Link-up of fundraising tips, trends and topics

Top 10 things fundraisers should monitor
"The more you can lift your head out of the weeds, the more successful your fundraising program -- and you -- will be."

Traps to avoid in fundraising
"Linguist and progressive thinker George Lakoff has written an interesting piece titled '12 Traps That Keep Progressives From Winning.' With just a few revisions, the piece could be titled '12 Traps That Keep Nonprofits from Effective Marketing and Fundraising.'"

Giving Circles: Past, present and future
"[A recent survey identifies] 220 giving circles in 39 US states (although the actual number of circles may be many hundreds higher) and that 77 of those reported gave a combined total of $44M since 2000."

The future of community foundations and giving
"We are about to enter a major new era in community foundations, where community foundations will have to look outward as well for opportunities for growth and partnership, and that adjusting to this new era is not going to be easy."