It’s that time of year again – the annual eNonprofit Benchmark study, authored by M+R and NTEN, will soon be released. The full report will be released at the NTEN Conference on April 5, but here is a teaser infographic released today. Print it out, tack it to your wall, let the pretty colors soothe you…

We’re all about crunching numbers and evaluating returns, especially when it comes to benchmarking how our clients’ program performance stacks up against similar organizations. We recently compiled Avalon clients’ fundraising results across various industries, like arts and culture, environmental and conservation, and advocacy – check it out for a sense of how your results compare. We’ve also included a quick reference guide to help you delve into your spreadsheets, recognize meaningful stats, and plan your next outreach to donors or prospects. And as always, Avalon is available to dive into the data beyond with you!

Target Analytics’ Index of National Fundraising Performance for the second quarter of 2011 is out. To see the full report, visit:   http://www.blackbaud.com/targetanalytics/benchmarking/nationalindex.aspx

The New York Times ran an extensive Giving section on November 2, 2011, in which many of the articles focused on the gap between on-the-ground, local charitable giving that helps individuals — like direct aid to food banks and homeless shelters — and philanthropists who want to find and fund ways to erase poverty and homelessness on a national or worldwide basis.

We’ve heard of the possible changes for the U.S. Postal Service – from the recent coverage of suspending Saturday mail delivery to the increase in first class postage.  Clearly any proposed changes are bound to affect direct mail production and budgets.

Everyone knows that the first 30 seconds of a telemarketing call is make or break.  But isn’t it really the first 5 seconds?  If the caller stumbles and fumbles the first few words – that critical introduction – in all likelihood the call is lost.  So how can you train your callers to make the most of those first few moments?

Two noteworthy accomplishments from the National Parks Conservation Association and the National Breast Cancer Coalition – two Avalon clients that have recently been in the news.  Their success stories are worth sharing …

One of the most interesting sessions I attended at the DMANF Conference last month was about coop databases … “List Coops: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.”  We have all had experience testing (and rolling out) compiled lists in our acquisition programs – and are familiar with predicting demonstrated donor behavior via modeling … but what’s the big deal about nonprofit coop databases?  And what could be so ugly about them?

There are many ways to describe data – and its benefit to your fundraising programs.  The word beautiful, though, hardly comes to mind.  What a shame (really!)

So do you know the 10 Commandments to Fundraising Success?  Here’s a hint: Rule #1 is that it’s not about you.  Really.  Your direct mail program isn’t really yours – it’s your donors’.  Rule #9?  Don’t reinvent the world.  What else?