Creative

Have you ever thrown spaghetti at the wall? Either literally or figuratively? This week, try doing something just a bit outrageous just to remind yourself that you can and to know what it feels like...

A year or so ago, I joined 20 organizations with a monthly gift. And (sneaky me), I gave them a card that was going to expire a month later. I then tracked what organizations did in terms of “thank you” letters and actions to try to get me back...

Nonprofit charitable organizations are intended to operate for the public good. When a nonprofit charitable organization is qualified as tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), donors can generally deduct their contributions to the charity on their tax returns. Donors are thus more likely to support charitable organizations that have an…

Evaluating—or re-evaluating—recruiting strategy, community outreach and ways to improve volunteer programs should include a thorough understanding of current trends and changes impacting the nonprofit sector. In conducting our latest research into the state of volunteerism and volunteer screening in America, we asked for feedback from more than 700 nonprofit professionals...

A new museum uses direct mail to inspire patriotism in the hearts and minds of donors.

The day after Thanksgiving, the holidays hit full-force. And it’s not just the radio stations blasting “Here Comes Santa Claus” every half hour—it’s the shopping frenzies of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Thankfully, (no pun intended) for the past four years, we’ve had a day to shift the focus away from materialism and back to the true spirit of the holidays: Giving Tuesday...

My mother was known for having impeccable manners. At her memorial service, it seemed as if every other person who shared a memory talked about her manners. They did so not in a nitpicking way, but in a loving way. It seemed she always knew just the right thing to do to show her appreciation...

Learn from others. Measure what matters. Start out right. Live out thankfulness. This old dog knows that it takes more than these four things to be a successful and fulfilled fundraiser, but this isn’t a bad place to begin for anyone new to the profession or looking to hit the reset button on his or her career in the nonprofit sector...

When the time draws near for the yearly 10K run or the cleaning drive at the local park, nonprofits always call on their volunteers to take the lead and make sure things run smoothly. If your nonprofit hasn’t gotten around to setting up a workflow for volunteer management or if you’re still on the fence about using volunteers...

From 2015 to 2016, the number of nonprofit organizations with 50 or more volunteers increased from 55 percent to 76 percent. Growing numbers of volunteers could mean major benefits to the nonprofit sector. Volunteers are an important source of labor, expanding fundraising networks and saving many organizations thousands of dollars with their unpaid service...