Sometimes rethinking the issue is the way to solve it.

Network For Good‘s “How Did You Handle …?” series highlights how nonprofit leaders have tackled different challenges, and this week’s entry comes just in time for your year-end fundraising campaigns.

Renee Thompson, director of philanthropy for the Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, decided to change up how the organization reaches out to some of its most important donors this year.

“Traditionally, all year-end communications have come from our executive director, who reviews the past year’s work and impact. That’s how most organizations do it, after all,” Thompson writes.

“But this year, we decided to ask one of our clients to share her story of what donors have done for her family along with her thanks and a request for more support to help folks like her. We wanted donors to see for themselves the value of their donations, and we couldn’t think of a better way to make that happen.”

So instead of a message from Second Harvest’s executive director, donors are instead introduced to Julie, a prominent member of the local business community who once turned to the food bank in a time of need. She now encourages others to contribute to the organization that helped feed her family.

For specifics on how Thompson revamped her year-end campaign for major donors, read the full post here.

Data Visualization Tips of the Day

We all know about basic bar charts and other standard ways to visualize the data our organizations gather. But have you ever tackled aggregated or diverging stacked bar charts? Evergreen Data CEO Stephanie Evergreen highlights some ways to take your charts to the next level in a post on the Nonprofit Technology Network.

Other Good Reads

Could your association be among the “most inspiring?” Consider how companies like Tesla and Trader Joe’s earned top rankings on a new list of America’s most inspiring companies, via Forbes.

Take a look into three opinions on the future of document management, in this post from CMSWire‘s Tjeerd Brenninkmeijer.

Want to get the most influential members of your industry talking about your association? Consider these tips from Inc. contributor Murray Newlands on how to use social media to get them to help your cause.

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