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A Charitable Giving Reality Check By Amy Sewell

The Big Picture on Charitable Giving For many organizations, the past year or two haven’t been rosy for charitable giving. But as fundraising professionals, it’s crucial for us to confront these difficulties—downturns and any other challenges—head-on. It starts with understanding the current landscape and being nimble enough to adapt quickly. The Numbers Game Recent reports,…

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Generational Charitable Giving By Ryan Stillwater

The Foundations of Generational Charitable Giving My earliest memory of a charitable donation was when I was 10. I learned my grandparents once owned and operated a bar. However, once my grandmother became a Christian, they donated their bar on the famous Route 66 to a local ministry, transforming it into a soup kitchen. That…

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8 Fundraising Strategies By Christa Huff and Amy Sewall

Fundraising Strategies in an Election Year As we look at the year ahead, one question that is asked repeatedly is, “How will the upcoming election affect my fundraising strategies?” Although we can’t predict the future, we have been through a few election cycles in the past, and what we can say is that with strategic…

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When Is the Best Time to Invest? By Sarah Newman

When is the best time for a nonprofit to invest? In every portfolio construction presentation to nonprofit organizations, we anticipate this question: “What dollar amount is right to invest in our organization’s excess funds?” Some nonprofits want to start a foundation or endowment with a targeted dollar amount. Some organizations also look for an answer…

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Wisdom for AI Fundraising By Mark Mangin & Jim Lungu

AI Fundraising: Benefits, Challenges, and Considerations There are many benefits of AI fundraising. But diving in requires careful planning, ethical considerations, ongoing evaluation—and above all, a focus on maintaining meaningful and authentic donor relationships. THE BENEFITS ENHANCED EFFICIENCY AI can help you simplify the workload by automating various tasks—like donor research, personalized donor communication, data…

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Join the Race to Innovate Online By Amy Sewell

Maximize Your Online Fundraising Potential Existing in the online space for a nonprofit can sometimes feel like you’re attempting to walk across a river using pool floaties as stepping stones. Nothing is stable, and you’re likely to fall. The entrance of new social networks, payment platforms, privacy regulations, and browser changes can be challenging. But…

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The Unexpected Diversity of God’s Resources By Shelley Cochrane

Donor Diversity in Scripture Added to the weighty responsibilities of being a ministry leader is the constant challenge of securing resources for the future. We know that God, who commands everything in heaven and on earth, is our provider. We know He resources His kingdom work according to His purposes. But how does that play…

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The Importance of Thank You By Douglas Shaw

Rule #36: Saying Thank you to donors is necessary and profitable Saying thank you – it sounds so simple, right? There’s a great Wallace Shawn line from the classic movie, The Princess Bride, that always come to mind whenever I hear the annual poll results of donors’ top two giving complaints: (1) not being thanked…

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Your Most Valuable Quality During Year-End By Shelley Cochrane

Keep the Right Focus at Year-End The year-end giving season is a busy time when development staff works fast and furiously to keep donor processes running smoothly. Rightly, you concentrate on shoring up data entry processes, fixing payment processing issues, updating website pages, and making address changes. These processes are critical. What Matters Most But…

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When Your Cookie Crumbles By Amy Sewell

Love and Care of Your Cookies! Amid fundraising seasons—the last thing you probably want to hear about are major changes and cookies crumbling. However, there IS a major technical change that should be on your radar. Unfortunately, we don’t know the day this change will hit, but as of the writing of this article it…

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