Member Blogging Guidelines - Exponent Philanthropy

Member Blogging Guidelines

The Exponent Philanthropy blog is where you and your member peers can share your stories around the unique ways lean funders approach giving.

Blog Objectives

Our blog objectives come from our 2020-2025 Strategic Plan:

  1. Amplify and increase the impact of lean funders.
  2. Build a broader and deeper Exponent Philanthropy community through sharing and collaboration.
  3. Maximize our relevance and accessibility to a variety of funders.
  4. Advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in philanthropy.

Blog Audience

Those interested in philanthropy, who may or may not be new to the organization. This includes:

  • Current and prospective members
  • Colleague organizations
  • Corporate partners and other philanthropy advisers
  • Media

How to Write a Member Blog

Member blogs typically cover a specific topic or question; are educational in nature; range from 400 to 800 words; and contain other media such as images, videos, infographics, and charts.

Blog Topics

Address a compelling topic around one of the following subject areas:

      Search Engine Optimization

      What’s your focus keyphrase? A focus keyword or keyphrase is the search term you want the blog to rank for most. When people search for that phrase, they should find your blog. Use the focus keyword at the beginning of your title, in your first paragraph, and in a couple of your headers.

      Style and Formatting

      • Write in short sentence.
      • Use active voice.
      • Create headers to organize your content.
      • Keep paragraphs short: No more than 4 sentences.
      • Add bulleted lists whenever possible.
      • Always include an introduction and a conclusion.
      • When including images from other publications, cite the image source as: “Image source” and hyperlink that text with the page you found the image on.

      Titles

      Titles are important in attracting an audience to your blog and getting your post pageviews. A good blog post title grabs readers’ attention and features target keywords (words or phrases readers enter into a search engine).

      Promotion

      We will promote your blog on our Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and in email and Essentials. We encourage you to do the same!

        Examples of Member Blogs

        Why We Accept Proposals Written for Other Funders


        I Used To Be on the Other Side: Reducing the Power Dynamic in Philanthropy


        How One Family Foundation Honors Its Living Founder


        How To Make Your First Seed Funding Grant


        Lessons From a Founder Winding Down Their Foundation


        Going Beyond the Grant To Support Nonprofits


        Need Help Getting Started?

        If you’re struggling to being your post, this template may be helpful:

        • Title: Cut to the chase. Readers should know what they’re getting when they click on the blog. The basic formula “How We Did X With Y” can work well.
        • Introduction: Grab the reader’s attention at the very beginning by being really open, honest, provocative or counterintuitive. What was the challenge or goal? Introduce yourself and give a little context about the foundation.
        • The steps: Explain the why. Take your reader through your journey. List your steps clearly (denote them with subheadings.)
        • Conclusion: What did you learn? What was the impact?
        ALL FINAL CONTENT DECISIONS ARE AT THE BLOG TEAM’S DISCRETION

        This means Exponent Philanthropy reserves the right to:

        • Edit and adapt your blog content for search optimization, accuracy, comprehensiveness, and new information as information within the original piece becomes outdated or requires reevaluation.
        • Include calls-to-action to Exponent Philanthropy content and offers.
        • Remove the post from the blog.

        Where to Submit Your Idea

        For information about writing a member blog, email our content marketing manager, Hannah Smith.