Fundraising Insights
Fundraising research, stories, and strategies to improve your fundraising expertise.
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Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge is one of the most popular CRM (customer relationship management) database choices for nonprofit organizations engaged in fundraising activities. According to the Blackbaud website, “Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT is proven to increase the ...
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The year-end appeal has wrapped up, staff have returned following their holiday time with family, and now the calls and emails ...
January is a time of year when many people set resolutions, but it can also be a terrific time for fundraisers to do some ...
Fundraising professionals know that their efforts to raise support for their nonprofit mission do not end when the donation is ...
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Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge is one of the most popular CRM (customer relationship management) database choices for nonprofit organizations engaged in fundraising activities. According to the Blackbaud website, ...
While every nonprofit organization may feel pressure to reach their fundraising goals, this pressure can be especially high at the end of the year. While more than 30% of charitable giving happens in the month of ...
The year-end appeal has wrapped up, staff have returned following their holiday time with family, and now the calls and emails begin rolling in from donors who want their end-of-year tax letters. It is important to ...
As a fundraiser, you may feel pressure to raise more, connect with more donors, and increase the amount of support coming in the door each month. Raising more money with limited staff and time can seem impossible, ...
If you are part of a large fundraising team, you might be experiencing friction between team members. The database administrator is lamenting how the major gift officers never put notes in the database, and the ...
If you’re a senior-level fundraising professional, you know donor data is critical to your nonprofit organization’s fundraising success. Getting correct data analytics quickly can give fundraisers an advantage and ...
Fundraisers know that to continue acquiring new donors, they must offer various giving opportunities. Traditional methods of gifting through direct mail appeals or events may not be suitable for all donors.
Some ...
January is a time of year when many people set resolutions, but it can also be a terrific time for fundraisers to do some deliberate strategic planning. While December is the top month for donations, many ...
Tackling nonprofit donor database clean-up can seem like a cumbersome task. Getting a jump-start at the beginning of the year can help manage donor data all year.
From more personalized communications to strong ...
You wrote a stellar appeal letter. Now, you’re staring at the computer screen, wondering what to do with the tired pledge card your nonprofit has been using for years.
A pledge card, a response mechanism for ...
Personalizing donor communication is necessary for any successful fundraising effort. Potential and loyal donors don’t want to be addressed as Dear Friend.
Fundraising staff must show donors you know who they ...
In fundraising, understanding pledge vs. donation can be an essential distinction. There are many pros and cons for nonprofit organizations to consider.
Nonprofits may collect pledges during fundraising appeals, ...
Even the most seasoned fundraising professionals at nonprofit organizations sometimes wonder if they have captured the best strategies for asking for donations at year-end. With as much as 30% of all giving ...
A robust and well-thought-out end-of-year giving campaign is crucial for any nonprofit fundraising strategy. The year-end giving season can help you reach your nonprofit fundraising goals. Start planning today for ...
A plan to steward your donors is essential for any development department, but your nonprofit should have a plan specific to first-time donors. Create a new donor welcome kit to ensure prompt gratitude and ...
Do giving societies work? The simple answer is yes. We live in a world where many societies or membership programs are transactional; if you make a gift at a certain level or pay for a subscription, you will ...
Fundraising professionals recognize that year-end fundraising is essential to raising support for their nonprofit missions. Donors are especially generous in December, and as much as 30% of all giving happens in ...
You might be surprised to learn that as much as 30 percent of all giving happens in December. Additionally, as much as 10% of annual giving happens in just the final three days of the year.
The year-end giving ...
Do you know a donor who wakes up on January 1 ready to do their taxes?
Nonprofit organizations must be ready to deliver the donation receipt letter for tax purposes. This donation receipt letter for tax ...
For even the most seasoned development professionals, nonprofit capital campaigns can come with a bit of uncertainty. You may be unsure about your team’s readiness for one, about hiring capital campaign ...
Every nonprofit organization needs a stellar CRM or constituent relationship management software for their fundraising strategy. A good CRM will help with donor management, donor retention, tracking critical data, ...
Donor retention is a top metric when measuring fundraising success. Retaining donors is more cost-effective than acquiring new donors. Retention of donors helps nonprofit organizations build capacity toward ...
We live in a fast-paced, quickly innovating world. Both nonprofit organizations and for-profit businesses wish to future-proof their missions or have a crystal ball to predict the necessary tools. They seek ways to ...
A monthly or recurring giving program can be a fantastic opportunity to retain donors, increase their annual total giving, and deepen the donor’s relationship with your important nonprofit cause. Monthly ...
Nonprofit organizations may consider hiring a fundraising consultant for large projects, such as during a capital campaign, but they may overlook the other ways in which a consultant can help improve fundraising ...
Every nonprofit fundraiser hopes there will be donations coming in the door month after month. A recurring donation or monthly giving program can help maintain this steady stream of support.
A recurring giving ...
Accurate donor data is a critical component of any fundraising effort. Nonprofits need data to find donors who believe in their causes and may support them based on various factors.
Accurate donor data can help ...
A donor stewardship plan or a donor stewardship matrix is an essential tool to help your development department steward donors. This important relationship-building plan can help improve your donor retention ...
Fundraising professionals know that their efforts to raise support for their nonprofit mission do not end when the donation is received. They are skilled in the art of stewardship but might not have given much ...
Artificial intelligence, or AI, is the latest technology shift to hit the news. It has potential uses across industries, including fundraising. From email to automation, fundraisers have seen many technological ...
It’s tempting to celebrate victories in fundraising by just looking at dollars raised, but don’t forget to measure your return on investment. If you’ve been around the block in fundraising, you’ve probably heard ...
Understaffed nonprofit organizations may find themselves seeking ways to maximize fundraising staff time. Development professionals in these small shops must learn to balance many aspects of fundraising and find ...
Fundraising professionals understand that communication is vital to building relationships with their donors. However, many nonprofits have small fundraising departments, and staff are short on time, making it hard ...
Every nonprofit fundraiser has probably wished from time to time that they had a magic wand they could use to raise more money for their critical mission. With a flick of the wrist, each direct mail appeal would ...
Does direct mail for nonprofits still work? The truth is that direct mail fundraising is still a reliable revenue generator for today’s nonprofits.
Direct mail started appearing on the fundraising scene shortly ...
More than 30 percent of all charitable giving happens in December.
Is your end-of-year appeal as effective as it can be, given how many donors are willing to make gifts in the final month of the year?
If not, ...
Whether your nonprofit’s end-of-year campaign begins on November 1 or with Giving Tuesday, year-end giving is crucial for fundraising success. It starts with a compelling nonprofit end-of-year letter. Here's ...
A strong, end-of-year giving campaign is critical to a non-profit’s success, as 30 percent of all giving happens in December. Some statistics show as much as 10% of annual giving happens in just the final three ...
The work of a fundraiser doesn’t end when the year-end campaign wraps up. It is critical for development staff to steward donors by thanking them and communicating what they made possible.
The work of a fundraiser doesn’t end when the year-end campaign wraps up. It is critical for development staff to steward donors by thanking them and communicating what they made possible.
The work of a fundraiser doesn’t end when the year-end campaign wraps up. It is critical for development staff to steward donors by thanking them and communicating what they made possible.
The work of a fundraiser doesn’t end when the year-end campaign wraps up. It is critical for development staff to steward donors by thanking them and communicating what they made possible.
Direct mail fundraising is one of the top tools for nonprofits to raise funds. This blog covers direct mail fundraising best practices, such as setting the right suggested donation amount.
Direct mail fundraising is one of the top tools for nonprofits to raise funds. This blog covers direct mail fundraising best practices, such as setting the right suggested donation amount.
Just like keeping a clean house, managing your nonprofit donor database to have clean data means regular upkeep and a good schedule of maintenance. While it’s tempting to put off data cleanup, because it’s one of ...
Fundraisers know that communicating with donors is critical for fundraising success. However, optimizing for donor segmentation fundraising can become overwhelming as databases grow.
Maybe you have a small ...
By nature, a direct mail appeal letter for nonprofit fundraising is just that—a letter. Just because it’s not a billboard, magazine ad, or website doesn’t mean that the overall look and feel shouldn’t matter as ...
The science of nonprofit fundraising is tricky—such is the territory when asking people for money. While most research suggests that the less you ask for (i.e., a lower financial burden for your donor), the more ...
When mailing out your fundraising appeal letters and pledge cards, the envelope you send it in can matter just as much as the design of your correspondence.
Why? Your envelope is the last step of your direct ...
It’s that time of the year again. You're writing your annual appeal letter, asking your donors to support your operations. Or you’re possibly just starting your nonprofit journey, and this is your first go at ...
The purpose of pledge cards is garnering donations. But when it comes to how many ask amounts to include on your pledge card, there are a variety of things to consider.
What is a Pledge Card?
First, let’s start ...
Seasoned fundraisers know that nonprofit organizations must have a thoughtful process for screening donors and creating donor segments. Nonprofits cannot use the same approach for all potential donors.
A wealth ...
As a fundraiser, you might be all too familiar with lapsed donors—LYBUNTS and SYBUNTS. It can be frustrating to see a historically consistent donor suddenly drop off or have a donor make one significant gift only ...
Donation pledge cards are in integral part of nonprofit fundraising. In fact, before you ever found yourself working in fundraising, you probably had seen pledge cards yourself from various organizations you care ...
Development professionals know that retaining donors is essential to any nonprofit organization. Retaining donors is a cost-effective way to raise support for any mission and is more economical than acquiring new ...
In nonprofit fundraising, writing an appeal letter for fundraising (and donation letters) is a big part of supporting the cause. With such a large ask, you’re probably wondering how to write a good fundraising ...
If you’re like most nonprofits, you have a fundraising pledge card template. You’ve been using it for years, and it includes a series of ask amounts (sometimes called a gift string, gift array, giving ladder, ask ...
Fundraisers constantly seek ways to streamline their efforts and raise more money. Suppose your nonprofit has a clear vision, a committed donor base, and has invested in a stellar CRM (customer relationship ...
Fundraisers understand the importance of having effective strategies and tools to ensure the success of their nonprofit's fundraising efforts. One commonly used tool in capital campaigns is the gift range ...
Improving your fundraising efforts doesn’t have to be complicated or costly.
Sometimes, the key to improving your fundraising results isn’t about adding something new but knowing what mistakes to ...
Have you ever asked yourself, what is a major donor? How nonprofits define major donors will vary from organization to organization. A major donor is an individual, couple, or business that gives an amount that has ...
We live in a digital world. But when it comes to fundraising for nonprofits, direct mail is still the king.
Direct mail fundraising is different than digital communication because it is a tactile medium – your ...
Recurring giving is on the rise. According to the latest M+R Benchmarks 2022 study, monthly giving grew by 24% in 2021 across all nonprofit sectors, while one-time giving declined. If you haven’t made a plan to ...
Interested in pledge cards? We've created the Ultimate Guide to Pledge Cards.
Have you ever wondered what type of donation pledge card is best for your non-profit direct mail appeal?
When was the last time ...
Whether you work for a small charity or a global nonprofit, you have to deal with the challenge of lapsed donors.
According to the Fundraising Effectiveness Project, most nonprofits lose around 40-45% of their ...
As a fundraiser, you know that reactivating lapsed donors takes significant time and effort. But if your lapsed donor letters aren’t doing the trick, it might be time to change your approach. Follow along as we ...
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How to Design a Pledge Card
Learn how to create a pledge card that is simple to fill out, easy to process, and scientifically designed to raise the most money possible.
How to Write a Fundraising Letter
Create a fundraising letter that inspires donors to increase their giving without asking for too much.
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