A reading list to help your organization look inward and examine how to better foster a culture where employees are empowered to thrive, collaborate, and innovate for maximum social impact. The internal operations of social sector organizations can make or break their impact. “Toxic” workplace cultures make headlines for failing to support employees’ personal and […]
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Three Roles of the Nonprofit CFO that Lead to Mission Success
Over the years, my experience in a variety of financial leadership roles has led me to the following hypothesis: nonprofit finance is critical to mission success. Whether determining how financial resources are spent or raised, clarifying organizational priorities, or building leadership—in many ways, finance determines mission success and impact. Completing the Circle With mission success […]
5 Ways to Make People Love Your Cause
What if I asked you to sell me a pen, how would you respond? Will you tell me about the pen? Would you tell me that each tip was hand polished to perfection for a smoother writing experience? Would you tell me about the millions around the world who use it as their go-to writing […]
3 Easy Ways to Cut Nonprofit Costs
Your nonprofit likely has an idealistic mission statement—one that doesn’t mention anything about overhead costs. And while finding ways to lower your nonprofit 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 […]
11 Fundraising Emails Best Practices to Drive High Response Rates
Fundraising emails provide a significant stream of income for many nonprofit and cause-based groups. However, this fundraising technique requires your recipients to take action not once, but twice. First, you need to get your recipients to open the email and then you need to get them to respond to your message. Do it right, and […]
4 Editorial Best Practices your Nonprofit Should Adopt
Nonprofits that use editorial best practices are much more likely to produce effective communications, we know that from years of research, including the 2018 Nonprofit Communications Trends Report by Nonprofit Marketing Guide. Effective communications mean more program participants, more donors, more volunteers, more awareness, and more overall engagement and understanding of your work. If you […]
2018 Fundraising Trends: 5 Shifts That Will Impact Your Fundraising
As fundraisers, we have our work cut out for us. While outsiders may think all we do is mix and mingle with our major donors, in reality, fundraising is about building relationships, analyzing data, creating strategies, understanding what’s going on in the world, and adapting to the philanthropic needs of our donor base. When […]
Four Ways to Increase Online Giving Conversions
Building awareness and getting people familiar with your organization and cause is important—but to stay afloat, increase online giving conversions on your website to increase your bottom line and allow you to create a larger impact. Online giving is responsible for about 7% of total fundraising revenue per year and grows at a rate of about 8% per […]
5 Mistakes to Avoid When Writing a Fundraising Appeal Letter
The fundraising appeal letter is a difficult one to pen. At its foundation, you’re asking people to part with their hard-earned money, so you’re going to need to present them with a solid case that they’ll understand and connect with. Of course, there are a lot of charities and organizations writing fundraising appeal letters, but […]
Top 10 Ways to Say ‘Thank You!’ to Donors
As you develop your annual strategic donor acknowledgment plan, adopt a gratitude culture that seeks every opportunity to say thank you. This establishes trust and invites folks to continue on the journey with you. The following are the best ways to do it! 1. Mail The gold standard, and what people expect, is a prompt and […]
How to Make Giving Easy for Your Donors
For years, consumers have been buying products online through the experience provided by big brands. This includes things like quick ordering, payment and delivery options. In economic theory, this is called a frictionless market, or a marketplace that doesn’t have transaction costs. These days it’s all about convenience. And though frictionless markets have existed for […]
Part 4: Phase Two – The Public Fundraising Campaign
Now it is time to go public with your fundraising campaign During the public phase of the campaign, it’s important to stay focussed and constantly update the public on your progress. A successful public campaign will: Use coordinated multi-channel campaign with the key messages developed for your campaign materials. Create a sense of urgency by […]