There is one big hit that many nonprofits are facing right now - the cancellation or postponement of events that they were counting on to raise needed support to continue their missions.  

From Spring Galas, to fundraising walks and runs, notices of postponements and cancellations keep pouring in. Nonprofits are being forced to make what might feel like untenable decisions. 

But the good news is that there is a Plan B - a way to fill the fundraising gap digitally.

There are...

Major donors to nonprofits are a different breed - and it’s not only because of the size of their gifts. 

Studies show that they tend to be the most consistent supporters of nonprofit organizations, giving year after year, even during economic downturns. They might have a greater feeling of ownership in your organization and are more concerned with the bigger picture. Typically, major donors aren’t just there to support this program or that initiative; they are...

#GivingTuesday is eight weeks away.

Last year, individuals, civic coalitions, nonprofit organizations, schools and businesses in all 50 states raised more than $380 million online in the U.S. alone during the 24-hour event, which will be Dec. 3 this year. 

It’s still possible to run a #GivingTuesday 2019 campaign that will benefit your nonprofit - regardless of your size - if you start planning now. 

In this episode, I discuss:

• The powerful story behind #GivingTuesday...

Beyond good manners, why is it important to thank people for their donations? 

In addition to the practical reason of acknowledging the gift and sending a receipt, saying thank you can be the start - or continuation - of a beautiful partnership with your benefactor.

It’s your chance to educate them about the impact their gift will have; to make them more aware of how they, by donating to you, are helping to change the world. And every time you do - because you should thank...

As smart marketers, you know there are a lot of marketing options for your nonprofit to consider - for outreach, for advocacy and to engage supporters. Your job is to find what works best, is most efficient and delivers the best results. 

It will always mean experimentation and evolving your approach. You’ll need to try and try again to find what works. But there are ways to minimize the risk, the time, and the sheer frustration as you discover what has the most impact for...

About this time last year, a client of mine got some wonderful news. It had won a contract to run the region’s animal shelter. Now it could put into practice all of the things it wanted to see in a local animal shelter - a shift from “animal control” to “animal care”; initiatives that would increase adoptions and reduce surrenders; programs that would ensure that no animal lost its life because of a lack of space, funds or because the animal had a disease...

In talking with nonprofits, I often ask them about the connection between emails to their supporters and fundraising. 

Some are hesitant - they view their email subscribers as people they only reach out to in order to keep them up-to-date on news at the nonprofit, or maybe to invite them to an event. The fundraising is done through other means. Others see every email as a potential to secure donations. 

Neither viewpoint is wrong, but I think that when your outreach balances...

When thinking of nonprofit fundraising, our minds typically go towards the classics: major events with all the bells and whistles (venue, food, drinks, live and silent auctions, raffle prizes); annual campaigns with their letters, postcards and endless followup; maybe peer-to-peer drives, either through a walk-a-thon or social media effort.

But what about an effort that could quickly (two weeks) infuse a substantial amount of money ($2,000 to $10,000) into your nonprofit’s...

These stats kind of blew my mind.

• 96% of all Americans own mobile devices
• 81% are adults with smartphones
• The average American checks their phone 85 times per day
• 66% of Baby Boomers currently send text messages
• Text messages have a 98% open rate
• 90% of all text messages are read within 3 minutes of being sent

They more than make the case about the potential and power of mobile marketing for nonprofits these days.

So I asked an expert to help us learn more.

Christy Noel, Vice...

Retention rules.

It’s not just that it’s cheaper to retain a donor than to acquire a new one. That’s true, but there are some other reasons as well. Jay Love, legendary co-founder of Bloomerang noted in a blog that most major gifts come after a donor has been giving to an organization for five years. And even if your repeat donor’s gift is modest, you need to think about the lifetime impact this person could have; those small annual gifts surely do add...