Lydia DePillis says Washington, D.C. needs a fiscally-​​​​conservative alternative to the lefty D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute, the only think tank focused on the city’s local government. Are participants in marathons and other event-​​​​based fundraisers really donors in the same sense as direct-​​​​marketing donors? Tom Belford says no. Pork Barrel Barbecue has released a barbecue-​​​​scented fragrance. Really. […]

How the 2008 Obama campaign used A/​B testing to optimize their splash page, and a few simple changes that can improve your e-​​commerce checkout page.

What a multicultural society really needs; the cost of text fundraising; the rise of Megabus; growing dependency; and an EPA rap.

Outsourcing isn’t the same as privatization; federalism in transportation funding; setting up a merchant account; and rick-​​rolling the legislature.

Over-​​mailing your e-​​mail list; fundraising benchmarks; China’s real estate bubble; union jokes; and Alex Ovechkin’s performance.

A clever job listing; the Koch brothers demystified; text-​​to-​​donate as an immature technology; real estate without a government tenant; and more.

A list of sites I often visit to brush up on online marketing and fundraising best practices.

Kevin Gentry of the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation was kind enough to include my take on the role of online fundraising in his “Fundraising Tip of the Week” e-​​​​mail: Direct mail and new media are complementary and reinforce one another.  Even with the best online fundraising campaign, you’d still be leaving money on the table […]

Good news: The Supreme Court has struck down government restrictions on free speech. Here’s a quick history of such restrictions and why they haven’t worked. Bad news: America’s economy is less free now than it was a year ago. The Agitator makes the case that donations in response to disaster don’t constitute fundraising as such. Daniel […]

Some of the links I’ve collected from around the web from May 23^rd to May 25^th.