is to invest in business ventures that stand a chance of making money and that contribute to communities and/or to environmental quality. The fund could have a geographic fo...

This is just a random post sparked by some things I learned by watching The Big Question on BBC. Actually, I just watched the clips on YouTube. Nevertheless, here is the idea: Activists have manuals for various things, but humanist activists don't have a manifesto and guide to effective action in pursuit of a humanistic world. What to do, when, and where? That would be the activism manual part. The Humanist Manifesto gives a pretty good overview of what humanism is and why it matters. My manual would elaborate on how to enact the values of humanism in the modern world. Recent developments in systems theory, climate science, positive psychology, and behavioral economics need to be accounted for. What do these things mean for humanist activism? Some of the answers are clear, but others are not. That's what I like to think anyway. There need to be instructions on various sorts of direct actions. How do we deal with churches that post anti-gay slogans outside? Do you picket the...

Some news on NPR, and probably other news outlets, got me thinking about climate change - science, impacts, controversy, politics. What can be done? I assume you know there are really two questions here: (1) How do we adapt society to the realities of climate change? (2) How can we reduce the impact of human activity on the climate? The second question seems to produce more controversy because not all of us believe that human action, activities that generate greenhouse gases, even affects the climate. The first question is a little easier to swallow, even for climate science critics. Going on an assumption that efforts to adapt to the realities of climate change would make sense to most people in the United States, we can jump right to the next step. What do we do? To review what I've learned, and what you may have learned as well, climate change is causing chaotic weather around the globe. Hurricanes and tropical storms are more numer...

Activist organizations are not immune to the effects of the weak economy, so a post with some random fundraising ideas is in order. I promise not to stop with a simple list of things you can do. Rather, I will try to suggest how you can take effective action to raise money or otherwise close that annoying gap between what you have and what you really need. Money Isn't Everything   Money is important, and not optional for some things like rent and electricity, but you sometimes have options aside from raising or earning the money you need. You can't pay the electric bill with used books, but you can sell them and use the money. Try to distinguish between those things for which you really must have money and things for which there are realistic alternatives. You may do this in an informal way now. Consider making a list of what you need to carry out your mission. Items like the rent will present themselves as expenses for which money is required. Saving Money Instead of Raisin...

I was listening to NPR today. One of the stories concerned a nuclear power plant this about to close. The plant is a major employer in that area, so this closure will be a huge economic hit to lots of families and local businesses. Can something be done about this? Well, no. The only approach in this situation and thousands like it around the world is to creatively replace the lost income and tax revenue. One can assume the jobs, and associated tax revenue, will not be coming back in the case of that power plant closure. Another source of money must be found by local governments, displaced workers, and small businesses. I'm sure there are some programs for this now but the story sparked an idea: A group like the Taproot Foundation or the De Bono Group could offer pro bono consulting on new ways to cut costs, or generate revenue, for the communities and new business models for local businesses that are in danger of going under.

I was staring at the recycling instead of taking it outside and a money-making idea came up. Nonprofits are always looking for ways to generate funds. Constant fundraising is just part of the nonprofit world, unless you have a huge endowment or a profit center to generate some income. How could a big supply of old bottles be turned into money by an enterprising social activist? It seems likely that collecting and recycling the bottles is going to be a massive waste of time. This may not be true. If you are ambitious you will decide to recycle the bottles by making them into something. The crushed glass could be sold to artists, I suppose. The bottles could be melted down and made into decorative pieces like flower vases and tiles. So, there are a couple of bottle business ideas. The basic idea of looking for "trash" and turning it into something marketable can be extended to other types of junk and other types of buyers. The point is to figure out what you have availabl...

Nonprofit executives report the same issues in survey after survey. Fundraising, communication with donors, budget woes, effectiveness, and efficiency come up in some form. Performance measurement is a cause for concern, though that goes to efficiency and effectiveness - How do you know how well you are doing? How do potential donors know? Is there a simple system out there that could make it easier to answer such questions, and deal with those other issues too? At the risk of sounding like an Internet marketing hack, the answer is a qualified 'yes' to both halves of that question. Allow me to explain. To have an effective organization you need ideas, people, money, and a plan. There are a few other things too, but I think you follow. Ideas - Look for ideas that promise more impact for less cost. Look for ideas that allow you to attack the real problem instead of the symptoms. Doing so will probably require breakthrough thinking. Do not expect inspiration to come from som...

President Obama’s 23 proposals to curb gun violence sparked an obvious thought. In the minds of sane people, the President is trying to curb gun violence in sensible ways. As many commentators have pointed out, banning assault weapons or other types of guns will not get them off the streets. There are almost 300 million (give or take a couple of million) in the hands of Americans. This post is focused on getting guns off the streets in ways that are legal and consistent with American values. So, I just gave you a challenge and two rules for what counts as a good idea. Yes, I know “getting guns off the streets” does not seem like a valid approach to many people. I’m going to address that challenge with a lateral thinking tool called provocation. Provocation just represents a way of forcing us out of our normal mode of thinking, with the hope that new ideas will emerge. Several methods of provocation exist. I am just going to use the basic random word type of provocation. Turning ra...

So, there was no formal brainstorming involved in this post. I just randomly came up with some ideas related to gun control. You guessed that part from the title. Should we ban assault weapons, or large magazines, or what? "Or what" seems like the best answer. Here are some random ideas on how to potentially reduce gun violence: 1. (Source unknown) Let anyone buy any type of gun but ban sale and possession of all forms of ammunition. Realistically this is not going to happen. 2. Voluntary buy-back program - The federal government could transfer funds from (insert unpopular program here) and use the money to buy guns, no questions asked. 3. Ammo check - A system that allows gun dealers to check IDs of ammo buyers. If a buyer turns up on the computerized list of people judged mentally ill (e.g., unfit to own a gun) then the gun dealer can deny them their ammunition. The attempted purchase could also be recorded at the time. Now the authorities know that a nutcase is try...

Issues like gun violence, climate change, and fiscal crisis call for new thinking for workable solutions. Fortunately, there are tools available for just such thinking! Each week I will post a new idea for addressing a social issue that's been in the news. I might post twice a week if I'm on a roll. The ideas will be practical - "The state could set up a no-interest loan fund for consumer cooperatives who are setting up renewable energy stations" - to cite one slightly odd example. This blog might give you some ideas you can use. If you can't use the ideas, maybe you can work with someone else who can. And this blog will go beyond looking at problems. Who likes to think about problems all of the time? That's right. There are always opportunities out there for those who care to look, and then take decisive action. I hope some of my future ideas will help. Where will these ideas come from? Well, some I will simply steal and adapt to the challenge at hand. ...