Google has a service called “Google Alerts” that automatically alerts you to a new items on the web related to your small non-profit.

With Google Alerts, you decide what to search: Blogs, News Articles, Web-sites, Groups or a “comprehensive” search of everything. You can also set the frequency of these alerts: Daily, Weekly, or “As It Happens”.

For those Non-Profit professionals who are creative, these little eight-legged Google bugs can be a very powerful tool.

Be notified when a company starts a social cause initiative

An alert using the search phrase “*Inc. supporting non-profit”came up with over 17,000 news articles about corporations like Toshiba, Viterra, Consol Energy and LG Electronics who recently announced social cause initiatives. Obviously, one can narrow the search down by location or industry. Combining these search results with a 2-degree analysis will prepare you for a very powerful phone call to a potential donor.

Monitor news stories on a potential Corporate donor

An alert that searches only news on a particular company will give you a competitive edge with a potential donor. For example, an e-mail follow up with a donor can include a mention of the recent news article: “By the way, congratulations on the new acquisition of XYZ company (include link to news article)”. This will show them that you care about their business AND you’ve done your homework!

Keep current on your Non-profit’s cause

Develop a separate grouping of “issue-related” alerts so that you can be informed about the latest developments within your NPO’s are of expertise. Setting up an “As It Happens” alert allows you to be informed on your topic as you meet with donors.

Find out who the other players are

Quite naturally, you will become aware of who the most active NPOs are within your cause. Over time, you’ll notice blog postings and quotes in news articles from the same Non-profits.

A quick note about keywords: If the results are too broad, then narrow down your terms. Also try putting quotes around searches with multiple keywords. The more specific you can be, the better the search results. “Child abuse” in quotes will get results specific to child abuse and will eliminate results that include “Destiny’s Child”. Also, try including your city and state in the terms and see how much information you can get on your immediate area.

If used correctly, Google Alerts can be a powerful tool for the Non Profit professional.

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