About

The Blog Raiser is run by psychics.

You’re here because…(closing eyes and reading your mind):

• You work for a nonprofit
• You wear many hats (the metaphorical kind)
• One of them is the “Fundraiser Extrordinaire” hat
• Another is the “Social Media Guru” hat (because you were the only one with a Facebook profile at that damn committee meeting)
• Yet another is the “Holy crap, I have no idea what I’m doing! Somebody throw me a life preserver ’cause this ship is going down!” hat

Sound like you?

If yes: We told you we were psychic. Your doubt was a little hurtful at first…but you’re forgiven. Keep reading.

If no: That’ll be $10. Come back and see us again sometime! We hope you enjoyed your visit.

For those of you who said yes, you’re not alone.

You might feel alone…utterly, stupendously, terrifyingly…alone. But (I’ll say this again with emphasis) YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

It turns out, there’s usually one or two of us in just about every single nonprofit out there. This website exists to bring us together so we feel less alone. If you do fundraising for small nonprofits (whether you’re a board member, an executive director, development staff, or a volunteer) and you’re wondering what to do with this thing called “social media,” you’re probably in the right place. Below is a simple quiz to find out if you really are.

Find Out If The Blog Raiser is Right For You

Ok, you’re a fundraiser and you don’t know much about social media. Fine. But The Blog Raiser community is a fairly rowdy bunch and we want to know if you have what it takes to join us. So we came up with a little quiz for you to take. If you pass, you may enter and join us. If you fail…well, let’s just hope you pass…

1. As a fundraiser I think that my org’s online presence should be:

a. No different than our offline presence. We’re just a group of people trying to solve a problem by getting more people involved in the fixing of it. That’s how we want to appear.
b. Reflective our many accomplishments and awards from obscure Foundations and Gov’t agencies.
c. One of those online poker rooms. Yeah. Anyone here know anything about virtual money laundering?

2. What is the final action you want the people you come in contact with online to take?

a. Donate. Money is best, but we’ll take time and energy as well.
b. Ignore you.
c. Sign up for UFC night at the office! Bring your own gear…or not. Whatever.

3. How hard are you willing to work to make sure #2 happens on the largest scale possible?

a. Very hard.
b. Not willing.
c. *crickets chirping*

Ok. Stop. Pencils down. Eyes straight ahead.

If you answered a and/or c for every question…you’re in. Congratulations!

If you answered b for every question or you refused to take the quiz because it was stupid…leave. Leave now and don’t ever come back. Consider yourself banished.

For Those of You Who Passed, Here’s What You Do Next…

If you passed, I want you to sign up for our newsletter. We haven’t gotten into a publishing routine yet, (I know, I know, shame on us) but whenever we get some serious inspiration (this usually happens no more than once a week), we send out an issue that’s chock full of great information on how you can use social media to:

• Bring people to your site
• Build relationships with those people
• Turn those people into donors and lifelong supporters

Our newsletter is different than our blog. Of course, there will probably be some overlap, but we try to mix things up a bit. If you want the best possible experience on The Blog Raiser, subscribe below to the newsletter.

Just so we’re clear, if your goals don’t really include any of those three things listed above, this site (newsletter included) probably isn’t for you. If you want ideas on using social media for other things, check out Beth’s blog. Although she probably mostly agrees with us on those three points, she’s also got some great ideas for other uses.

About Paul Cheney

Paul is the mastermind behind The Blog Raiser. He is currently the only writer, editor, and publisher on the site. Paul has a year of formal fundraising under his belt as a Development VISTA working for a mid-size nonprofit in New Jersey. When asked about his considerable lack of experience in the nonprofit sector, he usually responds by saying something completely unintelligible. So don’t ask. Just see for yourself if he knows what he’s talking about by reading. If you hate it you can always stop and read something else. It also helps that just about any hack with a computer and a lick of sense can say whatever he wants into the deep, black, void of the internet. Suffice it to say, he loves fundraising and helping people. He also loves to write which comes in handy for this line of work. You should know that he sometimes refers to himself in the third person or the royal “we.” That’s because sometimes he likes to sound credible and sometimes he’s a little egotistical. Don’t worry. We’ll get him straightened out one of these days… Also, he’s not really a psychic. That was a joke. P.S. If you haven’t already, here’s one more chance to sign up for the newsletter. Do it.