Every nonprofit, including yours, are likely still envious of the ALS Association. Last year's Ice Bucket Challenge campaign not only raised a significant amount of cash for the organization, but brought a huge amount of attention to the condition also known as Lou Gehrig's disease and its overall lack of research funding. Can you imagine what would happen if you could knock out two birds with one stone like that for your cause?

You don't need buckets of ice for a good viral campaign.

Playing video games fast has never been as charitable.

Last week, just outside Washington, D.C., a large group of video game players and fans gathered for a week-long event called Awesome Games Done Quick. It was a marathon streamed live on the Internet that had gamers finish video games as fast as possible using skills and a variety of exploits, a process called "speedrunning." You may think that this event seems ridiculous and unrelated to nonprofits. However, by running it like a telethon, AGDQ raised $1.56 million in donations through various channels in that week for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. Such an incredible fundraising drive helps us provide valuable insights on using the Internet as way to hold events and raise money. Here are four lessons you can learn from this experience, especially as it relates to using nonprofit CRM software.

The Coast Guard Foundation made waves when it landed the celebrity endorsement of Sig Hansen, Deadliest Catch star, on the show Celebrity Apprentice. We sit down with Jennifer Fyk, Senior Director of Communications for the Foundation, to ask how nonprofits can leverage celebrity endorsements to further their missions and how using Soapbox for their website empowers them to get the most out of this unique opportunity.

Q&A with Jennifer Fyk, Senior Director of Communications, Coast Guard Foundation

Q: Why did Sig Hansen choose to support the Coast Guard Foundation?

A: As a crab fisherman who makes his living in the rough seas of Alaska, Sig Hansen is personally familiar with the life-saving work that the U.S. Coast Guard does on a daily basis. Once he learned there was a way to give back to the men and women of the Coast Guard by supporting the Coast Guard Foundation, it was a perfect fit.

Before we truly put an end to 2014, let's remember the best moments.

While some people like to think that looking back on 2014 is strictly limited to December, we at PICnet believe that a year-in-review should happen in January. After all, December is part of the year, so it's rather silly to consider the year finished before the ball actually drops. In any event, 2014 was a big year for us and we saw a lot of things happen in the nonprofit sector, from payments to petitions. Here are some of our best articles from the last year. We think you may find them enlightening and fun.

Now that the New Year's celebrations have come to a close, you should already have a strategy in place to improve your organization's standing this year. You do have one, right?

Of course we do! Why else did you publish that previous post?

That's true. In any event, planning and executing strategies is important to running a nonprofit organization. That includes implementing constituent relationship management software that targets and nurtures your members. But you also have to pay attention to what's around you, especially when it comes to current or new development. Otherwise, you miss small things that lead to big events like that viral "Ice Bucket Challenge" that the ALS Association completed last summer.

Well, nobody saw that coming…

But they were based on trends that were developing at that point: A straightforward silly viral campaign to raise awareness.

Our strategy isn't about raising awareness, though. It's about raising funds.

Well, then, there are trends to look out for there as well. Consider donors: They made a roaring comeback in the last year, according to fundraising expert Gail Perry in her blog. Building up your relationship is now more important than getting more of them. They're becoming more trusting of you and your organization to use their donations for the aim of your organization. Their mentality has changed, however. They are far more cautious with their money. They don't like the idea of donating for the sake of giving so much as they want to make an investment that has a return.

Getting donors on your side is a big trend for 2015.