Honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.; Other Holidays in 2012

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Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! Take time today to honor his message of peace, social justice, and human rights. Democracy Now (on Pacifica Radio) ran excerpts of some of his later speeches, focusing on anti-war and anti-poverty themes.

As the first federal holiday after New Year’s Day, MLK Day begins the run of special days to watch out for in 2012. I’ve been doing a lot of planning lately and found these great resources to share. See if you can find ways for your organization to tie into these special days:

1)     If you share my preference for an old-school (recycled) paper calendar, you probably already have a list of many traditional and well-known holidays. I found a list online of some lesser-known ones.

2)      You may also be interested in these special days and weeks related to volunteerism.

3)     Finally, check out this handy calendar of 2012 nonprofit, social entrepreneurship, and social change conferences around the world. Feel free to add  your own.

Happy planning!

 

Brief video interview : Book in a Nutshell

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This January, you may be thinking about getting your writing skills in shape for the new year. Great idea!

You can start by watching this brief interview with me at the 2011 Grant Professionals Association conference. I spoke with Rod Helm of Grant Writing USA. In our discussion, I shared some of the core information from Writing to Make a Difference. Take just 16 minutes and you’ll learn:

1. The most common writing challenges in the nonprofit sector

2. The ABC’s of Copywriting and why they are important

3. The top 3 take-aways you’ll get from my book.

…and much more. You can watch Part I right HERE and it continues to Part II HERE.

How Nonprofit Workers Can Sharpen Their Writing Skills

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The Chronicle of Philanthropy is not just a printed publication any more! They have a robust website and also host some very interesting web chats.

On November 1st, they held one called: “How Nonprofit Workers Can Sharpen Their Writing Skills.” They had two guests:

Joseph Barbato, co-author of one of the books I highly recommend, Writing for a Good Cause: The Complete Guide to Crafting Proposals and Other Persuasive Pieces for Nonprofits (you can see my other recommended reading right here).

Kerri Karvetski, a marketer, copywriter, consultant, and social-media trainer who works with nonprofits.

I was glad to find the transcript of this online chat, as it includes a lot of writing tips I can get behind. Examples include: encouraging “editing buddies,” writing with different audiences in mind, and how to improve as a writer.

Check it out at: http://philanthropy.com/article/Sharpen-Your-Writing-Skills/129520

Quick Q & A with me about my book

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If you only have a couple of minutes to skim a brief Q&A with me, check out this interview at 501derful.org, a blog about the future of social media, PR, and technology in nonprofits: http://bit.ly/u6PkfV.

You’ll get my answers to questions such as:

  1. What are the most common mistakes made by writers at nonprofits?
  2. How can you easily reverse a huge trend that leaves readers flat?
  3. What’s my advice for nonprofits that cannot afford to hire a copywriter?

You can use my tips right away!

For more writing tips, subscribe to my newsletter and download these free articles & tip sheets: http://www.dfmassachi.net/free_articles.html

Finishing up your year-end appealing letters? Watch this first!

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Tomorrow I’m giving my the last free webinar of 2011, and it’s a doozy! It’s with NetworkForGood, and we have nearly 1,000 people already signed up. You can join us for ‘Appeal Letters that Are Appealing!’ tomorrow, 11/15, at 10 am PST.

UPDATE: Missed the live webinar? Get the recording at: http://bit.ly/uzvpL8. At the end, I offer a special book discount to all viewers AND a bonus to honor National “I Love to Write Day” (11/15). In the webinar, I said that the BONUS is only available to people who purchase the book that day. But…I’m happy to extend it to YOU  through 11/17! Check it out!