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'I’m coaching a fundraising team at a national nonprofit that wants to revamp its annual communications calendar. As part of that process, we are looking at their editorial calendar for their year-end fundraising campaign, which will include direct mail, email, and social media. Before they can develop that plan, however, they have several strategic decisions to make, and this is the time of year to be making them.
'Photo by Robert Couse-Baker. When was the last time you took a good, hard look at your website? As summer winds down, and we start getting ready for year-end fundraising, you want to make sure your website is up-to-date, easy to read and navigate,welcoming, and audience-centered. How does your website fare? Use the checklist below to find out. Home page.
'In 2013 online giving grew 13.5% according to the Blackbaud Index of Online Giving and 14% according to the Network for Good’s Online Giving Index with small and medium-sized nonprofits are experiencing the largest growth. In addition, charitable giving is at an all-time high in the United States and nonprofits would be wise to invest in upgrades to their online donation service to ensure that they are meeting the needs of today’s online donors. “Donate Now” buttons were laun
'Editors Note: This is the first of a three-part series on how some politicians and their special interest supporters are attempting to intimidate, discredit and destroy nonprofits that oppose them through the misuse of fundraising regulations. Saturday the 9 th marked the 40 th anniversary of President Nixons resignation for abuse of power and process.
Your financial statements hold powerful insights—but are you truly paying attention? Many finance professionals focus on the income statement while overlooking key signals hidden in the balance sheet and cash flow statement. Understanding these numbers can unlock smarter decision-making, uncover risks, and drive long-term success. Join David Worrell, accomplished CFO, finance expert, and author, for an engaging, nontraditional take on reading financial statements.
'Every week, I send a fundraising coaching email to nonprofit CEOs and Executive Directors. These Kicks are designed to remind them to get out from behind their desk to interact with 5-10 major donors and prospects. I rarely share these Fundraising Kicks with anyone but them. But this week there will be hundreds, possibly thousands, of board conversations about their nonprofit can copy the uber-successful ALS ice bucket challenge.
'Whether you’re you looking to win support for an issue, impact policy, or inspire donors to take action and give, a campaign rarely succeeds without a solid, thoughtful plan. At Network for Good, we’ve always been big fans of Spitfire Strategies’ original Just Enough Planning Guide as a primer for doing just that, and have featured the Spitfire team in our Nonprofit 911 webinar series.
'This is not a strategy. Just the other day a nonprofit communications director showed me her brand-new marketing strategy. Her organization’s leaders, the executive director and a committee of board members, had commissioned the strategy from a consultant. After several months of work, the strategy was delivered to staff to implement. But the document I saw contained very little leadership or strategy: instead, it was everything and the kitchen sink.
'This is not a strategy. Just the other day a nonprofit communications director showed me her brand-new marketing strategy. Her organization’s leaders, the executive director and a committee of board members, had commissioned the strategy from a consultant. After several months of work, the strategy was delivered to staff to implement. But the document I saw contained very little leadership or strategy: instead, it was everything and the kitchen sink.
' . Nonprofit organizations need to find ways to thank donors all year round. One special way to show appreciation is to hold an open house at your organization. If you can’t hold one on site, have it at a restaurant or other venue. You may be able to find someone to donate space. Invite other supporters, too. You could just have an event for donors, but why not invite your email subscribers and your social media followers, too?
'Thanks to a partnership with Salsa Labs , Heather Mansfield of Nonprofit Tech for Good was able to report live from the FUSE Conference on August 6-7 in Annandale, VA. Over 250 nonprofits were in attendance represented by staff mostly from the Millennial Generation who actively contributed to the conference hashtag: #FUSEcon2014. Heather also presented two general sessions during which she invited attendees to share via Instagram the most useful piece of advice they gained from attending the
'As of yesterday, the high visibility ‘Ice Bucket Challenge’ had produced $15.6 million from existing donors, plus 307,598 new donors for The ALS Association. The campaign designed to build awareness and support research for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, goes like this: People make a video of themselves or a friend dumping a bucket of ice water on their heads, post it on Facebook, Instagram or other social media sites, and then challenge friends to do
'In teaching nonprofit social media , I call LinkedIn the "little engine that could.". Started in late 2002, LinkedIn has seen many social media platforms rise and fall. (Anyone remember Friendster or MySpace?) But LinkedIn keeps trucking along. And in my non-scientific experience, it is the preferred social media platform of many executives. They tell me where the other platforms seem a free-for-all of personal information, they like LinkedIn''s focus on work.
Traditional budgeting and forecasting methods can no longer keep pace with today’s rapidly evolving business environment. Static budgets, rigid annual forecasts, and outdated financial models limit an organization’s ability to adapt to market shifts and economic uncertainty. To stay ahead, finance leaders must leverage a future-forward approach—one that leverages real-time data, predictive analytics, and continuous planning to drive smarter financial decisions.
'If you have 18 minutes to spare, I implore you to spend it watching this speech. In just 18 minutes Simon Sinek will help you understand that it’s not what your organization does but, rather, why you do it that is important for success. He’ll show you how Steve Jobs used this approach. And, if you take the message to heart, you’ll be inspired to refocus your mission on what’s really important.
'Laurel Dykema. Would your nonprofit communications make your English Lit professor cringe? Good! You’re probably on the right track. Today, Laurel Dykema shares some habits she had to change once she started writing for the real world. ~Kivi. Guest Post by Laurel Dykema of Mission India. Confession: I had a lot of bad habits when I started in nonprofit writing.
'Remember show and tell back when you were in elementary school? You would bring in something special, such as a shell from a recent vacation, and share it with the class. Nonprofit organizations have their own version of show and tell when they share accomplishments and stories. You need these for your year-end appeal and annual report, so why not spend some time collecting them now.
'Guest blogger, Dennis Fischman left a senior management position at a nonprofit organization to found Communicate! Consulting. We love talking with friends. We hate going to meetings. Why? Too often at meetings and conferences, were listening to people we dont know, talking about an agenda that doesnt matter to us. With friends, we can share not only thoughts and plans, but hopes and dreamsthe things that make us get out of bed in the morningthe things that make us human.
Speaker: Tim Sarrantonio, Director of Corporate Brand
Do you really know your donors? Not just what they give, but who they are? 👥 In this interactive session, we’ll break down how nonprofits can use behavioral indicators (affinity, recency, frequency, and monetary value) to build prospecting segments that go beyond wealth screening and actually align with donor identity. You’ll walk away with practical strategies to move beyond basic demographics and cultivate supporters based on how they already engage with you!
'Editors Note: This is the second of a three-part series on how some politicians and their special interest supporters are attempting to intimidate, discredit and destroy nonprofits that oppose them through the misuse of fundraising regulations. Here’s part one: BEWARE: Oklahoma’s Mini-Nixon. A sinister move is now underway by Oklahomas attorney general and his special interest allies to use the states fundraising regulations in an effort to intimidate or silence the Human
'As a nonprofit board member, it can be challenging to know how to best help your nonprofit. After all, they are the experts. They know their sector far better than you ever will. So how can you help them? 1 simple thing you can do today to help your nonprofit get new donors. Here is one simple thing you can do today. Right now. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/upcoming.
'At Mission Minded we counsel our clients to think of branding as everybody’s job. It’s not only the responsibility of the executive director, or the marketing committee of the board, or the marketing director, (if they’re lucky enough to have one). Once you’ve set the strategy for your brand, everyone who works and volunteers for […].
'Diane Greenhalgh. Diane Greenhalgh joins us again with some more great ideas on creating content for your nonprofit. ~Kivi. Guest Post by Diane Greenhalgh of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association. On this blog and in her webinars and book, Kivi talks about how you should try to become your community’s favorite nonprofit because research has shown that people give two-thirds of their charitable donations each year to one favorite charity.
Payroll compliance is a cornerstone of business success, yet for small and midsize businesses, it’s becoming increasingly challenging to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of federal, state, and local regulations. Mistakes can lead to costly penalties and operational disruptions, making it essential to adopt advanced solutions that ensure accuracy and efficiency.
'When asked about his repeated failures to produce a working light bulb, Thomas Edison said, I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. Learning from your failure is invaluable, but that doesnt make failure any less painful. Why? Because, although Edison eventually succeeded, 10,000 failed attempts dont guarantee a working light bulb.
'New memes get started everyday. Some stick and go “viral” while others just get shared with a small community of friends, and some go nowhere. Remember the FB meme challenge that asked women to post what color bra they were wearing that day? Many thought the meme was connected to raising breast cancer awareness, but that was not the intention behind it.
'Editors Note: This is the last of a three-part series on how some politicians and their special interest supporters, through the use of fundraising regulations, are attempting to intimidate and discredit nonprofits that oppose them. Part One — Beware: Oklahomas Mini-Nixon Part Two — Anatomy of a Smear Campaign A key player in the drive by the Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, the Oklahoma Farm Bureau and the factory farm/agribusiness conglomerates to silence the Humane
'The Nonprofit Academy Members’ August Webinar. Don’t Wing It! – Major Gift Mistakes Even Smart Fundraisers Make. August 14, 1pm ET (noon CT / 11am MT / 10am PT). In this webinar, Kathie Kramer Ryan will share the critical mistakes often made by even the most seasoned development professionals when working with major donors – and how you can avoid these costly errors!
Employee recognition has often been deemed a "feel-good" initiative, tied closely to rewards. While we understand its importance, we tend to associate recognition with intangible outcomes like engagement and sentiment, rather than direct impacts on retention and high performance. In today’s workplace, the true ROI of recognition lies in its ability to regenerate tangible, business-driven results.
'Here’s why brand should matter to you: your organization’s brand offers your target audiences a shortcut for: (1) understanding who you are and what value they might derive from engaging with you, and then (2) acting accordingly. Strong brands lead to desired interactions. They quickly attract the audiences who align with their values, appreciate what […].
'Sarah Lougheed-Gill is the director of admissions & communications at Walden School , aprogressive independent school for grades pre-kindergarten – sixthin Pasadena, California. Sarah recently went through our communications director mentoring program and shared the changes her schoolmade to their email newsletter as well asthe feedback she got from the parents at her school.
'Tatyana Kapkan is a guest contributor for Nonprofit Hub and an Online Marketing Strategist for FundRazr , Canada’s largest crowdfunding platform with deep social media integration. She is passionate about crowdfunding and coaching customers to help their fundraising campaigns succeed. Tatyana contributes her knowledge and experience by writing content to FundRazr’s blog and guest blogging. _.
'Andy Robinson provides training and consulting for nonprofits in fundraising, board development, marketing, earned income, planning, leadership development, and facilitation. Along with training people to raise money, Andrea Kihlstedt writes, speaks and coaches about campaign campaign fundraising. Do you dream of a board composed of wealthy people with wealthy friends, people who are fearless about asking those friends for big gifts?
Managing HR tasks like payroll, compliance, and employee data can overwhelm small businesses. That’s where a Human Capital Management (HCM) solution comes in. Our eBook, Why Every Small Business Needs an HCM Solution: A Comprehensive Guide , shows how an HCM system automates tedious processes, ensuring your business stays compliant and efficient. You’ll learn how to simplify payroll, eliminate costly errors, and empower your employees with self-service tools.
'Last month the ALS Association won fundraising’s equivalent of the Mega Million Power Ball Lottery — picking up 3 million donors and $100+ million in August alone from the “Ice Bucket Challenge”. Then on Friday they blew it. Up until then our tireless Agitator editors were happily and busily white boarding the steps that fortunate organization might take to ensure the best retention possible from this massive burst of flash philanthropy.
'As a fundraising coach, one of the most common questions I get is about how to get new donors for a nonprofit. The question was well summed up in this question from an Ask Without Fear! email newsletter subscriber: "How do I acquire new donors? I find that people keep saying donor acquisition is given way more attention than retention. I find retention articles are a dime a dozen but it is difficult to find quality articles on acquisition.".
'In the ever-changing world of online fundraising, it is easy to get distracted by the newest thing that promises instant success. We are so concentrated on the next big thing that we may neglect what really works! I recently wrote an article for The Nonprofit Times outlining exactly what makes up a fruitful digital fundraising program. The key piece of a digital strategy is (drum roll please) list growth!
'I read last week that Gmail would moving an unsubscribe button to the top of its email messages making it easier for people to opt out of unwanted messages. . I just noticed it in action today when I checked my personal Gmail account and saw this: Now, I may be a huge college football/SEC fan, but I root for the Auburn Tigers. Not the Florida Gators.
Speaker: Duke Heninger, Partner and Fractional CFO at Ampleo & Creator of CFO System
Are you ready to elevate your accounting processes for 2025? 🚀 Join us for an exclusive webinar led by Duke Heninger, a seasoned fractional CFO and CPA passionate about transforming back-office operations for finance teams. This session will cover critical best practices and process improvements tailored specifically for accounting professionals.
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