Who writes it: Jeff Brooks, creative director of Merkle Domain, a direct-response agency for nonprofits
The skinny: The philanthropic realm has long resisted anything smacking of profit. But Brooks shows how smart business strategies can be applied in the realm of nonprofit fund-raising, branding, and management. As he admonishes, "If you're not also giving donors something far better than a receipt, you're not doing your job."
Who writes it: Marc van Gurp, Web designer for Adformatie, a Dutch advertising magazine
The skinny: Watching public-service ads doesn't have to be like eating vegetables. Van Gurp collects inventive video and print ads for nonprofits from around the world, like a British "encourage someone you hate to start smoking" campaign and a parody of Apple ads showing that both Macs and PCs contain hazardous materials.
Who writes it: Lucy Bernholz, a consultant to foundations
The skinny: An accessible roundup and analysis of emerging trends. Recent posts profiled Silicon Valley entrepreneurs-turned-philanthropists, whose connections and ideas are as important as their wallets. Bernholz observes that Bill Gates--sized donations matter, "but so do the people and their networks that earned those dollars."
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Is it a good idea to run ads that make fun of a competitor's product by name -- like the Apple ads that target Vista?
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