American Cancer Society

With the help of WealthEngine, JDRF has cleaned up its big-data business processes and enhanced its fundraising. Here, Megan Martin, former director of data analysis at JDRF (now at American Cancer Society), and Sally Boucher, director of research at WealthEngine, share some data insights.

Marty Coelho was one of the driving forces behind Relay for Life. You probably don't  know him in that context. But if your organization does or is considering doing peer-to-peer fundraising, you probably will want to hear what he has to say.

Everyone is wondering — what's going on with American Cancer Society and its direct mail decision.

Recent tweets from members of the FundRaising Success Editorial Advisory Board.

One year ago this month, I wrote an article that detailed what may be one of the boldest moves by a top brand in the nonprofit industry. Today's blog is your reminder of all that went into that decision by the American Cancer Society (ACS). Why am I reminding you? Because in two weeks, I will be providing you an update on where things stand and the progress ACS has made on its goals.

Decision making is tough enough, so let these "thinking steps" help you break it down.

Here is a mobile and social fundraising success checklist excerpted from "Mobile for Good: A How-To Fundraising Guide for Nonprofits" by Heather Mansfield, founder and principal blogger at Nonprofit Tech for Good. By reading the book and implementing the steps necessary to launch a comprehensive mobile and social fundraixsing plan — and checking off the must-do items as you go along — your nonprofit will have in place mobile and social fundraising plan flexible enough to adjust to rapid changes in fundraising and communication technology that will occur over the next decade.

Creating an online community to mobilize your supporters and further your nonprofit's mission might seem like a big task. What to do? Where to start? A simple way is to look at what your peers are doing. Below are five examples of what some innovative nonprofits are doing with their online communities. Think online communities are just a general space on your website? Think again. Each of these are purpose-driven online communities designed to achieve specific results for the organization.

Eight-figure revenue contractions by three major programs led the country’s top 30  peer-to-peer fundraising programs to an overall 2.6 percent decline in 2014, according to the industry’s annual fundraising roundup. Seventeen of the top 30 programs reported increased or unchanged revenue, but that could not overcome contractions of $27.5 million by the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, $20 million by Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s Race for the Cure Series and $15.5 million for the Komen 3-Day walks.

Charity Dynamics released the findings of its Independent Fundraising Event (IFE) Study demonstrating the emergence of IFEs as a core strategy for allowing donors to drive their engagement and support avenues. IFEs, also known as DIY fundraising, are donor-led peer-to-peer initiatives and often include virtual events, tribute campaigns or other grassroots activities.

More than half (57 percent) of organizations with existing IFE programs cite factors related to donor happiness or engagement as the driving forces behind their programs.