From the Mouths of "Babes": Fundraising Wisdom from Future Professionals

This semester I taught two classes in the Fundraising and Philanthropy Communication program at the University of Iowa. In one class - Philanthropy Communication in the Digital Age - my students wrote a bi-weekly blog about things they found on-line or in the media that relate to fundraising, philanthropy, communication, or social media. Their only caveat: It had to speak to nonprofit professionals.

While they produced many exceptional posts, I want to highlight three as topics that you might find interesting.

Senior Rachel Spector asks "Is Giving Selfish?" and quotes Friends character Joey Tribbiani to discuss donor motivation and some of the recent neuroscience research that begins to explain why people give. 

Junior Tarah DeSousa writes about creating messages for social media that will resonate with your audience.  

Senior Eden Youngberg warns against the hidden danger of having your email campaign caught by your recipients' spam filters. 

You can read all of this classes' posts. Other posts talk about leadership, the importance of a good night sleep, grant writing, developing a case statement, and using social media.

If you plan to hire someone for your communication, marketing, or fundraising staff or need an intern in one of these areas, I can recommend some very talented and hardworking students and recent graduates!