A late addition (too late to make the monthly "upcoming trainings and events" newsletter, which you can sign up for here) to our June events calendar that you won't want to miss:

List-Building Strategy
Tuesday, June 22, 3 pm Eastern
With consultant Matt Holland, formerly of TrueMajority

Learn how you can build your list through cross-promotions with other groups. We'll take a look at how other groups have succesfully grown their lists through this easy, yet underutilized strategy. Register Now >>

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It's just hours to the end of a year that most will be pleased to put in the rear-view mirror.

If you're like me, your inbox has been filling up this week with nonprofit fundraising asks: the secret of asking during the last week of the year is clearly out. And that prompts an obvious question.

How indeed to be heard in the din?

There must be more tactics in heaven and earth for design and message and creativity than are dreamt of in my philosophy, but I can tell you timing: ask today. I've received dozens of fundraising appeals this week from various sources but so far only a handful on New Year's Eve.

That's an opportunity being missed, at least for any 501(c)3 or other organization whose gifts have tax implications for the donors. In fact, you might want to ask twice today.

Dec. 31 is nonprofit fundraising day. Over 15% of the online gifts that DemocracyInAction recorded for its nonprofit members in all of December 2008 came in the last 24 hours of the year:

Oh, and the average per gift late in the last few days of the year is higher, too.

Don't have an e-appeal queued up today? Do yourself a favor and set up [at least] one before midnight.

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Right now Jason is probably sitting in coach, enjoying something like Night at the Museum while he sips a diet coke. For us, the blog must go on. Today, I'll take you through a tour of things already written--namely, our strategy guides. We get requests often on how people are actually using the DIA tools to effectively make change in their communities. There's a ton of guides out there, and we jumped on that bandwagon with --hopefully-- a progressive bend on gettin' things done online.

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