Tech + web

• 10 Free Must-Read Books for Machine Learning and Data Science
  Machine learning is huge in the tech field right now and we’ve always been in love with data. Here’s a great round up for free reading materials for your summer holiday or just the slow days in the office.

• Benchmarks 2017: Web Engagement
  Continuing the theme of data the 11th Benchmarks Study has been out since April but if you haven’t seen it yet it’s time.

• How to Stack Technology Tools for a Startup Nonprofit
  A fantastic and very thorough look at the best way to stack technology following the average life cycle of a nonprofit.

• The Quickstart Guide to Enterprise WordPress Hosting
  Leave it to Pantheon, a hugely popular hosting company and one of our favourites, to come up with a fantastic post about enterprise WordPress hosting. If you’re curious about this topic, this post is a great place to start.

• 7 Steps to Compelling Staff Bios on Your Nonprofit Website
  Staff bios really don’t have to be as daunting as they feel for many nonprofits out there.

• 2017 Global NGO Technology Survey
  Take part in this year’s survey to help improve our understanding of how NGOs and NPOs worldwide use technology to engage their supporters and donors.

WordPress

• The Nonprofit WordPress Guide
  We love this resource with chapters from planning your new website to hosting, content, and maintenance.

• WordPress plugins for nonprofits
  If there are two elements of nonprofit websites that set them apart from other websites it’s fundraising and CRM integrations. Here’s a list of our favourite plugins for tackling these features with ease.

Marketing

• Content Hacks for Nonprofits – Repurpose Your Marketing Materials
  A great overview of how to get your content to stretch further from our friends at Give.

• Benchmarks 2017: Email
  Some more data from the Benchmarks 2017 report. An interesting statistic: while nonprofits sent out more emails in 2016 the response rates to fundraising emails experienced a small decline.

• 4 Ways To Drive More Traffic To Your Website (Which Means More Donations)
  If a nonprofit website exists and no one ever visits it, is it any good? Here are a few ideas on how to get more eyes on your website.

• Nonprofit Marketing Strategy (5 Steps To Reaching Donors Online)
  The second chapter of NP Source’s digital marketing plan for non-profits is out and it’s as thorough as we’ve come to expect from Jason.

Fundraising + Money

• 7 Ways to Build Donor Retention and Create Highly Committed Donors Who Love You
  Boy, once a supporter donates wouldn’t it be lovely if they kept donating? This advice will help you figure out how to encourage and empower your donors to keep supporting your organization.

• The Hero’s Journey: How To Write A Compelling Story That Inspires Donors To Get Involved
  We absolutely loved reading this article which is technically about copywriting. The way Megan Donahue walks you through the thinking (the why) behind why this technique works makes so much sense.

• Benchmarks 2017: Fundraising
  A final bit of data from the Benchmarks 2017 report. A very striking statistic: for every 1k fundraising messages delivered, nonprofits raised only $36.

• These 12 Ways to Thank Donors Will Keep Them from Saying Goodbye
  Thanking your donors can be a difficult puzzle to solve, of course you know to thank them but this article will help you wrap your head around the best way to make your donors feel happier than before they gave to your organization.

Events + Conferences + Webinars

• 30 Awesome Technology Webinars & Courses for Nonprofits – August 2017
  There’s no point in naming these individually when there’s already such a thorough round up.

General

• Top 75 Non Profit Websites & Blogs For Nonprofit Organizations
  To finish things up here is a great list of nonprofit blogs for you to follow.

• Is Your Nonprofit Making These 7 RFP Mistakes?
  Actionable, clear advice on making the best of your RFPs. There is plenty of content out there on why folks don’t like working with RFPs but here’s something that’s actually helpful rather than just being negative.

• RFPs don’t have to suck.
  Something must have been in the air this month because our friends and colleagues at Threespot also released a post about making RFPs better. It’s a great addition to the previous post.

Hope you found these links to be helpful for your nonprofit. Come back next month for the next round-up!