Individual Giving

Extreme Events Equals Extreme Affinity (But Think Before You Leap)
May 3, 2017 at 10:04 am

Some years ago, I was having dinner with a client and her husband, Bill. In the course of the meal, it came up that Bill was going to be doing a DIY event to raise money for breast cancer research, and they asked if I would consider sponsoring Bill for $100 for his event…

Technology Advances the Way People Give
May 2, 2017 at 1:01 am

There is no denying that technology plays an important role in the nonprofit sector. The evolution of technology has helped us strengthen our brand and reach out to our audience in a way that paper could not. It gives us a bigger voice—not to mention, a bigger platform—to project our mission to the world...

Henry 'Hank' Rosso: The Impact of a Legend
April 28, 2017 at 9:56 am

I was thinking of an old friend and colleague, Henry “Hank” Rosso, recently when I was doing research on fundraising. I decided to look at Rosso’s obituary. On Feb. 1, 1999, Hank died at the age of 81 in Petaluma, Calif...

The Future of Donor Acquisition Is Digital
April 25, 2017 at 10:53 am

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...

When Should You Give Up on a Lapsed Monthly Donor?
April 24, 2017 at 9:06 am

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...

5 Trends Facing Nonprofits Now
April 20, 2017 at 3:24 pm

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...

#GivingTuesday Donations on the Rise
April 19, 2017 at 2:53 pm

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...

Grow the Number of Volunteers in Your Nonprofit
April 19, 2017 at 9:31 am

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...