Nonprofit News

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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By the time an organization asks for your references, you are one of the final candidates in the interview process. You’ve made it to the last stretch, but you still need to be strategic. Selecting a good reference is about much more than choosing someone who will sing your praises.

As executive search consultants, we’ve checked many, many professional references, and we know what makes a good one—and what doesn’t. Read on to learn what we look for in a reference call and how we recommend you choose these all-important contacts.

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According to Giving USA 2019: The Annual Report on Philanthropy, charitable giving in the United States reached $427.71 billion in 2018. This represents a slight increase of 0.7 percent in current dollars and a decline of 1.7 percent when adjusted for inflation. Following four years of steady growth in giving, these mixed results for 2018 reflect a complex giving environment, influenced by economic conditions, public policy, and significant tax law changes.

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December 3, 2019 may be months away, but now is the time to start prepping for GivingTuesday. Use the summer to analyze last year’s efforts and plan for a giving day that meets all your goals.

The Campbell & Company Online Fundraising team created a checklist of GivingTuesday to-dos that you should focus on before fall hits. And if you’re prepping for another giving day, most of this content applies beyond GivingTuesday. Work through the checklist to set your team up for success in 2019!

Download the GivingTuesday checklist. 

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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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