5 smart non-profit blogs you should start following now

As I kick-off my new blog, I am excited to share with you – our non-profit leaders – tools, news, and resources to support your incredible work throughout the Wisconsin community and beyond. After five years in non-profit consulting, I’ve been inspired and amazed at the blood, sweat and tears (sometimes literally!) that you are putting into the over 3,000 non-profits in our region. I’ve seen so much good happening across the state and I’m grateful to play a small part in supporting you.

First off, I’d like to connect you to a few smart, helpful, and fun blogs for practical information on effectively running your non-profit organization. As I started to consider how my own blog might best support the non-profit community, I looked to several other blogs for inspiration. I immediately realized that one of the first posts I needed to write would share the fantastic blogs I researched. Have fun with these!

If you have a favorite that’s not on this list, please provide in the comment below so others can learn about them too.

Best part about the following blogs? It’s free advice! And in these cases – free, excellent advice. And don’t forget to like their pages on Facebook for free videos, webinars, and other media.

Gail Perry’s Fired Up Fundraising: I first met Gail at Fundraising Day Wisconsin a few years ago and was so impressed with her warm, inviting and entertaining presentation on Fundraising 101. Her blog and facebook page offer fantastic tidbits on all aspects of fundraising from data to donor engagement. Like Gail’s Facebook page and follow her on Twitter.

Joan Garry Consulting: Joan is a master-mind in non-profit management and covers a huge variety of subjects in her blog on how to make your non-profit grow from messy to thriving. Like Joan’s Facebook page and follow her on Twitter.

Penelope Burke: Using an evidence-based approach to fundraising, Penelope Burke is a national leader in fundraising data. She publishes reports from her national donor surveys and offers a wealth of donor-centric data through her books, blog, and publications. Subscribe to her blog via email.

Beth’s Blog: One of the first blogs recommended to me as I launched my consulting business five years ago was Beth’s blog. I find this blog to be jam packed with a variety of non-profit resource jems. You can also download her many presentations on a wiki (ha! Apparently wiki’s are still a thing!). Get Beth’s updates via Facebook and Twitter.

Nonprofit AF:  While hanging out with a millennial recently, I learned what “AF” means. (I had to sheepishly ask what it meant when they used it!) Ask your teenage kids… they’ll know and you’ll probably be offended. But, author Vu Le is hilarious and this blog is worth the read. While it’s a lot of fun, Vu Le also sheds light on very important topics for our non-profit community and greater world. Get all the wit and wisdom on Facebook and Twitter.

Also, Vu Le is the key note speaker for Fundraising Day Wisconsin in August. Don’t miss it!