Jeff Brooks has a new article this week at FundRaising Success: Easier Said Than Done: Abstract Art or Fundraising? He starts by summarizing a few nonprofit advertisements from the past few years. The pattern quickly becomes clear: some of the ads look cool, but none of them make an explicit call to action. They replace clear marketing with symbolism.

Abstract expressionism is an acquired taste. It takes some commitment to appreciate its beauty. It sometimes draws comments like, "A monkey could paint that!" For the record, I'm a fan of abstract expressionism. There's a vast qualitative difference between one of Pollock's splatter paintings and the work of a monkey. Maybe that's why it annoys me to watch as certain ad agencies try to recreate the magic of abstract expressionism in their work for nonprofit organizations. It's not going well. I think the monkeys might do better.

The topic has been a hobby of Jeff's for awhile. For years, he's been writing a series of posts on what he calls stupid nonprofit ads. It's likely that you've heard about some of these. DDB Brazil sparked controversy in September with a misguided September 11-themed ad campaign for the World Wildlife Fund. WWF disowned the ad, but not before DDB had submitted it for ad industry awards. In Australia, a fight-fire-with-fire approach to size discrimination rose more than a few eyebrows, and some people point to One Laptop Per Child's John Lennon endorsement as a culprit in its sales decline.

Here's an idea from our friend Laura at Idealware: what if you measured any communications method by whether it would have more or less impact than spending the same amount of time calling donors on the phone?

…You could spend that time simply calling donors and constituents at random, to thank them, or to ask them a quick set of questions (how did they like the services they used? what do you do well? not so well?). If you've never done this, it can be pretty magical. Often people are amazed that you've called, happy to talk, and have useful insights. It gives you a great sense as to who your constituents actually are and what they care about. And not coincidentally, my experience is that it fosters great new connections. People want to volunteer, wanted to ask you something, and, not coincidentally, donate at considerably higher rates after. Nothing starts a conversation like, well, an actual conversation.

I love the way Laura articulates this. When we adopt social media strategies, we often tell ourselves that it's not just about donations, it's about starting a conversation. There are plenty good reasons why it's important to keep conversations going with supporters, but are Twitter and Facebook always the best way? If your goal is to have a conversation, then why not pick up the phone and have one?

This is not to say that there's no place for social media; rather, I think that the phone test can actually help you articulate the purpose of any communications tactic, be it a fundraising letter, a donor event, a print ad, or a Facebook page. If you can clearly identify who the target audience is for a particular effort and what action you want that audience to take, you can put together the right campaign for achieving that goal. It might be a letter, an email blast, or a social media campaign, and it might be a phone call.

You may have heard about TechSoup's Digital Storytelling Online Event that's been going on all month. Well, tonight we're rolling out the red carpet for the finale where we'll be announcing the big winners! We received more than 100 submissions from nonprofits and libraries around the country (and world) who've shared their digital stories in video, photo, and GoldMail formats for the Digital Storytelling Challenge! These stories are being carefully reviewed by our esteemed panel of expert judges.

If you're in the Bay Area, join us at 7 p.m. Pacific at the TechSoup headquarters (525 Brannan Street, Third Floor) in San Francisco for the mixed reality awards screening party. If you're not in the Bay Area, you still join us by viewing the event in Second Life and follow the action on Twitter (hashtag: #tsdigs).

Whether you're a challenge participant or just interested in seeing the power of stories to help social benefit organizations convey their messages, don't miss this opportunity to mix and mingle with nonprofit colleagues, show your support, and see the winners! Our winners will be receiving some of these cool prizes. In the meantime, check out the challenge submissions below. See you on the red carpet!

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If you haven't done so already, you've got to check out the submissions we've received so far for the Digital Storytelling Online Event that's been open all month. You can see the video submissions on YouTube and check out the photo submissions on Flickr. There are some inspiring digital stories in there from nonprofits far and wide.

But don't worry. If you've not had time to get your five-photo story uploaded to Flickr or your 60-second video onto YouTube (you can also create a GoldMail story), there's still time. We've extended the Digital Storytelling Challenge deadline over the weekend so you've got until Monday morning (9 a.m. Pacific) to throw your digital stories into the proverbial ring.

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TechSoup is about to embark on a grand series of events to help nonprofits learn and demonstrate ways to effectively tell their stories. Some of my favorite causes have captured my loyalty and heart strings through amazing use of video and images. Last year, I blogged about what a hoot the AARP voting video was. I not only signed up for their list (even though I'm far from their 55-year-old target age), I also forwarded it to everyone in my address book. I did the same for The Story of Stuff and The Girl Effect, which we've also mentioned on this blog in the past. Elliot blogged about a group that gives cameras to local groups around the world in order to share their stories. Our partner in Canada featured tips on creating digital stories at a recent Net Tuesday event.

The use of telling stories through photos has also been discussed here various times, with tips on different photo-sharing and slideshow tools discussed. All of these are great examples of using video and images to tell compelling, poignant, and memorable stories about the important work nonprofits contribute for the benefit of the world.

These stories don't need to be fancy or expensive. You don't need a professional videographer or even a professional grade camera to capture video or photos. One of our newest partners, Flip Video, joined TechSoup's donation program this week and is offering low-cost, handheld video cameras to nonprofits for this very purpose. Learn how to use them as well as how to craft your digital story, with these three, upcoming webinars.

Free Range Studios, the "Creative Agency with a Conscience," has announced its annual YouTopia Grant (formerly known as the Gratitude Grant). Free Range Studios will be donating their services to one lucky nonprofit and one socially responsible business. Past recipients of the YouTopia Grant include Sustainable Table for whom Free Range Studios created the award winning viral video, the Meatrix, now viewed over 20 million times and translated into 43 languages.

Free Range Studios also walks the talk. From the day Free Range Studios opened its doors it has been a socially and environmentally responsible company. Free Range Studios uses Triple Bottom Line accounting, renewable energy including wind power, and most recently Free Range Studios became a B Corporation.

Roughstock Studios' guide Keeping It Real Green: How to Market Your Efforts in an Age of Greenwashing will help you through the basics of responsible green marketing. It is mostly targeted at for-profit companies, but has some valuable tips that nonprofits and libraries should keep in mind. "Authentic and open communication is the best way to differentiate yourself from the greenwashing crowd."

As we approach the holiday fundraising season, think of how you can communicate your greening efforts to your board, your donors, and your clients.

TechSoup and Adobe announced the winners of the Show Your Impact design contest at the very end of May. Since then, we've been featuring the winners and runners-up in each of the four main categories. We ran the contest for a couple of reasons —  to show off the amazing work of these nonprofits and libraries and also to inspire the work of others. You can see the previously featured winners here and here.

If you weren't in the Bay Area on June 20, or wished you could've cloned yourself to attend multiple sessions at the same time, never fear. You can see presentations from anywhere, anytime online.

The Craigslist Foundation's annual Nonprofit Bootcamp was a fantastc one-day conference, chalk full of workshops on topics ranging from marketing advice (PPT 10.1MB) to advanced ideas about the future of technology (PPT 1.7MB) for nonprofits, which featured our very own co-CEO, Marnie Webb. Many of the slideshows presented at the event are already available to be viewed on their site. Downloadable podcasts will be available for most sessions soon (we'll update you when they become available but in the meantime, check out the podcasts from previous years!)

Aside from Marnie's presentation, TechSoup was there with bells on as a sponsor and exhibitor. I was there along with my colleagues Elliot Harmon, Ricci Powers, and Barbara Shaughnessy. We really enjoyed the opportunity to get to talk to throngs of people from established nonprofits around the country, start-up organizations, and future nonprofit hopefuls.

Last month, TechSoup and Adobe announced the winners of the Show Your Impact Design Contest. We thought the innovative work created by the winners and runners-up was so inspirational, that they should be shared more broadly and could perhaps give other nonprofits and libraries fresh ideas for your creative works. You can see the first featured group in this earlier post.

This week, we are featuring the winner of the Social Change category in print and photo: Project Kindle's Book, I Know: Kids from Camp Kindle Share Their Stories of Living with HIV/AIDS.

Project Kindle's mission is to improve the quality of life for kids who are dealing with HIV/AIDS and other life-altering struggles. One of the hardest things for kids with HIV or AIDS to deal with is the stigma they face from society. Project Kindle knew that if they wanted to help improve the lives of the kids, they would have to find a way to combat that stigma. They decided to create a book and a video that is provided cost-free to hundreds of schools across the country.

"We gave the kids a forum to tell their stories, show off their writings, display their artwork, and let their peers in classrooms around America know that even though they had HIV, they were no different than any other kid," said their submission essay.

Their book is available in electronic form, which is not only a fun user experience, but it is environmentally friendly as well.