Maurizio Sarri is unwilling to address speculation linking Chelsea with Borussia Dortmund star Christian Pulisic, believing discussing another club’s player to be unprofessional.Goal revealed on Saturday that Chelsea have been in talks with Dortmund over the United States international, with a £70 million ($89m) price tag being set.The Blues have submitted a bid significantly lower than that asking price, while Pulisic is said to prefer a move to Liverpool. Article continues below Editors’ Picks Man Utd ready to spend big on Sancho and Haaland in January Who is Marcus Thuram? Lilian’s son who is top of the Bundesliga with Borussia Monchengladbach Brazil, beware! Messi and Argentina out for revenge after Copa controversy Best player in MLS? Zlatan wasn’t even the best player in LA! Nevertheless, Sarri has refused to be drawn on the speculation, saying that to discuss a player he does not own would be improper.”Pulisic is a Borussia Dortmund player and I don’t want to talk about a player of another club,” Sarri told reporters on Tuesday. “It’s not professional, I think.”Alvaro Morata is a player who has been touted for a potential Chelsea exit given his unconvincing form over the past year.Sarri wants to do all he can to help the Spain striker improve, however.”I have to understand very well what he needs, but I am available to do everything,” Sarri said.”But I think that Morata, in the last month, played well. He scored five goals. He needs only continuity, I think.”He needs confidence and confidence and confidence, so I think we need only to have continuity in the scoring.”Now he is 26. He can change, but the characteristics of his character are this. So, he has only to stay calm because, in the last match, he missed the goal only because he wanted to score too much.”
Australia have accepted Aaron Mooy will play no part at the Asian Cup, meaning a call up for James Jeggo.Mooy suffered a torn ligament in his right knee during Huddersfield Town’s 1-0 loss to Arsenal on December 8 and was ruled out for eight weeks by the Premier League strugglers.Football Federation Australia (FFA) optimistically named Mooy in their 23-man squad on December 20 but have conceded the midfielder will not be fit following consultation with Huddersfield’s medical staff, an independent specialist, and FFA’s high performance coordinator – senior physiotherapist, Phil Coles, over the weekend. Article continues below Editors’ Picks Man Utd ready to spend big on Sancho and Haaland in January Who is Marcus Thuram? Lilian’s son who is top of the Bundesliga with Borussia Monchengladbach Brazil, beware! Messi and Argentina out for revenge after Copa controversy Best player in MLS? Zlatan wasn’t even the best player in LA! Socceroos boss Graham Arnold said: “It is disappointing to lose Aaron for the tournament. However, it was important that we left no stone unturned in exploring every option to get Aaron on the pitch for Australia in the UAE.”We will remain in close contact with Aaron and Huddersfield Town during his rehabilitation and trust that he will make a successful return to action.”In making the assessment on the injury we agreed Aaron would need at least another month to return to fitness. In a best-case scenario, this would mean he would not be ready to play until after the quarter-final stage [January 24-25, 2019].”With so many games in such a short period we felt it would be best to bring in a player that is fully fit and ready to go from the outset.”Mooy’s misfortune means opportunity knocks for Austria Vienna’s Jeggo.Arnold added: “James has been performing really well in Austria and is a fantastic character, so we are very happy to have him join the squad.”Initially James was very unlucky to miss out, but sometimes these things happen in football and we are glad we can provide him with this opportunity.”James has thrived at club level playing in a defensive midfield role and with three attacking central midfielders already in the squad, we felt we needed someone with James’ attributes to provide some depth in that area.”Australia remain confident Hertha Berlin midfielder Mathew Leckie will be fit despite sustaining an injury at the weekend.
The Major League Soccer Coach of the Year award will now be named after the late Sigi Schmid, the league announced Friday.Schmid passed away on Christmas Day at the age of 65, leaving behind a legacy as one of the United States’ soccer coaching greats.“Sigi was an important part of our league from the very early years in our history, and he had a significant impact on everyone he touched throughout his life and coaching career,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said in a statement. “While he will be remembered by many in the soccer community for his success on the field, it was his kindness and his great qualities as a father, husband and mentor that made him such a special person.” Article continues below Editors’ Picks Man Utd ready to spend big on Sancho and Haaland in January Who is Marcus Thuram? Lilian’s son who is top of the Bundesliga with Borussia Monchengladbach Brazil, beware! Messi and Argentina out for revenge after Copa controversy Best player in MLS? Zlatan wasn’t even the best player in LA! The German-born Schmid won three national championships at UCLA, where he played from 1972-75, during a tenure that lasted from 1980-99.During that period, Schmid was also was an assistant for the United States national team during the 1994 World Cup.Schmid would move to Major League Soccer in 1999, taking over the LA Galaxy, where he would win an MLS Cup in 2002.Schmid also won an MLS Cup during a three-year run as the head coach of the Columbus Crew, taking home the title in 2008.He would next become the manager of the Seattle Sounders for their debut season in the league in 2009 and stayed with the club until being fired midway through the 2016 season.Schmid made one more stop in his coaching career as he returned to the Galaxy midseason to replace Curt Onalfo in 2017. He would last just over a year in the role, resigning in September 2018 with the Galaxy struggling in the hunt for the MLS postseason.Overall, Schmid won 240 games in the MLS regular season, added 26 victories in the postseason and is MLS’s all-time winningest coach.He also won five U.S. Open Cups, four coming in Seattle and one with the Galaxy in 2001, and three Supporters’ Shield for the best record in the league, one with each of the three MLS clubs he managed.Schmid won the award that will be named after him twice – in 2002 and 2008, the years he won the MLS Cup.The announcement of the named of the award was made just prior to the MLS SuperDraft, where UCLA midfielder Frankie Amaya was taken No.1 overall by expansion team FC Cincinnati.
David Moyes has questioned his former club Manchester United’s transfer policy as he prepares Sunderland for Monday’s Premier League clash at Old Trafford.United have splurged about 500 million pounds ($614.50 million) in the transfer market since Alex Ferguson ended his 26 trophy-laden years in charge in 2013.Despite the vast outlay they have failed to add to their record 20 English league titles and are already 13 points off the pace this season under Jose Mourinho.Moyes, who replaced Ferguson but lasted less than a season despite signing the likes of Chelsea midfielder Juan Mata for 37 million pounds and Marouane Fellaini for 27 million, said United have moved away from their traditions. (Mourinho targets Manchester United push in second half of season)”They were a football club who enjoyed traditions with the way they spent,” Moyes, whose Sunderland side are third from bottom, told the BBC.”They didn’t try to compete with all the other clubs. They did what they thought was the right thing to do and spent the right way.”Maybe that has had to change because of the current situation. (But) Sir Alex (Ferguson) went out and bought wisely and correctly in the transfer market and what he thought he needed to do.” (Jose Mourinho ‘too young’ to be tempted by Chinese riches)Mourinho’s arrival at Old Trafford signalled another huge transfer outlay, with Paul Pogba arriving from Juventus for a world record 89 million pounds and the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Eric Bailly also joining for large fees.”There have been a few changes at Manchester United but that’s the way they have chosen to go,” Moyes said.advertisementThe Scot added that one of the biggest regrets of his ill-fated stay at United was not signing Wales forward Gareth Bale from Tottenham Hotspur. (Manchester United still far away from Premier League title: Jose Mourinho)”When I first went in my real target was Gareth Bale,” said Moyes. “I felt all along that Gareth Bale was a Manchester United player.”I fought right until the last minute. We actually offered a bigger deal than Real Madrid. But Gareth had his mind made up on going to Real Madrid.”
Like all Bollywood biopics, even Dangal had a generous amount of fiction spun into the real-life tale of Mahavir Singh Phogat and his daughters Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari.In the film, Geeta Phogat’s coach PR Kadam in the National Sports Academy, played by Marathi actor Girish Kulkarni, is shown as a disrespectful tyrant and an incompetent trainer.MOVIE REVIEW: DANGAL ALSO READ: Dangal 1st week box-office collection ALSO READ: Dangal has not beaten demonetisation; only 1.4 per cent Indians have seen itALSO WATCH: Aamir surpasses all expectations with DangalThe film also shows that Kadam frequently gets into loggerheads with Mahavir Singh Phogat (Aamir) and minutes before Mahavir will enter the arena where his daughter Geeta (Fatima Sana Shaikh) will wrestler at the 2010 Commonwealth Games final, a man appointed by Kadam locks Mahavir up in a room so that he cannot visit his daughter.Such a one-dimensional, almost-cartoonish portrayal of Geeta Phogat’s coach had irked her real-life National Academy coach PR Sondhi.Speaking to Mail Today, PR Sondhi said, “Mahavirji is an old friend of mine. I have a very close relation with the Phogat family. I have not seen the film yet, but the facts told to me by my students highlight things that I didn’t do. Just to spice things up you can’t defame me. I know the name isn’t the same, but it’s quite evident that I am the person being referred to here.”Regarding the locking-up-in-the-room scene, Sondhi said, “If a national coach had locked someone during the Commonwealth Games then why nobody reported the incident? If you ask Geeta, I am sure she will deny such incident.”advertisementNow, Aamir Khan himself has come forward to give his take on the situation.When asked if Mahavir Singh Phogat was actually locked up in a room before the 2010 Commonwealth Games’ Women’s Wrestling (55 kg category) final, Aamir said, “No, he was not actually locked up in the room. Like in every biopic, some bit of fiction is added but the spirit of the story of Mahavir, Geeta and Babita is intact. There may be a few incidents here and there which may not have happened exactly that way but in essence it is their story.”Meanwhile, Aamir’s Dangal has raced to cross the Rs 300-crore mark in box-office collections worldwide and that too in just a week.
to HaryanaGurugram, Jan 11 (PTI) With a view to prevent chances of occurrence of cervical cancer, the Health Ministry today asked Haryana government to consider including the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine in its immunisation campaign ensure that it is accessible to all on the pattern of many other states.Union Health Research Department Secretary Dr Soumya Swaminathan today urged the Haryana government for including HPV vaccine in the immunisation campaign at sectoral session on Health, Education and Sports ? Improving Indicators: Moving in Right Direction during Pravasi Haryana Divas-2017.Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij was also present on the occasion.She also urged the Haryana Health Minister to support research in medical colleges in the state.Two doses of the vaccine should be administered to girls aged 11 and 12 years, she said, adding the vaccine was already available in the private sector.However, as it was expensive but proven to be highly effective in reducing possibility of occurrence of cervical cancer, the government should ensure that it is accessible to all, Swaminathan said.Cancer screening should also be carried out, she added.In view of increase in prevalence of non-communicable or lifestyle diseases, the government should launch campaign for screening of parameters such as blood pressure, blood sugar and body mass index, the Secretary said.She also laid stress on change in diet and exercise patterns in states with ghee-rich traditional cuisines, including Haryana, in view of the changing lifestyle.Swaminathan stressed on the need to identify and address increasing incidences of nutritional deficiencies. PTI VJi DIPadvertisement
Tim Southee captured his sixth five-wicket haul in test cricket as New Zealand bowled Bangladesh out for 289 in the final five minutes of the first day of the second Test match at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Friday.Southee had Kamrul Islam trapped in front for two in the 85th over, shortly after the game had been delayed for about 10 minutes when Rubel Hossain received medical treatment after being hit on the elbow by Trent Boult.Southee finished with figures of 5-94, while Boult backed up his new ball partner with 4-87.Souyma Sarkar, promoted to open in a patchwork Bangladesh side who were missing batsmen Imrul Kayes and Mominul Haque and captain Mushfiqur Rahim due to injury, top scored with 86 after the visitors had been asked to bat by Kane Williamson.Bangladesh were put under immense pressure by Southee and Boult who finally got some swing and reduced the visitors to 38 for two in the 11th over with Tamim Iqbal (five) and Mahmudullah (19) both caught by wicketkeeper BJ Watling.Soumya and first Test double centurion Shakib Al Hasan began to counter attack.The pair were not afraid to play their shots and raced through to 128 for two with numerous boundaries of the 15 the duo struck before lunch flying just wide of the hands of fielders down to the third man or fine leg fence.Boult finally broke the 127-run partnership after lunch when Soumya was caught by Colin de Grandhomme in the slips.As has been typical for Bangladesh on their tour of New Zealand, they lost wickets in clumps, with Sabbir Rahman (seven) and Shakib (59) falling shortly after to reduce their side to 179 for five.advertisementNurul Hasan, deputising for Mushfiqur, and debutant Nazmul Hossain steadied the innings and took their side through to 232 before Nazmul was caught by Jeet Raval off Southee for a patient 18.Mehedi Hasan (10), Taskin Ahmed (eight) stayed with Nurul for as long as they could as he crept towards his first Test half century, but he was the ninth wicket to fall for 47 when Watling took his fourth catch of the innings.New Zealand won the first Test by seven wickets.
Harbhajan Singh will lead the Punjab T20 team in the inter-zonal T20 league with Gurkeerat Mann appointed as his deputy. Punjab start their campaign against Haryana at Amtar (Himachal Pradesh) on January 29.BCCI had last year decided to scrap Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and start an inter-zonal T20 tournament where states of a particular zone play against each other first before advancing to the main inter-zonal tournament.The senior selection committee of the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) met in Mohali today to decide and finalise the team. All matches of the north zone are being played in Himachal Pradesh.Punjab next play Delhi on January 30 at Dharamshala, followed by matches against Services (February 1) and hosts Himachal (February 2).Harbhajan Singh was part of the Indian team which participated in the Asia Cup, held in T20 format for the first time, in Bangladesh last year. He has also been an integral part of the Mumbai Indians team in the Indian Premier League (IPL).Punjab team:Harbhajan Singh (C), Manan Vohra, Pargat Singh, Jaskaran Singh (W/K), Gurkeerat Singh Mann (Vice-Captain), Sharad Lumba, Anmolpreet Singh, Nikhil Chaudhary, Siddharth Kaul, Manpreet Singh Grewal, Sandeep Sharma, Varun Khanna, Baltej Singh, Rahul Sharma, Ramandeep Singh, Anmol Malhotra
Rio Olympics star PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik, Paralympian Deepa Malik, badminton coach Pullela Gopichand and Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s name have reportedly been cleared by the government for Padma awards.The category of awards, whether it is Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri or Padma Vibhushan, hasn’t yet been declared.Sindhu created history last year, when she became the first Indian women to win a silver medal at Olympics. In March last year, she became the youngest recipient of the Padma Shri.Recently, MS Dhoni gave up limited over captaincy, but he remains India’s most successful cricket captain.In the past, Gopichand, who runs the Gopichand Badminton Academy, has been honoured with Arjuna Award, Dronacharya Award and even Padma Bhushan.Like every year, the awards will be announced on the eve of Republic Day.In view of the controversies that surrounded the awards, the Home Ministry this year decided to only receive nominations through online mode, for which the last date was September 15, 2016.Also, the citizens of India could nominate anyone they thought deserved.About Padma Awards:The Padma Awards is one of the Highest Civilian Awards of the country. The awards are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The awards are given in various disciplines/fields of activities, namely art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc.The Padma Vibhushan is the second highest civilian award in the Republic of India. It ranks behind the Bharat Ratna. It consists of a medal and a citation awarded by the President.advertisementThe Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India.The Padma Shri (also Padmashree) is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India. Interested in General Knowledge and Current Affairs? Click here to stay informed and know what is happening around the world with our G.K. and Current Affairs section.To get more updates on Current Affairs, send in your query by mail to education.intoday@gmail.com.
Gionee launched the A1 and A1 Plus phones on Monday at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Both the A1 and the A1 Plus focus on big batteries and plenty of megapixels on-board their front cameras.Also Read: New Nokia 3310 launched along with Nokia 3, Nokia 5, Nokia 6 Android-based smartphones The A1 Plus comes with a 6-inch 1080p IPS display and is powered by a MediaTek Helio P25 processor clubbed with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal memory which is also expandable. It sports a dual camera setup on the rear – 13-megapixel + 5-megapixel – with f/2.0 aperture and a 20-megapixel front-facing camera.It further comes with 18W Ultrafast Charge technology and a stereo speaker setup. The phone is backed by a 4,550mAh battery and also includes a handy IR blaster.The A1, on the other hand, comes with a 5.5-inch 1080 p AMOLED screen and a MediaTek Helio P10 processor clubbed with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal memory which is again expandable. It sports a 13-megapixel on the rear with f/2.0 aperture and a 16-megapixel front-facing camera. The A1 is further backed by a 4,010mAh battery.The A1 and A1 Plus will be available for 349 euro and 499 euro respectively starting from March and April 2017, the company announced.Also Read: LG G6 launched with 18:9 Full Vision display, wide-angle 13MP dual rear cameras “We have noticed that more and more people are regarding selfies as an expression of themselves and they tend to share their photos through various social channels whenever and wherever they are. As a consumer-oriented smartphone manufacturer, we hope to set up the evolution of the selfie experience and provide the best portfolio at the best price,” William Lu, president of Gionee said.advertisement
Expectations around the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are reaching stratospheric levels ahead of Samsung’s March 29 Unpacked event.Samsung needs the upcoming Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphones to be embraced warmly by customers after its reputation took a big dent due to the Galaxy Note 7 debacle and the recent arrest of their CEO on bribery and embezzlement charges.Also Read: New Nokia 3310 vs old Nokia 3310: How much difference do 17 years make?Super slow motion 1000fps video recordingA strong rumour doing the rounds is the fact that the Galaxy S8’s rear camera will come with the ability to shoot super slow motion video.A few weeks ago, Sony introduced an entirely new camera system called ‘Motion Eye’. The company has embedded fast memory right into the camera stack which allows the camera to capture super slow motion video. The technology will be seen in the upcoming Xperia XZs and XZ Premium smartphones.The smartphone will use a combination of the fingerprint scanner, Iris scanner as well as facial detection for user verification in services like Samsung PayWhile Sony’s ‘MotionEye’ camera can record video at 960fps, the Galaxy S8’s 12MP rear camera is expected to up the ante with support for 1000fps video recording.The iPhone 7 in comparison can record slow motion video at 120fps (1080p) or 240 fps (720p) making Samsung’s slow motion technology up to 8 times faster than the iPhone’s.A report on Naver claims that just like Sony, Samsung has also added DRAM as a storage device between the pixel element of the image sensor and the circuit part. This allows the camera to not only shoot super slow motion video but also transmit and store images at a much faster rate than usual.advertisementExynos 8895 benchmarks leakedThe Galaxy S8 is set to be powered by Qualcomm’s latest flagship processor – the Snapdragon 835 in the U.S and some European regions and the 3GHz Exynos 8895 processor in other regions including India.While most rumours recently have been about the Snapdragon 835 version of the Galaxy S8, benchmark results of the Exynos 8895 variant of the Galaxy S8 have now leaked courtesy of a Geekbench listing from a handset identified as SM-G955F.The numbers are pretty impressive, with a 1978 single-core score and a 6375 multi-core score. This compares favourably to the leaked benchmarks of the Snapdragon 835 version of the Galaxy S8 which got a 1929 single core and 6084 multi core score.The 10nm Exynos 8895 not only outscores the Snapdragon 835 but also pulls ahead of the Huawei Kirin 960, which got a 1898 single core 6084 multi core score in Geekbench.The Exynos 8895 is rumoured to feature an octa-core CPU with four high-performance custom Samsung cores and four Cortex-A53 cores for less intensive tasks.6GB RAM variant to be China exclusiveRumours pointing to a 6GB RAM + 128GB internal storage variant of the Samsung Galaxy S8 have been doing the rounds of the internet for quite some time now and a now a new rumor claims that the 6GB model will only be available in China.The leak comes from a Weibo post by user Kevin Wong, who is the research director of IHS for China.Bezel less designThe upcoming Galaxy S8 will sport a radical near bezel-less design with dual curved edges. Samsung is also ditching its iconic home button in the upcoming smartphone.Facial recognition technologyEarlier, a report on The Investor had claimed that due to limitations with the Iris scanning technology, the company has also added facial recognition to the smartphone to aid in faster and more accurate biometric authentication.Now, a new reports claims that the facial recognition technology will be used for mobile payments as well. The leak claims that the smartphone will use a combination of the fingerprint scanner, Iris scanner as well as facial detection for user verification in services like Samsung Pay.The Galaxy S8 will sport a radical near bezel-less design with dual curved edgesAccording to the report, the company is “already working with banks to help them embrace facial recognition systems in coming months.”This facial recognition technology will work in tandem with the 3.7MP Iris camera sensor which will be placed right next to the S8’s front facing camera.Galaxy S8 specificationsThe Galaxy S8 is set to come with a 5.8′ Quad HD Super AMOLED display along with IP68 dust and water resistance, Samsung Knox, Samsung Pay, Wireless Charging, 4G LTE support and earphones tuned by AKG.Additionally, the device is rumoured to be powered by Qualcomm’s latest flagship processor – the Snapdragon 835 in the U.S and some European regions and the 3GHz Exynos 8895 processor in other regions including India alongside 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage expandable via a microSD card.advertisementOn the imaging front, the S8 is said to come with a 12MP ‘Dual Pixel’ camera at the rear alongside an 8MP front facing camera.The Galaxy S8+ is set to come with the exact same specifications as the S8 but with a much bigger 6.2 screen.Also Read: No Android Nougat for you and this is a problem Google can’t fix
U.S. Grand Prix promoter Bobby Epstein says it would make sense for Formula One’s new American owners Liberty Media to buy some circuits as part of their long-term strategic plans for the sport.The Circuit of the Americas (COTA) co-founder and chairman whose Austin, Texas, track is the country’s sole purpose-built F1 facility, told Reuters he would be happy to do a deal “at the right price”.Speaking ahead of tickets for the October 22 race going on sale on Friday, he added, however, that there had been no discussions with Liberty.”I do think it makes a lot of sense for them to own some circuits. It would have to be part of any long-term strategy for them,” said Epstein, whose race is the only U.S. round on the current calendar, in a telephone interview.”I see a lot of logic and business reasons for them to own some circuits.”Formula One’s previous business model, which the new owners have said they want to change, has been based on television revenues and circuits paying significant hosting fees with an annual escalator.Austin’s annual fee has been reported at around $33 million, with $25 million coming from state subsidies based on a formula for calculating how much economic activity the grand prix generates for Texas.COTA drew a record three-day crowd of 269,889 last year, thanks mainly to singer Taylor Swift holding her long-awaited first concert of the year on the Saturday night.This year’s race has Justin Timberlake lined up as the headline act.advertisementBETTER OFF”I think all of the circuits struggle under the current environment,” said Epstein. “If they (Liberty) change it and help the circuits survive, are they better off owning the circuits than making concessions?”Are they actually giving up profitability by not owning the circuits? If they (the circuits) are going to make money from an F1 race, then F1 might as well own that profit.”Several of Europe’s oldest circuits, such as Silverstone which has been looking for a buyer, struggle to make money while Germany is off the calendar this year for financial reasons.Liberty completed their takeover in January, ousting 86-year-old supremo Bernie Ecclestone and replacing him with Chase Carey, who has appointed Sean Bratches as managing director for commercial matters.Asked directly about the possibility of Liberty buying circuits, Bratches said only that there were “a number of different models that can be pursued”.Formula One is seeking to expand in the Americas, with talk of adding street races in U.S. “destination cities” like Las Vegas, Miami, Los Angeles and New York and treating each race like a Super Bowl with events through the week.Epstein said Austin had pioneered that formula since the debut race in 2012.He said the circuit now wanted to establish an all-year Formula One presence and estimated 50,000 people a year could be drawn to the circuit by an interactive garage experience.”Watch parties”, where fans gathered for broadcasts of other grands prix, and track tours were also popular.Epstein suggested COTA could become the “brand-building headquarters for F1″ in North America and a permanent home while other races came and went.”Since you can’t move this circuit, and you cant duplicate it, it can always be counted on to be there,” he said. “I think the goal would be ‘Let’s get the show on the road’.”You can rotate it (Formula One) through different cities so that you are continuing to expose the sport.”It’s not likely that anyone else is going to build and spend that kind of money on a permanent course in the United States.”
Setting up online donations for your nonprofit organization not only makes your job easier, but it also increases charitable donations by making it easier for donors to give. Consider the typical process of a traditional donation when someone was inspired by an ad or speech:Wait until they get back homeRemember that they wanted to make a donationFind a checkbookFind an envelopeFind your address & write it outFind a stampMail out the donationContrast that with the simplicity of online donations:Pull out a smartphoneEnter your organization’s name in a search engineFind the donation pageClick the donation buttonThat’s the difference between a minute versus what often took days, to a week, to complete. The immediate ability to click a “donate now” button allows donors to complete their transaction and eliminates the likelihood of them forgetting somewhere along the way. How may donations have been lost due to a willing donor not having a checkbook handy or not having a stamp? Probably many.For a very small organization, it may be enough to set up a PayPal payment page, but for an organization of any size, particularly one with ongoing or repeated nonprofit fundraising, it is very important to have a customizable donation website. A donation website should also be “responsive,” meaning it is designed to provide optimal viewing on various-sized screens, from phones to desktops.As in the example above, many people use their smartphones for Internet access. They need to be able to navigate through your page in a sensible way and don’t want to be scrolling around a large page trying to find where to click.Another reason to have a customizable site is that you can include your branding, which speaks powerfully to your committed donors. They need to feel that they are participating in your cause, not just dropping money.DonateNow is fundraising software that we use for donation websites. There is more information plus quite a few screen captures on our website, which give you a better idea of how a good online fundraising website should look. Whether you choose to use this software or not, browse through our pages that show how the program works and what it looks like to get a good idea of what to look for and what you can expect from fundraising software.Network for Good has a blog with more free information on how to be successful at nonprofit fundraising. We also have specialists available to discuss how we can help you get the most out of your fundraising efforts, so contact us today or call 1-888-284-7978 x1.
Make sure your page is mobile-friendly. According to Litmus, 56% of emails are opened on mobile devices. Think of all those donors who read your emails or see your social media post on their phones. Even with the most inspiring of appeals, a donation page that’s not mobile-friendly may turn them off if they can’t complete their gift on their phone or tablet. Keep your emails as personal as possible. Use merge tags to include your name in the salutation. Always segment your donor list so that you send a relevant #GivingTuesday appeal to different groups of donors. Your donation ask to board members, volunteers, new donors, long-time donors, and major donors can be catered to those segments of supporters. As more and more nonprofits and donors participate in #GivingTuesday, fundraisers need smarter ways to engage our growing donor base. Thankfully, technology can help!For the past three years, I’ve had the pleasure of helping thousands of nonprofits leverage Network for Good’s fundraising software so they can hit (or surpass) their #GivingTuesday goals and continue their fundraising momentum through year-end.Unfortunately, I’ve also witnessed some missed opportunities and heard about tech-related snafus from disappointed fundraisers who thought they had their bases covered.To help your nonprofit get prepared for #GivingTuesday I’ll share some insights that will help you make technology-related decisions, wow your donors, and set your nonprofit up for a successful #GivingTuesday campaign.Your Donation Page This is where you want your donors to land on #GivingTuesday. Simply put, it’s your job to make that page (and overall donation experience) shine. How you can do this? Start by walking through your #GivingTuesday donation experience. Make sure every click, call to action, and thank you is shared as efficiently and effectively as possible. These three tips can help you achieve that goal.Take all your donors straight to your donation page. You can make this mistake if your call to action is hyperlinked to a page on your website that explains the many reasons why someone should donate to your nonprofit. This path requires your potential donors to find their own way to get to the donation page once they land on your website. Every extra step you add to the donation process lowers your response rate. Remove those extra steps and take your donor straight to your donation page. Be careful with images. Do include your #GivingTuesday branding in your email, but make sure that the essential information in the email (like the link to your donation page) doesn’t depend on an image loading. If the only link to your donation page is on an image/button, donors who fail to load images won’t see your call to action.A simple way to avoid this problem it to add a “P.S.” with hyperlinked text to your donation page.Your Donor Management System Your donor management system (DMS) brings all your donor history, donations, and contact records together on one platform. On #GivingTuesday, your DMS will be the hub that tracks your campaign’s success. Here are a few other ways to maximize the value of your DMS on #GivingTuesday:Collect and reference donor notes. Because of the big potential for donor engagement on #GivingTuesday, keep track of supporters who are the most engaged, especially those who interact with your nonprofit on social media. This tactic gives you a good idea of who has an active presence online and who would be best to recruit for your next peer-to-peer fundraising campaign. Storing these notes in your DMS makes the information easily accessible to everyone in your organization.Reach out to major donors. Use your DMS’ filter/segmentation feature and pull a list of your major donors. Get your board members involved with #GivingTuesday by encouraging them to call these donors. Have them follow up on pledges made earlier in the year that have yet to come in or ask these donors to support your nonprofit in this 24-hour push to hit a big goal.FYI: Giving your board access to your DMS allows them to review giving history to craft an appropriate ask and also add notes on their conversations. Your EmailsUnless you are putting some serious muscle behind other communication channels, email will most likely be the way donors get to your page on #GivingTuesday. Keep these three things in mind to help get the most out of your #GivingTuesday emails:Use an email marketing system connected with your donor database. Be sure that your email marketing system is plugged into your donor database so that your second or third #GivingTuesday appeal isn’t sent to donors who already gave their gift earlier in the day. Furthermore, the alignment of these systems will help you write (and document) appropriate thank you messages to your #GivingTuesday campaign donors. Turn on recurring giving. 44% of Network for Good’s donation volume comes from recurring gifts. More and more donors are choosing this subscription based donation option. Make it easy for your donors to turn their gift into a recurring donation and also share why it’s a valuable way to support your nonprofit beyond #GivingTuesday. Think about how powerful this asks can be: a monthly gift of $50 is an annual donation of $600! Group your #GivingTuesday ambassadors and communicate with them on a regular basis. In Network for Good’s donor management system, we have a “group” feature which allows users to quickly segment and take action on a specific set of donor records. Grouping streamlines the process of sending regular email or text message updates to your #GivingTuesday team. And, on the day of, having a pre-set group will make it easy to send copy and paste social media updates to your ambassadors or to simply remind your supporters that November 29th is here!As technology evolves, so does fundraising. Your #GivingTuesday campaign is an ideal time to capitalize on new (or new to your nonprofit) technologies not only to raise money, but also to build awareness, empower board members, and maximize the time your team has to execute a strategic and successful campaign.Ready to see how technology can make #GivingTuesday and year-end fundraising easier? Schedule a demo with one of our sales reps to learn more about Network for Good’s donation pages, peer-to-peer fundraising platform and donor management system. Click here to scheudle a demo now.How will your nonprofit be using technology in your #GivingTuesday campaign? Let us know in the comments below.
Unai Emery has remained coy over whether Danny Welbeck will be offered a new contract at Arsenal, with the striker’s future up in the air as his current deal runs out in the summer.Welbeck has been out of action since November, having had to undergo two surgeries to help repair a broken ankle sustained in the Gunners’ Europa League clash with Sporting CP.Arsenal have not yet indicated when they envisage the England international will return to full fitness, but reports suggest a comeback in the current season would be optimistic. Article continues below Editors’ Picks Man Utd ready to spend big on Sancho and Haaland in January Who is Marcus Thuram? Lilian’s son who is top of the Bundesliga with Borussia Monchengladbach Brazil, beware! Messi and Argentina out for revenge after Copa controversy Best player in MLS? Zlatan wasn’t even the best player in LA! Emery has backed up those claims somewhat, telling Standard Sport: “It’s a big injury and he needs time to recover little by little, doing exercise and then recover the possibility of working for us again.“But now he needs more time, a long time, and it’ll be difficult for him to play again this season.”Welbeck has picked up no less than seven injuries since his arrival from Old Trafford in 2014, which could end up totalling over two years on the treatment table during his five-year stint at the Emirates.Arsenal’s managing director, Vinai Venkatesham, stated after the 28-year-old’s latest setback that he would get the club’s full support throughout his rehabilitation, but Goal understands that the player has not been offered a new deal and that the Gunners are unlikely to table one.The Premier League side are planning a further overhaul of their squad at the end of the season and are looking to cut their wage bill as part of that remodel. With Welbeck so prone to injury, it is understandable that the club wouldn’t want to gamble.Pushed further on the subject of an extension for the forward, Emery said: “Firstly it’s the responsibility of the club and the player, then they can take my opinion.“But now the club is working with every individual player situation and we cannot speak about that again.”Arsenal, sitting in fifth place in the Premier League and tied on points with Manchester United, return to action on Friday with an FA Cup fourth round clash with the Red Devils at the Emirates. Check out Goal’s Premier League 2019-20 fantasy football podcast for game tips, debate and rivalries.
Last week, when self-employed author and speaker Brent King was driving home from the airport, he tried to use the debit card connected to his HSBC business account.To his surprise, it was declined. Thinking there was some incident of fraud, he contacted HSBC, who told him that there was no problem with his card. It was simply that his small business account had been closed.This was certainly news to Brent, who told his story in Huffington Post this week. He said he received no message in his personal banking system. No email. No snail mail (they supposedly tried).When he tried to get an answer about why his account had been closed, he said he got a scripted response that after a “strategic review, HSBC had determined that there were many small business accounts closed due to not being international or multi-national in scope, with too small a balance or not enough transactions.”Casting off the Middle MarketHSBC is no longer interested in certain small-business accounts, choosing instead to focus on larger, international businesses.Brent was one of more than 45,000 small-business owners who lost their HSBC accounts last week. And HSBC isn’t the first big bank to spurn “low-earning” clients. Last year, JPMorgan Chase all but said it preferred to serve clients with accounts of $100,000 or more and had shifted its focus away from small clients, as HuffPost Business reported. It no longer found middle-market customers profitable, and was phasing out less-profitable branches.Small banks are ready to fill the gap.The Real Local BanksApple Bank is a small, locally-owned, community bank that operates mainly in the outer boroughs of New York City. Their success has come from nurturing relationships with small-business owners in areas of high business growth that were scorned by big banks.“We’re not after the midtown-Manhattan type of customer,” a senior vice president told Crain’s NY Business. Apple Bank is expanding in Queens and Brooklyn. It staffs branches in immigrant neighborhoods with native speakers and even customizes the design of its branches for local clientele.Community banks can make up for larger banks’ mass exodus. “A lot of our growth is from taking retail and small-business customers away from larger institutions,” the president of Community National Bank, another local bank in Long Island, told Crain’s.In 2012, 87% of banks insured by the FDIC were community banks. The average community bank holds about $200 million in assets. (Citigroup, by comparison, is the size of about 6,201 community banks.) Then there are credit unions—not-for-profit, member-owned financial cooperatives—which hold $1.5 trillion in assets worldwide.According to Forbes, community banks and credit unions make almost 60% of small business loans, though they hold only 20% of national bank assets. That’s because they don’t rely exclusively on computer models to determine whether or not to make a loan. Knowledge of their local communities — and the understanding that the community’s success is their success — can mean better rates and options for small-business owners. These banks may have more flexibility in assessing risk and lend to a wider range of small businesses.Another example of a bank working with its customers as a member of the community, union-owned Ammalgamated Bank rushed to create a special short-term loan program to support workers left in the lurch by the goverment shutdown.Freelancers, Choose Your Bank WiselyNew business owners sometimes assume that big banks offer better rates or are more secure. Brent’s experience and that of thousands of small business owners like him may prove otherwise.Small-business owners have the right to be treated like the valuable clients and engines of the economy they are, not as second-rate borrowers. Fortunately, we live in a country that has financial systems built for small-business owners, by small-business owners.It’s time to recognize that in finances as in most areas of our freelance lives, local, community-oriented support is our best business asset. This is New Mutualism in action.Were you affected by HSBC’s shutdown? How do you choose where to bank and why?
If you’re in need of some creative inspiration, you might find it in a surprising place: your past.Nostalgia, or “sentimental longing” for the past can spark your imagination, and even enhance creative writing, according to a new study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.Reminiscing about memorable events makes people more “open to new experiences” which in turn bolsters innovative thinking and creativity, according to a team of researchers at University of Southampton.Creativity is often defined as “combining concepts that seem disparate,” or unrelated in order to produce original ideas. Nostalgia is similar in that it conjures up the past “in the context of the present,” as reported in a recent Pacific Standard piece. By fusing together elements of your past and present, you may have that creative breakthrough that’s been eluding you.Researchers at University of Southampton asked a group of participants to reflect on a memory that produced a “sentimental longing,” and then write a story – those who lingered on a nostalgic memory before writing scored higher on linguistic, and overall creativity than those who focused on ordinary memories.Read about the full study here.Nostalgia has had an undeservedly bad reputation, according to the Southampton researchers — it was often considered a sign of depression or an inability to engage with the present (it was once even labeled as a psychiatric disorder). Research has shown that nostalgia actually has quite a few benefits – it endows people with optimism about the future, facilitates setting new goals, and gives life a sense of continuity. According to the 2015 study, it is also a boon for creativity.What do you think? Could looking back on your first summer away at camp, or your very first high school crush really unleash your creative powers?
Juan Martin Del Potro has done it once so why can’t he do it again?When he won the US Open title in 2009, the then 20-year-old Argentine beat Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer back-to-back to win his first grand slam title.Now, after three wrist surgeries that almost forced him to give up the sport, Del Potro will look to do it the other way round by following up his win over Federer on Wednesday with a victory over world number one Nadal in Friday’s semi-final.”I know if I play my best tennis, I could be a danger for him,” Del Potro said after his best performance of the fortnight.”Physically I’m not in the perfect conditions, but when you play semi-finals of a grand slam, everything can happen, so you must be ready for the chance.”Playing against Rafa in my favourite tournament, I will try to enjoy the atmosphere and the game.”Del Potro’s stunning 7-5 3-6 7-6(8) 6-4 victory was all the more impressive as he had been forced to back up after a five-set victory over Dominic Thiem in the previous round, when he was still struggling with a virus.After thundering forehands past Federer with incredible regularity, the 28-year-old is growing in confidence even if he believes that beating Nadal will take an even better performance than he produced against the Swiss.(Reuters Photo)”Tomorrow is going to be a different match than the past,” he said.”He’s the number one player in the world and he’s playing so confident this tournament.advertisement”He’s a lefty guy, so he has a chance to find easily my backhand. So I don’t know what’s going to be my strategy.”But for sure I will try to make winners with my forehands and don’t run too much, because my legs are tired. But it will be an interesting match to play.”When they played in 2009, Del Potro smashed Nadal off the court with a blistering performance, dropping just six games.Eight years on and after so many injuries, Del Potro’s backhand is not yet back to where it was but he was encouraged by the way it held up against Federer.”I think my backhand is improving every week,” he said.”Tonight I made my best backhands on the tournament in the important moments of the match, and it was in the set point of the third set.”Then to break his serve in the fourth, and I hit my best backhand on the tournament tonight, which is a good signal for the future.”
Virat Kohli was sent back to the pavilion without troubling the scorers for only the 12th time in his career in India’s first one day international of the five-match series against Australia in Chennai.The Indian captain’s four-ball stay at the crease was tentative, occasionally feeling for the ball outside the off-stump which eventually led to his dismissal. Trying to drive a well-floated full delivery outside off from Nathan Coulter-Nile, Kohli edged the ball towards backward point. Glenn Maxwell’s spectacular catch sent the inform-captain on a duck.It’s not very often that Kohli flops in one-day cricket (or in any format for that matter). The last time Kohli was out without scoring a run was in the ICC Champions Trophy Group B match against Sri Lanka at The Oval. Prior to that had also come in England against the hosts in Cardiff on August 27, 2014.Kohli is coming off an incredible tour in the Emerald Islands, top scoring in the ODI series with 330 runs and back-to-back centuries against hosts Sri Lanka.Under his leadership India completed a 9-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka which was the sixth clean sweep in ODIs for India and third under Virat Kohli.Reuters Photo In the fifth ODI, Kohli scored his 30th One-Day international century and is now joint-second with Ricky Ponting on the list of most ODI hundreds behind Sachin Tendulkar (49).When Australia visited India for a Test series back in Feruary, Kohli had a rather forgetful outing. He had managed only 46 runs in five innings.advertisementBefore the start of the current series, Australia captain, Steve Smith, had prioritised ‘keeping Kohli quiet’ as being the key in ODIs.”He is obviously a very good player and has a phenomenal ODI record. Hopefully, we can keep him quiet as much as possible in this series. If we do that then hopefully it can go a long way in us having success on this tour,” he had said.With a perfect start from the bowlers, Smith can hope to continue to probe at Kohli, as India will be looking towards their leader to get back up and lead India’s charge against the reigning world champions.