Nonprofit News

Baubles. Trinkets. Knick knacks. Tchotchkes. These novelty items go by many names and often find their way into the hands of campaign donors once a major fundraising initiative is complete.

Most development professionals would agree: selecting a meaningful gift for campaign supporters is difficult—and at times, can feel impossible.

How do you walk the line between substantial and showy? How do you select something that donors truly want, especially seasoned philanthropists who seem to have received it all? And what can you gift to your broader base of supporters that doesn’t feel like a throwaway item?

There are no one-size-fits-all answers here, but you can turn what may feel like a perfunctory act into a meaningful stewardship opportunity. Read on for time-tested strategies to guide your selection, plus some examples to get you brainstorming.

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As philanthropy becomes an increasingly important revenue source for nonprofits and more frequent campaigns become a consistent element of the environment, organizations face a big challenge: how do you bring in more fundraising revenue while combating donor fatigue?

A strong pipeline fueled by qualification can help you balance these competing priorities.

Download our how-to guide on major gift qualification.

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How do I build relationships with alumni? Every higher education institution is grappling with this question, from the largest public universities to the smallest liberal arts colleges.

Campbell & Company addressed this challenge in the 2018 study, “Alumni Engagement: Best Practices for Building Long-Term Relationships,” and our team continues to focus on creative solutions to the alumni engagement question. While there are no silver bullets, applying best practices from online fundraising to your alumni engagement efforts can help move the needle.

Download our strategy sheet to engage alumni online.

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This is a guest post by Ash Salleh from Campaign Monitor. 

How often do you check your email, and where? Ask anyone this question and you may realize that most people respond with, “anytime, anywhere.” With wider access to internet connections and the ubiquity of mobile phones across demographics, checking one’s email is most likely a daily habit.

In fact, the average professional spends 2.5 hours per day checking personal emails at work. This means that even in the midst of handling work-related emails, many opt to check upon communications delivered directly to them, regardless of time. People fit it in and around their schedules. That’s encouraging for marketers who depend on email as one of their primary digital channels—you can potentially reach your audience at any given moment.

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In the simplest terms, fundraising is a meeting of needs. However, it’s more than a transaction between donor and fundraiser: it’s building a community of people with similar interests and goals. An essential part of creating a healthy community is getting to know those who are part of it.

As fundraisers, knowing your donors translates into understanding their individual stories, interests, and needs and seeing how you can help fulfill them. These skills—the ability to connect with donors, understand them, and inspire them to act (either by giving or volunteering)—are embedded in everyday fundraising work and are finely interwoven with emotional intelligence.

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Nonprofit communicators face a big question in today’s highly politicized world: how do I discuss hot-button issues and appeal to constituents as nonprofit missions intersect with political realities? How do I do all this while remaining nonpartisan—and do I even want to? Organizations of all stripes are grappling with this challenge, and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. 

In my work as a nonprofit communications consultant, I often help organizations navigate this complex landscape. Read on for 10 tips to help you craft messages that appropriately engage your stakeholders in this landscape.

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The past three years have brought significant change to the environmental sector. From 2016 to 2018, giving to environment/animals organizations increased at a higher rate than total charitable giving in the United States: 13.5 percent versus 7.9 percent in current dollars, respectively.^[1]

Following the 2016 presidential election, many high-profile organizations in this space experienced elevated levels of giving and an influx of new donors—a phenomenon popularly termed the “Trump bump.”

Download 2019 State of the Environmental Sector, a research study. 

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2018 was a year of mixed results for charitable giving, influenced by a strong economy, a volatile fourth quarter for the stock market, significant tax law changes, and a complicated policy environment. How did this complex landscape impact organizations in communities across the country?

We unpacked the Giving USA 2019 report’s nuanced results in four in-person events—in Chicago, Cleveland, DC, and Milwaukee—and two webinars throughout the month of June. In all, over 1,000 nonprofit professionals attended our events and 23 speakers weighed in on the data and discussed prevailing trends.

Read on for five key themes that emerged during our National and Northwest webinars, as well as our in-person events.

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Though the U.S. economy grew at a healthy clip of 3.2 percent in the first quarter of 2019,^[1] many nonprofit leaders are still left wondering: when will the next recession hit?

Philanthropic giving has long been tied to the fortunes of the economy, so we understand their worries. However, fear and panic do not make good strategic partners. The truth is, no one can say with absolute certainty what will happen and when. With that in mind, we urge you to dispense with any alarm you might feel and move into planning mode. 

Download our strategy sheet for pre-recession planning.

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