Our clients depend on us to adapt to any situation that may arise. Often we have to learn new software tools in as little as an afternoon to provide support for services such as electronic marketing. I guess we sometimes take the software for granted, expecting it to well, just work. Here’s a story of a situation when that software didn’t live up to its namesake.

Just recently – in the middle of a weekday afternoon – I was building a few new email campaigns for a client using Constant Contact®. All was going well. I was writing content, editing HTML, sending test messages – genuinely getting a lot of work done. Then all of a sudden the software kicked me out of what I was working on. When I went to log in again, I was faced with screen below.

In the middle of the day? Not good!

So now what was I supposed to with plenty of time left in the day to finish my work but a flaky product that didn’t want to help me finish it?

Does anyone else have any tales of software pulling the rug out from underneath them?

Experts-on-everything McKinsey & Co. issued its official recommendations to the US Postal Service at a conference in Washington this week.  While they are only recommendations and are non-binding (a USPS spokesperson said the consultant was instructed to “investigate all possible options”), Bloomberg News stresses in its report that not only would it be good to eliminate Saturday mail, but also 2 other days as well. (Read on …)

One more thing about the $50 million raised via text messaging after the Haitian earthquake:  Convio’s survey stressed the generational differences between those who texted (or who considered it) and those that gave some other way.  They found that while 77% of US donors were aware of the Haiti text-to-donate efforts, 17% of Millennial respondents and 14% of Gen Xers said they actually made a donation using text message, while only 3% of Boomer and Mature respondents did.

While it is a compelling storyline that younger people are giving, especially since — as Vinay says — non-profits have already “optimized fundraising with seniors,” what would be of more interest to me is how long these people will stick around.  (Read on …)

Convio released a study yesterday (summarized neatly on USA Today’s “Kindness” blog) about the frenzy of mobile philanthropy or texts-to-donate that happened around the Haiti earthquake.  At least $50 million was raised this way, from about 6.5 million people.

My first reaction when it was happened was that this was the tipping point for this not-so-new way to give.  (Read on …)

The Wall Street Journal reports on a recent PNC study of major donors, showing that many still “feel an obligation to give back to their community”  and through non-profits.  That’s unchanged over the last few years and is good news in this tough economy.

However, those fine sentiments aren’t translating into the same gifts they might have just a few years ago. (Read on …)

Earlier today, Postmaster General John Potter began to outline a proposed overhaul of the USPS that could include cutting Saturday delivery.

More from Fox News.

In his early years, Carl was not yet a proponent of Integrated Marketing.

Although he didn’t know it at the time, young Carl Bloom (click on photo at right to view full size) had already started his direct marketing career while on strike with his family against the Western Union Telegraph Company. Back then he was telling people to “write” instead of “wire” in this Daily News photo.

While sending a telegram is now obsolete (even though Carl can’t take all the credit), Carl Bloom Associates now specializes in Integrated Marketing using every available communications channel to talk to your members and supporters – including email, the Internet, telemarketing and, yes, even writing a letter.

For a fresh look at how your organization could improve acquisition and retention of its individual donors, give us a call at 914-468-8942 or send an email to partnership@carlbloom.com.

Thanks, DMA Nonprofit Federation, for passing along this article from Politco’s Ben Smith about how President Obama’s proposed budget affects non-profits.  A proposal in Obama’s 2009 budget that would reduce the value of deductions such as mortgage interest and charitable contributions for people in the highest tax brackets was widely assumed by many from all over the political spectrum to result in lower contributions to non-profits from the affected populations.  And as a result, the proposal was killed in the House.

But now, it’s back.  (Read on …)

Our Director of Database Marketing & Analysis, Maciej Przybylowski, handed me a great article from the Wall Street Journal this morning that, while somewhat negative about the future of nonprofits, speaks to the need for organizations to become more efficient if they are going to survive this recession.  Of course, the stories of those that haven’t made it are often heart-rending, especially if they work in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless or paying for the education of inner-city youth.

But looking at this from a solely business perspective, maybe there are just too many non-profits right now.  (Read on …)

One of the hallmarks of today’s philanthropy is the  watchdog-like quality held by many donors to use how an organization spends its money as a criteria for support.  Often they decide whether or not to support an organization at all  based solely on the ratio of money spent on non-mission related activities.

This is partly inspired by the easy access to information the internet has brought us.  And of course the biggest source of this kind of information beyond the IRS’ database of Form 990s is “Charity Navigator” who’ve made a whole industry of its rating system.  The fate of non-profits often rests in their hands.  And why shouldn’t donors have that kind of information?  Seems fair.  But is it the best way? (Read on …)