Whenever I leave Turkey, I can't stop myself comparing everything to home. The things I compare the most are related to my work.

The United States and Turkey are completely different when it comes to the nonprofit sector. The conditions that created and expanded the nonprofit sector in the U.S. are non-existent, inconsistent or immature in Turkey. Naturally I cannot explain all the differences and similarities in the nonprofit sectors of the two countries in this post, but I wanted to share a few insights and observations that caught my attention. 
Let's start with terminology. First, we do not use the term “nonprofit organization”; we use “civil society organization” or “non-governmental organization” instead. Secondly, we do not use the term “sector,” we use words such as area, arena, and field. Why? In the United Sates, the nonprofit sector is not so different from the private sector in terms of professionalism and organizational structures. The two are, however, extremely different in Turkey, and nonprofit organizations avoid using any term that will associate them with the for-profit sector such as “sector”, “client” and “marketing”. The Turkish “nonprofit sector” has its own terminology.

 According to the Charities Aid Foundation's (CAF) Global Giving Index 2013, the U.S. ranks first while Turkey ranks 128th out of 135 countries.*

More and more nonprofits are shifting their fundraising focus online—and for good reason. Online fundraising platforms are making it easier than ever for donors to contribute when and how they want to, and they eliminate some of the costs of direct mail solicitations and in-person events.

Data published last year in the Chronicle of Philanthropy shows this trend clearly: online donations to nonprofits increased 14% in 2012 relative to 2011, while overall donations increased by only 1.5% in the same period.

But this trend has been uneven. The American Lung Association, for example, received nearly a third of its private donations through the internet in 2012—but the median large organization raised only 2.1% of its donations online in that period. 

The lesson? Online fundraising is important—and growing more important every year—but nonprofits can't just open a spigot and watch online contributions pour in. Successful online fundraisers avoid the common mistakes that plague so many others. Here are four fundraising pitfalls we see too often, and how can you can avoid them.

Inconsistent messaging on donation pages

Many nonprofits mistakenly assume that someone who has visited their website, read their fundraising collateral, and navigated to a donation page is all but certain to donate. Those nonprofits…

Nonprofits are organized around data. Whether for membership and volunteer management, communications, promotion, or revenue tracking, the information we collect comprises one of our most critical assets and is central to realizing our missions. Not all data is created equal, however. This is the explanation behind many organizations’ resistance to data collection and management, which is seen as an investment of time and resources that yields little or no return.

There is an important distinction between more data and better data. What is better data? Information that allows nonprofits to create actionable changes to their workflow and structure.

Of course, data is only as good as the database used to manage it. Think of your database as your “institutional memory.” Having an excellent memory enables you to measure progress, identify new objectives, and demonstrate results to prospective donors. Data that is difficult to retrieve, stored in multiple places, and very likely to contain errors is relatively meaningless. Accurate and accessible data, however, allows organizations to quantify the effectiveness of their initiatives and adjust their methodology accordingly. It also allows you to do more with less, something a majority of nonprofits are regularly challenged to do.

Too many of us rely on Excel and Access to keep track of our records. While useful for limited tasks, these tools create opportunities for duplicate or…

Nonprofit leaders know that storytelling is paramount to advancing their organization’s mission. The ability to tell potential volunteers, donors, and champions your story in a succinct and cogent manner is as invaluable as it is daunting.

But SVP Arizona Fast Pitch presented by Social Venture Partners Arizona (SVPAZ) helps select Valley nonprofits do just that.

Fast Pitch is a fun-filled evening where local nonprofits give three-minute pitches about their nonprofits.

Organizations, selected for their entrepreneurial approach to creating social change and the ability to powerfully communicate their vision, will compete for cash awards. Now in its fourth year, Fast Pitch has attracted both a diverse group of nonprofits to compete and a steadfast pool of funders eager to help innovative groups working in the Valley.

Through an intensive two-month training on how to hone their pitch, 20 nonprofits work with mentors from the community to get their story down to the length of a pop song with the ultimate goal of “pitching” to the audience at Tempe Center for the Arts on March 26. 

This year our list of semifinalists is composed of organizations of varied budgets, sizes, and missions. They include:

• Arizona Dream Builder Foundation
• Boys Hope Girls Hope of Arizona
• Celebrate Autism
• Civitan Foundation
• Daddy Read a Book
• Diaper Bank of Central Arizona…

Each year Arizona State University’s Nonprofit Leadership Alliance (NLA) prepares students to attend a national institute designed to bring partnering nonprofit organizations and Alliance campus partners together to share ideas, best practices and forward the mission of “strengthening the nonprofit sector with a talented and prepared workforce.” Student seeking the Certified Nonprofit Professional (CNP) credential from over 40 campuses across the country attend workshops, hear from national leaders and provide the host community with opportunities to learn from student case studies.

It is not easy to pull this together for the national organization or the local campus. ASU’s program conducts an annual face-to-face scholarship campaign for financial support to attend the Institute fondly called AMI. This year, the Alliance Management Institute was held in Chicago during the coldest storm on record with -12 to -45 degree weather. ASU made it there and back with no trouble at all when many campuses did not. This was a teachable environment relying on flexibility, trust and the professional qualities needed during changing times.

With help from so many donors again this year, 14 ASU students attended and soaked up all the experience had to offer. Along with overcoming their fear of asking for money, students learned valuable lessons in fundraising, speaking about their career goals and networking. Each has a story to tell about their experience…