From the Edge

Let’s Chat About Social Media.

Seems to me that, in the nonprofit sphere, everyone is writing about social media and their power to build brands and community. Frankly, while we get involved in varied social-media (techie, sexy, costly, mysterious) projects, we keep coming back to the fundamentals of good marketing at Edge. 
A fabulous article appeared yesterday on the topic of social media, and I want to share it. Hope you enjoy. And I’d love to hear your responses.

Small Change: A Short, Unassuming Book about a Big, Important Idea

In our newsletter and on our blog I have in the past recommended that all our friends read Uncharitable, by Dan Pallotta. I’ve called the book revolutionary and have taught from its pages in the advanced Rice/AFP course, “The Art of Fundraising.” 
Now I advocate that you read the counterargument, in a much smaller volume entitled, Small Change: Why Business Won’t Save the World, by Michael Edwards.

Brother, Can You Spare Me a Dime?

CHRISTUS Foundation for HealthCare, a longtime Edge client, recently launched the Change for Change online donation program. Contributors to Change for Change can make small recurring donations that benefit those in need of healthcare throughout Houston and surrounding areas.

HCHA Publishes Snapshots of Harris County Health

Edge just completed design, copywriting and production work for the 2009 Annual Report for the Harris County Healthcare Alliance. HCHA is a nonprofit corporation formed in 2006 to serve as a catalyst for improving the healthcare system of Houston and Harris County.

CHRISTUS Foundation for HealthCare Opens New Midtown Clinic

February 6, 2010 was a glorious day; and the crisp breezes, bright sunshine and high blue sky were only the beginning. It was on this Saturday that CHRISTUS Foundation for HealthCare welcomed hundreds to the Grand Opening of the new W.T. and Louise J. Moran Health Center/John S. Dunn Building, located in Midtown Houston.

Who Wants to Be a Partner? 25 First Moves for Nonprofits

If the thought of collaborating has appeal for you, but you don’t know how to start, here are 25 suggestions by Karen Eber Davis lifted from Texas Nonprofits’ e-newsletter of February 22nd.

Why Don’t We Collaborate?

One of the issues that always faces us in philanthropic activities is that of collaboration. My question about this is, Why do our organizations resist collaborating?

San Antonio Fun Raising

My one-day journey to San Antonio with Jana Mullins of Rockwell Fund and my colleague Shuchi Sharma was both filling and fun. Trips to San Antonio often are.
                The local chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals invited Jana and me to lunch with 60-plus members, asking that we reimburse them by sharing our stories and maybe a lesson or two garnered during our years of nonprofit work.

An Alternative Paradigm for Nonprofits, Pt. V: The Challenge is Competition

Not long before my partner and I decided to devote Edge Creative to serving altruistic organizations, I learned that Houston was home to 10,000 nonprofits. Ten thousand!

I naturally thought, “What a rich palette of colors with which to create a future! How can this not be great?”

An Alternative Paradigm for Nonprofits, Pt. II “Be Interesting or Be Absent.”

If your email box is like mine, then a lot of junk collects there. And a fair amount comes from nonprofits to which I have contributed money, volunteered time or otherwise showed support. I read it all, but then that’s my business. Most working people are unlike me. They delete more than they read. They go the way of incentives to order Xanax, Cialis and Levitra — no prescription needed.