Nonprofit News

SPOILER ALERT! Were you surprised when Daenerys went Mad Queen in Season 8, Episode 5 of Game of Thrones? Were you thinking to yourself, “whoa, I knew she was tough, but I didn’t know she felt like that?”

In the same way Daenerys threw us all for a loop—sometimes (though hopefully with no fire involved) our donors surprise us, too. In fact, it’s common for us to make assumptions about what our base of supporters wants to hear without stopping to unpack the diverging values and motivations that are active within it.

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Mid-level giving programs are an essential component of development success: they create a pipeline for major giving, prepare prospects for major gifts cultivation, and increase retention. 

Whether you’re thinking about creating a mid-level program or restructuring your current program, Campbell & Company’s partnership with MultiCare Health System provides a useful blueprint—and proves that the results are worthwhile. 

MultiCare is the largest community-based, locally governed health care system in the state of Washington. Over seven months, we worked closely with MultiCare’s development team to build a comprehensive program focused on mid-level donors.

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Donor-advised funds. Fundraisers across the nonprofit sector see enormous opportunity in this increasingly popular giving vehicle, but many don't feel confident in their knowledge of DAFs.

In recent months, we shared introductory information on donor-advised funds, we advised on how to engage DAF holders, and we hosted a webinar to explore the latest trends in donor-advised funds. 

During that webinar, our panelists received many insightful questions from the over 250 fundraising and nonprofit professionals in attendance. Our team compiled the most common questions and shared quick answers to help fundraisers understand DAFs and incorporate them into development strategies. 

Download donor-advised fund FAQs.

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When you use your smartphone to shop online, check your bank account, or donate to a nonprofit, do you change the way you think about yourself? Do you put on your customer hat when shopping and your donor hat when gifting? Neither do your donors.   

As modern consumers accustomed to the ease of mobile transactions and customer-centric service experiences, we have become used to—and now expect—convenience when interacting with organizations. Always.   

Think back to your recent online activities. What do you do when a webpage takes too long to load or isn’t the right format for your device? You exit and find another website that works better. Your donors will do the same if their experience on your nonprofit's website isn’t seamless.    

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The specter of tax reform has been looming over development programs since the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in December 2017, but has it made an impact so far?

There’s been plenty of speculation about how these tax changes—especially nearly doubling the standard deduction—may have affected giving in 2018, and the national nonprofit community is deeply concerned. “In the face of diminishing broad-based giving, it’s even more important to monitor how tax reform is impacting the average donor choosing to make a gift,” noted President and CEO Peter Fissinger of Campbell & Company.

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In a recent conversation with a fundraiser, I found myself struck by a realization that’s been sitting right in front of me for years (it keeps you humble):

Case development is the only existentially significant part of fundraising that isn’t anyone’s job.

Think about it. A lot of factors go into a successful fundraising program or campaign—building donor relationships, engaging leadership and board, managing data and operations, the list goes on—and there are talented people who come to work every day with each of those as their top priority.

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For many nonprofit leaders, working with an executive search consultant is unfamiliar territory. How much should I share? What can I do to present my best self to the consultant? How formal do I need to be? 

Cultivating a relationship with a search consultant can seem confusing. On the one hand, this person represents the organization that’s considering you for a position. On the other hand, they operate outside of the organization and represent an external perspective during the search process.  

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In the rapidly-changing world of online fundraising, you should never underestimate the power of an email. According to the M+R Benchmarks 2018 Study, email accounted for 28% of online revenue in 2017, with nonprofits raising an average of $42 for every 1,000 fundraising messages sent.

Email still matters—but it’s getting more and more important to craft those messages strategically. The same study reported that response rate to fundraising emails declined by 6% in 2017. Following the same formula and crossing your fingers for better results won’t cut it.

So how can you start refining your fundraising emails? Through A/B testing.

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Studies in philanthropy often focus on the strong fundraising presence of baby boomers as well as the increasing importance of appealing to the millennial generation as a part of your development strategy. However, something that gets less attention in the philanthropic landscape and in the media is the role of Generation X, those born in the early-to-mid 1960s to the early 1980s.

As Gen X philanthropists come into their own—and we celebrate the 25^th anniversary of their era-defining film “Reality Bites”—2019 is the perfect time to give this often-overlooked generation the attention it deserves.

We’ve outlined some thoughts on the matter below, but we also want to hear from you! Drop us a note in the comments section and let us know your impression of what’s working (or not working) as you think about reaching Gen X.

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For the past few months, it’s been tougher to get ahold of Goodwill organizations, Salvation Army branches, and other nonprofits with resale shops. While it’s not uncommon for one organization to go radio silent during a busy period, seeing so many organizations in such a specific area all go quiet at once was a surprise.

As it turns out, they’ve all had their hands full because of one person: Marie Kondo.

Marie Kondo’s Netflix show Tidying Up launched in January and inspired a tidal wave of decluttering, leaving resale shops filled with things that don’t spark joy. Given that Tidying Up speaks to so many people, we wondered if its lessons could be applied to another place notorious for clutter—nonprofit organizations’ donor databases.

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