1. Send board meeting agenda and committee reports at least 10 days before the board meeting so board members have ample time to review these items before discussing them at the board meeting. (Email is usually the best for most people, and will save you time as well as printing and mailing expenses).
2. Provide light refreshments at board meetings. You don't need to provide a full meal, which is usually a distraction (unless your meetings are over the lunch hour). But how about some nice healthy snacks for breakfast (granola bars, fruit, etc) instead of donuts. And if your meeting is the end of the day, maybe some unsalted nuts and healthy snacks.
3. Spruce up your board meeting room. Make sure it is clean and tidy before the board meeting, and how about some flowers in the room?
4. Send board members a birthday card on their birthday.
5. Speaking of cards, how about a valentine, a thanksgiving card, a card to celebrate National Philanthropy Day in November, or just an occasional note to say how much you value their service.
6. Clip and forward newspaper articles of interest to individual board members or forward them a website that may be of interest to them.
7. Recognize board members who have done something outstanding at each meeting.
8. Provide them with board training and education, but make it fun and interesting.
9. Hold an occasional board meeting or retreat offsite at an interesting place: a museum, an environmental education center, a retreat center, etc.
10. Don’t ask board members to make financial commitment in a haphazard way at a board meeting. Plan a formal board appeal, showing board members that they are important major donors to your organization, regardless of the size of their gift.

Every website owner receives several offers each month for search engine optimization (SEO). However, in a era when budget cuts are the norm, few organizations can justify pulling funds from programs and other important projects to optimize a website. There's no doubt it is important, but it's not always possible to hire outside help. If you find yourself in the budget crunch, there are several steps you can do yourself to make a difference in increase your website's placement in search results..

1. Know who you are targeting and write all content for them. You'll find you reach outside the target group, but it is imperative that you define a specific group of people you most want to visit your website. Identify the age, gender, location, household income, lifestyle, marital and familial status, special interests, etc. The more precisely you define your target audience and tailor your website for them, the more successful your website will become.
2. Choose the right keywords and phrases. Keywords are a thing of the past for many search engines, but a large percentage still rely on them. The greatest advantage of keywords, however, is to help you further define your target audience so you can write content for the correct audience. If you know your target audience, it will be easier for you to come up with keywords and phrases your preferred visitor might use to search for services offered by your organization. Schedule a brainstorming session with your staff and list all the keywords and phrases associated with your organization that match those used by the target audience. Plan to incorporate at least one phrase into each page and list the keywords specific to that page in its meta keyword tag. Do not use the same meta keywords for every page of your website. Use only those that describe the page and keep the keywords for each page to less than 25.
3. Write your pages using the keywords and phrases you identified in step 2. Make the content appealing for your target audience. Pages should be easy to read and if possible, with a maximum of 500 words. Today's search engine robots spider the content of each page and determine how to index it for searches. If you list 'youth services' in the keywords and make no mention of it on the page, no one will ever find you in a search for 'youth services.' The content must be there. The search engine does not care about you or your website. Its priority is the customer who has come to its website to search. So, if you have fresh, readable content that the searcher may find relevant, the search engine will make sure you show up higher in the search results as a service to its customer.
4. Write a meta description tag. Insert a two-sentence paragraph describing each page into the meta description tag area in the page code. Search engines not only use the description to help identify the content, but they also usually print the description in the search results to describe the page. Make a unique meta description for every page.
5. Write a compelling title tag. The title tag is the part of the code that produces the words in the blue bar at the top of your browser. The title tag is displayed in the search results and becomes the link people click on to come to your website. It is also used by the search engine robots to define the page and when a visitor saves the link, it becomes the bookmark title. Do not waste this valuable piece of marketing. Its importance can't be stressed enough.
6. Create a site map. The site map is another important guide for search engine robots. Without it, a search engine robot must determine what your website is about and prioritize the areas according to its programming features. A site map guides the robot toward the true purpose of your website, removing the guesswork and the inevitable errors.
7. Submit your website to the top 10 search engines; the top 25 is better if you have time. If you are unsure about how to do it, please email me at kathrynshort@aol.com for a complete list of search engines and submission instructions.
8. Find every directory associated with your mission and list your organization in each one. The number of directories available will surprise you. They cover everything from special interest nonprofit listings to city directories. If you Google your organization, you'll probably find you're already listed in many of them. Check for errors and fill in any empty description areas.
9. Create a resource page and exchange links with organizations associated with yours. In addition to the items listed above, search engines also use your website's popularity to determine its rank. When many websites link to yours, the search engine assumes the reason is a good recommendation and thus, it ranks it higher.

February 10, 2009
PANO
Building a Fundraising Board
Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE
Webinar
Click here for details

February 20, 2009
AFP Las Vegas Chapter
Essentials of Fundraising:
The Annual Fund
Linda Lysakowski ACFRE
Las Vegas, NV
Click here for details

February 24, 2009
PANO
Involving Volunteers in
Your Fundraising Program
Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE
Webinar
Click here for details

March 11, 2009
PANO
Are You Ready for a
Capital Campaign?
Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE
Webinar
Click here for details

March 13, 2009
AFP North Plains Chapter
The Development Plan:
Evaluating Success
Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE
Fargo, ND
Click here for details

March 18, 2009
Central PA Planned
Giving Roundtable
Financial Advisors and
Development Offices —
Strategic Collaboration
Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE
Bucknell University
Lewisburg, PA
Click here for details

March 24, 2009
PANO
Developing Your Case for Support
Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE
Harrisburg, PA
Click here for details

March 25, 2009
PA Council of Children,
Youth and Families
The Development Plan:
The Role of Staff,
Board and Volunteers
Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE
Harrisburg, PA
Click here for details

March 29, 2009
AFP International Conference
Building on Sustaining Relationships
Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE
New Orleans, LA
Click here for details

March 29-April 1, 2009
AFP International Conference
Get Jazzed for New Orleans!!
Visit CAPITAL VENTURE at
Booth #1037
New Orleans, LA
Click here for details

April 7, 2009
PANO
The Development Plan:
The Foundation of Success
Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE
Webinar
Click here for details

April 17, 2009
CAPITAL VENTURE
Starting a Development Office
Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE
Mike Kierce, eTapestry
Zephyr Cove, NV
Click here for details

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