Ever thought to yourself, "Boy I wish I could find a free fundraising thermometer to use on our website. And it sure would be nice if it was customizable."

Well, your wishes have been answered. David Benoit created this thermometer after he got frustrated trying to find an online version for his father to use for his healthcare nonprofit.

Check it out and play around a little with it: http://xdal.org/thermometer/

Newsday covered the subject of "charity fundraising events" in a recent opinion piece. They questioned the need for the "golf outing, a gala or a fashion show, a pancake breakfast, an auction, "a-thon" or some other entertainment" in the name of fundraising for nonprofits.

Although their focus is on the Long Island, New York nonprofit market, I think it's safe to assume most of these feelings and ideas will fly with the rest of America.

Check out the whole article at: http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-opgit185465287nov18,0,495515.story

NOZA, a database for nonprofit fundraisers, recently announced free access to its database of foundation grants. There are 825,000+ foundation grant records at its site.

You can search by name or cause. Name is a simple search. Cause allows you to search by category, state, city, and donation amount.

In addition to free foundation grant searching, today NOZA is launching its new website, offering new search capabilities and releasing new features for both free and paid customers, including:

• Easy 3-step “search, select, save” process
• Fast searching of over 26 million donation records
• Free "Prospect Research Workbook" content and templates
• Online folder system for organizing and saving records

Fenton, the PR people, with offices in New York, Washington DC, and San Francisco have released a free PDF on "Branding for Nonprofits".

Get an inside look with this six page document at how the Fenton branding process works.

Here's a direct link to this PDF document on their website at: http://www.fenton.com/pages/5_resources/pdf/fenton_branding_guide_Jan2007.pdf

Pure Digital Technologies announced at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) annual meeting the company’s commitment is to distribute up to one million Flip Video camcorders to non-profit organizations and other qualified non-governmental organizations.

Starting in December 2007, qualified nonprofits and NGOs can sign up to purchase Flip Video Spotlight Kits and will receive all the necessary tools to begin using video technology effectively. Additionally, donors can visit the same site and make purchases or donations on behalf of their affiliated nonprofit organizations and NGOs. Pure Digital Technologies will match one-for-one each kit purchased with an additional Flip Video Spotlight Kit.

Flip Video camcorders are easy-to-use and affordable devices with on-board software to enable editing, organizing, and video publishing through AOL, YouTube, MySpace, and other popular video sharing sites.

So, in December, surf on over to http://www.FlipVideoSpotlight.com and get all the details on this program!

Scholarships to attend Foundation Center proposal writing courses are available now through May 2008 for under-resourced nonprofits working in the areas of literacy and domestic violence. Sponsored by the Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon, this initiative aims to assist small, community-based organizations in building their internal capacity to seek financial support from foundations, corporations, or other institutional grantmakers.

For more information visit the Foundation Center's website at: http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/training/verizon.