What’s the big deal about the “meaning” of a product (or a fund-raising proposal)? Roberto Verganti, professor of a leading design school in Milan, Italy says meanings are at the heart of who we are, what we do, and, by extension, what we buy. If we are donors, it is meaning that helps decide what we support.

Meaning and innovation are closely aligned. Verganti in his book Design Driven Innovation, (Harvard Business Press, 2009) explains why, if you want to achieve the big ideas – the ones that make a difference – you have to first dig deep and ferret out new meanings. Yes, new ideas absolutely have to come from new meanings.

Verganti has no time for incremental tweaking – his heroes are people like the late Steve Jobs who was described by one of his managers as starting his day pondering what new technological wrinkle would really wake him up.

Fundraisers take note – Verganti is part of a growing drumbeat on the need to innovate, and the strength of his book is how fully he spells out the need, the process, and the impact. His verdict is salutary: keep producing new ideas, consistently; or run and run and get nowhere.

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‘Texting’ has been proven an effective means to organize large amounts of people, as seen in the numerous protests, riots and revolutions over the recent months.

Do Something, an organization that encourages youth to volunteer in their communities is looking to increase it’s membership by more than 2 million young people. And it plans to do so via text messages. Read more about their initiative here.

Is texting a good fit for any of your organization’s donor tribes?

When Tim Brown’s book on Change by Design (HarperCollins, NY, 2009) came out it created quite a buzz and not just because it was a different way of looking at design. It was also about thinking.

How to think is new?

In Brown’s hands it is. This is design thinking – a way to innovate so radically that it puts you way ahead of the competition, and keeps you there.

The “thinker” is intensely collaborative, empathic, shaping rapid protoypes to show ideas. And the “design” part is customer-centred, radically new. Things customers don’t know they want – until, like the iPhone, you show it to them. And they love it because suddenly their lives are better.

Not just for profit-makers

What is especially invigorating about this book is that Brown extends his ideas – born in the rough and tumble of commerce – to the world of non-profits.

And he does a great job! He has detailed suggestions on how to go about it, but he pulls no punches on the challenges involved. Design thinking done right will have lasting impact – but it’s a total remake.

A bit like Steve Jobs the second time he invented Apple.

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It’s like a Groupon with non-profits, where everyday a new charity is showcased and users are asked to donate $1 and no more than $10. With the default donation of $1, the people behind Philanthroper hope that users will find it easy giving $1 to another charity the next day, and so on, harnessing a lot of people giving a little to create a large contribution for organizations.

Paypal has teamed up with Philanthroper on this initiative to make giving a habit.
What do you think of the concept?

Arm your tribes with a digital tool that allows them to share their passions for your cause and your organization.

Johnson & Johnson is offering a free widget for individuals and non-profits. The customizable &you widget offers one central location for information on volunteer and job opportunities, events, news, and donation capabilities. Place the widget on a website, blog, or Facebook and other social media to keep friends and followers updated. We like that it makes volunteer opportunities so easy to find.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs didn’t invent the mp3 player, the portable tablet or the smartphone. He just envisioned these products differently and introduced us to the iPod, iPad, and iPhone.

Facebook wasn’t the first social media platform out the gate. Starbucks didn’t discover the coffee bean. Google didn’t invent search. Walmart didn’t create retail. And McDonald’s arguably does not make the best hamburgers.

Can you see your fundraising programs from another angle? Are you analyzing your donors, their passions and their giving habits, in different ways? How are you and your organization innovating?

It’s summer. Take a vacation. You deserve it. And while you’re enjoying some R&R by the pool, why not help a deserving charity at the same time. You can.

Geronimo is a website that brings together owners of holiday homes, vacationers, and non-profit organizations.

If you own a vacation property, list it on Geronimo, maybe during off-season weeks or for last-minute cancellations. Homes booked through the website allow the owners to keep half the rent and the other half goes to a charity of choice. Simply place a listing on the website for free and Geronimo takes care of promotions, payments and donations.

Is travel a passion for one or more of your fundraising tribes? This would be a neat way to support those passions of your tribe.

Global design firm IDEO announced it will launch a nonprofit division this fall.  Ideo.org aims to bring product innovation and design consulting to the social sector, working with projects in low-income communities around the world.

We’re excited to see more creativity entering the non-profit sphere. Design thinking is a powerful methodology to help solve challenges of poverty, health and social issues. Whether applied through IDEO’s creative product design, or MWOPA’s innovative fundraising design, the time is now for revolutionary thinking and we’re glad to see more of it in the non-profit sector.

Google is collaborating with acclaimed art museums across the globe to display artwork online. Each museum was able to choose the number of pieces and information to include in The Google Art Project. The high-resolution images are copyright protected, and thus far, 17 museums are participating including MoMA (New York), Tate Britain (London), Van Gogh Museum (Amsterdam) and The State Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow). In its first month, the project recorded 10 million visitors and 90,000 people registered.

The museums are benefitting considerably from displaying their exhibits for free online. Christian Ghiron at Italy’s Ministry of Culture told the New York Times that the Uffizi Gallery, in Florence, has seen its web traffic rise from an average of 5000 visitors a day to  between 30,000 and 40,000 since the project. The more they digitize, the more people want to see it live, he says.

These art galleries are reaching wider to nurture the passions of their Tribe. The Tribe responds.

Think about your organization. How are you supporting, developing and cultivating your Tribes?

Organizations often recognize their donors by putting their name on something: a wing of the hospital, the university library, bricks of the church, or plaques on an honour wall.  Are you effectively using naming to motivate giving? Are you making it exciting?

These two organizations are divvying it up and raising funds from smaller parts. But they’ve added a heaping dose of creativity and injected some digital vitality to broaden their fundraising efforts.

Greenpeace is retiring their aging ship, the Rainbow Warrior, and replacing it with a $32 million wind-powered vessel fully equipped with a biological sewage treatment plant and satellite communications system onboard. They’ve put every part of their ship up for sponsorship. The amazing digital campaign for A New Warrior highlights every piece of the vessel for donors to pinpoint an exact part of the boat to sponsor.

Ave Maria University in Florida has taken their memorial fundraising campaign online, allowing visitors to pinpoint the exact location of sponsored bricks, flooring, statues and other items in the Ave Maria Oratory. Their Memorial Locator is a simple design that adds a level of visual excitement.