Donor Segments

Monthly giving is seeing double-digit increases in year-over-year growth, and for good reason. Nonprofits depend on a continuously scalable base of donors and revenue to fund their important missions and services. Among the many options in an organization’s fundraising portfolio, monthly giving offers a more reliable, steady income stream that is resilient to economic ups and downs...

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...

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...

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...

Just as many nonprofit organizations have one-size-fits-all fundraising appeals, they also tend to treat all their donors the same. “What’s wrong with that?” you say. “Are they supposed to give the big guys special treatment?” Well, yes—and no...

For the first time on record, the nonprofit that received the most in donations in the country is not what you typically think of as a nonprofit—and that has some in the nonprofit sector worried that the new model is upending traditional philanthropy. Giving accounts allow donors to get an immediate tax benefit when they…

When people engage with brands on social media, it’s usually because they are looking to build a relationship or some kind of connection. Don’t miss this opportunity. An engaged social-media audience is priceless for your organization because these connections provide the potential for increased organic growth and recurring donations...

Some of the most successful (and perhaps even leading) nonprofits that are converting members to monthly donors (often called sustainers or sustaining partners) are public television and public radio stations, all over the country...

There are a number of studies and reports floating around the online space every single day, and these studies and reports are on a variety of topics—science, health care, marketing, technology, communications, statistics—you name it...

Your organization’s current fundraising programs may be getting results. They’re working—or so it seems. But what if your results could be getting better… and better and better? The highest performing nonprofits continually test their appeals programs to optimize programs...