This site uses cookies to improve your experience. To help us insure we adhere to various privacy regulations, please select your country/region of residence. If you do not select a country, we will assume you are from the United States. Select your Cookie Settings or view our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Cookie Settings
Cookies and similar technologies are used on this website for proper function of the website, for tracking performance analytics and for marketing purposes. We and some of our third-party providers may use cookie data for various purposes. Please review the cookie settings below and choose your preference.
Used for the proper function of the website
Used for monitoring website traffic and interactions
Cookie Settings
Cookies and similar technologies are used on this website for proper function of the website, for tracking performance analytics and for marketing purposes. We and some of our third-party providers may use cookie data for various purposes. Please review the cookie settings below and choose your preference.
Strictly Necessary: Used for the proper function of the website
Performance/Analytics: Used for monitoring website traffic and interactions
Jenna Czaplewski. Welcome to our latest installment in our series on the “Day in the Life” of nonprofit communicators! This series lets you describe your workday in your own words. We’d love to feature YOU in this series! Don’t be shy – tell us what you do in a typical day as a nonprofit communications pro. Jenna Czaplewski is the Director of Communications for the Coalition for Children, Youth & Families.
Many marketing and business leaders spend months developing an integrated online platform, brand architectures, message platforms, social media strategies and plans, logos, and more. They launch their business or new product with huge dreams to seriously rock the online world. However, after a few months goes by, they realize their platform is delivering little if any results.
Today on CauseTalk Radio , Megan and I talk to Bjorn Erland , Vice President of People & Experience at Taco Bell and Jennifer Walker , Director of Strategic Development at Taco Bell Foundation , about the award of $3 million in scholarships through its Live Más Scholarship program. This includes $500k in scholarships for Taco Bell employees! On the show, Megan, Bjorn, Jennifer and I discuss: Bjorn Erland, Taco Bell.
In college basketball, players are allowed to turn pro after playing one season. This is known as one-and-done. If you watch the NCAA tournament (aka March Madness), it’s likely many of the players won’t be around next year. Like it or not, it looks like one-and-done will be the norm in college basketball for a while. Another place where one-and-done seems to be the norm is in nonprofit fundraising.
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.
The first “Donate Now” button was released in 1999 by Groundspring, a nonprofit founded by San Francisco-based Tides Foundation , and throughout the early 2000’s young Gen-Xer nonprofit professionals pioneered the use of “Donate Now” buttons. They experimented with placement and color, SEO, and new email marketing services, such as ConstantContact and MailChimp.
Does this shift in thinking mean that fundraising is more science than art? I don’t think so. It could be that the entire argument is actually broken. Successful fundraising relies on neither art nor science to perform its best. Let’s add another phrase to the conversation: evidence based. The post Art vs. Science in Fundraising? It’s Neither. Try Evidence Based. appeared first on Fundraising Report Card.
Angela Crist. Self-proclaimed “recovering nonprofit CEO, Angela Crist, joins us again to talk about the importance of professional photography. ~Kristina. Guest Post by Angela Crist. Have you ever pulled back on a marketing piece to avoid scrutiny for “spending too much on marketing”? Do you have a beautifully designed and written website filled with cell phone pics?
Angela Crist. Self-proclaimed “recovering nonprofit CEO, Angela Crist, joins us again to talk about the importance of professional photography. ~Kristina. Guest Post by Angela Crist. Have you ever pulled back on a marketing piece to avoid scrutiny for “spending too much on marketing”? Do you have a beautifully designed and written website filled with cell phone pics?
A brand is not a logo, colors, fancy tag line or even a fancy Super Bowl commercial. A brand is not your Facebook page cover video, Twitter background or set of beautifully designed Pinterest boards or images on your Instagram profile. The truth is your brand is all of these things and more. It’s what you tweet, post, pin, +1, Instagram and offer as a call to action.
We're starting to make a little progress here.??With today's webinar on measuring impact and success we can check off the #1 thing you asked to learn more about in 2018. Don't worry, they'll be more on this topic. Thanks to you, my readers, I'm thinking about it all the time now (looking for relevant article for you, booking podcast guests who can talk about it, etc.).
I’ve written several posts recently about the importance of staying in touch with your donors throughout the year. Some of you may be saying, “We do that because we have a newsletter.”. A newsletter can be a great way to engage with your donors, but how often does that actually happen? Unfortunately, not very much because most donor newsletters can be used as a cure for insomnia.
This article was originally published in Nonprofit Hub Magazine. Everyone has a favorite story. Whether it comes in the form of a book, a comic, a movie or a video game, we all have stories that we like and ones that we decidedly dislike. Maybe we fell in love with the characters, or maybe it was the writing, the setting or the theme. Some of our favorite stories are fiction, and some of them are nonfiction.
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.
Last month, we talked about the advocate donor identity: how to tell if you have one , the science behind online activism , and how to get and convert advocates. Let’s assume you’ve gone through those, determined you have an advocate identity, and found it to be valuable (not all advocates are and advocacy is not a necessary condition of a quality donor ).
Rachel Clemens. Do you worry you’re being too intrusive when you ask for information about your supporters? Today, Rachel Clemens shares some tips on getting that information the right way. ~Kristina. Guest Post by Rachel Clemens of Mighty Citizen. One of my first questions for any new nonprofit client is: How good is your data? I’m not asking if they have data, but how good is it?
Are you tired of looking for the magic easy button to help you get your business content to the top of the News Feed? Do you dream about your content showing up on top of the Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn News Feed? What if I told you there is no magic easy button? The truth is marketers have no guarantee their content will be seen on any medium, platform or social network, by anyone, let alone their target audience.
Photo via Cecilia Snyder on Flickr. Today on CauseTalk Radio , Megan and I talk to Perry Yeatman , CEO, Perry Yeatman Global Partners , External Director, Mission Measurement about how companies and nonprofits can measure the success of social impact programs. On the show, Megan, Perry and I discuss: Perry Yeatman, Perry Yeatman Global Partners. How are you currently working with companies as it relates to social impact programs?
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!
Lagom is a Swedish concept meaning everything in moderation or not too much, not too little. Keeping things simple. This is not to be confused with the Danish concept of Hygge, which means getting cozy. Not surprisingly there isn’t an English translation of these terms, even though they are much needed in our overstressed world. The term lagom can be used in almost any context – the home, relationships, work, etc.
When someone submits their email address on the ONE Campaign website , they receive a welcome email with a friendly message and a simple question: ”Do you think we’ll see the end of extreme poverty in our lifetime?” You’re also presented with three run-of-the-mill options. Clicking on any of the three takes you to a different form where you’re asked to take a 2-minute survey so the organization can understand your interests and motivations.
Ack! Run, it's the brand police! Unfortunately, many major and planned gift officers are subject to harassment by the 'brand' police. They impede your progress telling you the colors are off, the font size is too small, or the pictures are wrong. Sometimes they even tell you the pixels online are incorrect. Here’s the issue. Too often they think ‘brand’ is a verb.
I decided to go all in with Google for my productivity apps this year, getting everything into some combination of Inbox by Gmail , Google Calendar, and Google Keep. While I loved playing with Asana and Trello and Remember the Milk over the years, I never fully adopted them the way I have my Google apps. But Google’s products aren’t always as user-friendly or customizable as I would like.
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.
How would you like an open rate of 80% on communication you send to an audience who has opted in to receive information from you? Sounds pretty good, right? Facebook Messenger and Chatbots are the talk of the social web in 2018. Is it all hype? Or is Facebook Messenger something you should be using for your business? If you know me, you know I try to avoid getting too excited about shiny objects.
Back in January I asked what you wanted to learn more about in 2018. The #1 response was: How to measure the impact of a partnership on your nonprofit and for your corporate partner. I was really surprised that this topped the list! Still, I heard you and have a free upcoming webinar for you on this very topic! Join me and Catalist co-founder and CEO Brittany Hill on Wednesday, March 28th at 2pm EDT for a FREE one-hour, deep-dive discussion into data and measurement, with answers to your pressin
I’m not a fan of jargon, but nonprofit organizations seem to love it. If I see one more appeal letter, thank you letter, and newsletter article laced with terms like at-risk youth, underserved communities, leverage, and impactful, I’m going to scream. I think people use jargon because it’s an insider language and it makes them feel like they’re “in the know” in their professional community.
Last week, we talked about advocacy as a way of building your file (and I was called out, correctly, for discounting the potential of paid advocate acquisition). So how much should you spend to get one email address? There’s new data from Steve MacLaughlin and Blackbaud (that you can get from his Data Driven Nonprofits newsletter ) on how having an email address on file is related to increased donor retention, even if that donor doesn’t give online.
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.
Your donors want a partner, not a solicitor. Partners ask for advice before asking for money. Partners looking for advice are looking to collaborate. Partners requesting advice are less threatening. Partners requesting advice motivate supporters to ‘lean’ in. Partners requesting advice inspire exponentially more dollars throughout their long-term, mutually beneficial relationships.
Make your supporters the superhero in your story. We recently started working with a healthcare nonprofit that wanted to take a fresh approach to its communications and marketing content. The nonprofit had seen attendance at its community events slip over the past two years — and its fundraising revenues had declined. After a quick review of its website, marketing materials, and social-media accounts, it was easy to diagnose a major reason why the organization had been struggling.
Your nonprofit likely has an idealistic mission statement—one that doesn’t mention anything about overhead costs. And while finding ways to lower your costs may not inspire the kind of enthusiasm your purpose does, every dollar you save contributes to those you serve. There’s nothing wrong with spending money on overhead —au contraire. But, at the end of the day, the more money you save, the greater your potential impact.
Today on CauseTalk Radio , Megan and I talk to Marty Posch , President, Finish Line Youth Foundation , which is the nonprofit arm of athletic apparel and shoe retailer Finish Line about their work with Special Olympics. This includes a very successful checkout charity program that raised $825,000 over the holidays. On the show, Megan, Marty and I discuss: Mary Posch, Finish Line Youth Foundation.
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.
The Science of Giving: Why Your Brain Craves Meaning. by Laura A. Roser. Your brain is a meaning magnet. It can’t help it; it’s been conditioned. Since the hunter and gatherer days, humans have tried to make sense of the world. From the Egyptians and Greeks with their gods to philosophers with their theories to scientists with their hypotheses to small towns with their gossip, we crave explanations.
We’ve talked about ways to bring people in from the outside like advocacy programs and content marketing efforts. But while both are good ways to get people on your file, they may not always convert to donors. So what if it turns out that, like the Scarecrow’s brains and the True Meaning of Christmas*, the answer to acquisition was inside us, inside our organization (specifically our donor file) the whole time?
Joining Engagement Fundraising is Andrew Olsen, senior vice president of Newport One. If you are a fundraiser trying to find that silver bullet then this episode is for you. Andrew will be diving into why there are no silver bullets or unicorns and instead why it takes a lot of little things to make a big impact. Click here to listen on YouTube! Topic Timestamps.
Sometimes in the nonprofit world, we get consumed with the specific details of online fundraising, advocacy and education for our causes and forget about the bigger trends at play. Let’s take a quick look at three really big trends that will affect everything you do online, including fundraising. Think about all the pieces in the online experiences you are creating, including your website, email, social media and other third-party sites like crowdfunding or peer-to-peer fundraising pages.
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.
We organize all of the trending information in your field so you don't have to. Join 27,000+ users and stay up to date on the latest articles your peers are reading.
You know about us, now we want to get to know you!
Let's personalize your content
Let's get even more personalized
We recognize your account from another site in our network, please click 'Send Email' below to continue with verifying your account and setting a password.
210 
Let's personalize your content