There are some terrific podcasts available on the subject of nonprofit organizations. They cover topics including:

* Starting a nonprofit organization
* Fundraising
* Leading and managing
* Using technology effectively

Listening to informative podcasts is a great way to learn.

You can listen to podcasts on your computer or with a portable mp3 player when you are away from your home or office.

I have turned my car into a classroom! Rather than listening to the radio, I listen to podcasts I have downloaded to my mp3 player. There are special accessories that allow you to play your mp3 player through your car radio.

If you have an interest in the nonprofit world, consider listening to the podcasts described below. They are the best I have found. I continue to learn from them and I know you will as well.

501c3Cast for Nonprofits

The 501c3Cast is an independent podcast that is all about helping nonprofit professionals, not-for-profit volunteers, and other “do-gooders” in the philanthropic world.

This podcast is my personal favorite. Listen to it and you will learn a tremendous amount of news and information on a variety of topics pertinent to your role in the nonprofit world.

Go to http://www.501c3cast.com to discover more about 501c3Cast for Nonprofits.

BoardStar: On Being Board

Would you like to learn what makes a nonprofit Board perform at it’s best? BoardStar will provide you a multitude of ideas that can be implemented to strengthen a nonprofit Board.

Go to http://www.smallpackageproductions.com/boardstar to discover more about BoardStar: On Being Board.

NetSquared: Remixing the Web for Social Change

If you want to learn about the very latest use of technology to support your passion to change the world, the NetSquared podcast is your answer. This is a great resource to learn how social networking, social bookmarking and virtual worlds (like SecondLife.com) can benefit your nonprofit organization.

Go to http://netsquared.libsyn.com to discover more about NetSquared: Remixing the Web for Social Change.

BusinessWeek – Top Givers

This BusinessWeek podcast is full of interviews by several people on their Top Givers list. Learn why and how some of the most generous philanthropists give back.

Go to http://www.businessweek.com/mediacenter/podcasts/philanthropy/current.html to discover more about BusinessWeek – Top Givers.

Craigslist Foundation’s Nonprofit Boot Camp

Do you want to know how to start and run a vibrant nonprofit organization? That is exactly the reason the Craigslist Foundation holds their annual Nonprofit Boot Camp. This podcast contains many of the keynote speeches, workshop sessions and interviews and is filled with useful information.

Go to http://www.siconversations.org/series/nonprofitbootcamp.html to discover more about Craigslist Foundation’s Nonprofit Boot Camp.

To learn more about ways to make a difference, go to http://www.everydaygiving.com and sign up the free special report “9 Questions to Consider Before Volunteering.” Roger Carr is the founder of Everyday Giving.

One of the best ways to utilize existing advertising tactics on the internet is to use SEO articles. SEO is the best way to get cheap advertising for your website. If you are a non profit organization, you can see a great return on SEO advertising in a matter of days.

The best part about a non profit organization is that you are giving back to a group or community. You have to heart in the right place, but there just may not be the funds available that you need to spread the word of your organization. If you fall into this category and your marketing budget is very low, you can utilize SEO strategies in order to bring visitors to your site and get the word our about the good work you and your organization are doing.

If you have a great website with excellent content and still no visitors, you will want pay attention to the pagerank you are getting. This will tell you how often your website is showing up on search engines. If it is low, then you know that you have some work to do. SEO can cost money, but there are also ways that you can get SEO results with little money and some effort on your part. You can first have one of your volunteers begins a blog. You can have a blog that will get the message across about what your organization does while giving a first hand experience of one of your volunteers. You can also include content that is relevant to your organization, such as pictures of animals that you have rescued or houses that your have built. This way, there is practically a second site used to bring traffic to the organization’s website. This blog will give your potential donors and new volunteers a reason to trust you and your organization.

Another trick that you can use is linking opportunities. If there is a person out there who has a website and believes in your cause, they will want to be able to link to your site from theirs. You can increase your pagerank this way and also network your site. You can exchange links, or use one way links. One way links are always much more beneficial . Find websites that are likeminded and let them know you would appreciate if they advertised your organization.

Either one of these advertising strategies can bring in more money and volunteers to your website. You can easily work less than an hour a week on either of these strategies in order to get eh word out about your organization. And everyone can help. You can have one person contacting places to do link advertising while another person writes about that week’s account volunteering for you so that you can post it on the blog. It will give anyone who reads it a first hand experience. This is an easy, money-saving advertising campaign that will work.

Jordan Mcpelt is a professional author who specializes in Non Profits and SEO for Non Profits. For more information on Non Profit SEO please visit http://www.grassroots.org

Is your Church planning a fund raiser? If so, there are many effective avenues you can pursue to help generate money for your Church. The following ideas are great ways to raise money for youth group programs, helping to fund missionaries, to pay for a short term trip for a Church group or for any other Church business.

One way to raise money is to start a mailing campaign. It us usually possible to generate approximately $2500 by sending out about 75 well written letters to family members and friends. Don’t hesitate to spread the net wide and not just contact family and friends but also local businesses. Be sure to send out thank you letters to all who give.

Rummage sales and bake sales also are helpful was to raise money. A small newspaper add and several families donating goods that they no longer use can bring in some real income. A bake sale can be done on its own, or at the same time as the rummage sale.

Another effective way to raise money for your Church is for a youth group to run a car wash. This is a fun way for the group to bond and raise money at the same time. It is also a good idea to sell car wash coupons ahead of time. Many will buy tickets just to support your cause and will not show up and others will show up from the world of mouth from those who prepaid for their car wash tickets.

Golf or mini-golf tournaments are a fun way to raise money and build a bond within your Churches congregation and the outside community. For the golf or mini-golf tournament, contact the course first as they should have a group discount and may even let your group come for free since you are with a non-profit organization. You can advertise your tournament inexpensively by hanging flyer’s and contacting your local newspaper to post the charity tournament as a press release.

There are many restaurants that sell discounted and often give away free meal tickets to Churches for fund raising. Simply buy or get these tickets for free and then you can sell these tickets and raise your money.

A way that is quickly becoming one of the most popular Church fund raising ideas is selling Christian t-shirts and apparel. There are online Christian clothing companies that can sell cool Christian children or adult T-shirts, long sleeve T-shirts and even hooded sweatshirts at a discounted price so that you can resell these at a profit. If you are going to buy these shirts for a Church group, free personalized text printing on the sleeve identifying your group is available. These Christian t-shirts are so affective because they evangelize with style and are popular with kids, teens and adults.

If you are planning to raise money for your Church, you can try the ideas listed above. Remember to make a plan, use official Church letterhead, and be well organized and professional when dealing with outside organizations. With a little preparation and possibly using a couple of the ideas above, you will have raised the needed money in no time.

The author is publisher of the Online Christian Shopper Christian clothing and jewelry Web portal. To see the group discount rates for selling Christian apparel for your fundraiser visit Church Fundraiser