Skip to content

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…

Read More

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…

Read More

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…

Read More

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…

Read More

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…

Read More

The Importance of a Strong Data Team By Robert Johnson

The Power of a Strong Data Team There is a good chance the job description for any data team member role includes words like “diligent, conscientious, and eye for detail” . . . and for good reason. The information processed by the data team plays a key role in future strategies and the success of…

Read More

How to Create Urgency in Digital Campaigns By Jason Wood

Two Highly Effective Ways to Increase Urgency in Digital Campaigns Creating a sense of urgency in digital fundraising is an effective way to increase results, which can lead to a greater impact for your organization. But how? Here are two highly useful visual tactics you can incorporate into your next online campaign: countdown timers and…

Read More

Three Design Qualities that Get Results By Catalina Chavez

It’s time to focus on what matters in design! Prettier design isn’t always better. Design is more than just making your next direct response fundraising piece (digital or print) look good. It’s about making it something that’s designed to get results! Good design evokes emotion and action. It allows your donors to know exactly what…

Read More

What Outcomes Does Your Case For Support Create? By Shelley Cochrane

Is Your Case For Support Attracting or Repelling? One of the ways nonprofits demonstrate their gift-worthiness is through a written Case for Support document. When I worked on my first Case for Support, I described our vision and mission, goals for the future, the people we were helping, the cost, and a brief history. That…

Read More

Direct Mail Brings Huge Success By Christa Huff

Don’t Believe the Rumors About Direct Mail! There have long been (unsubstantiated) rumors of the demise of direct mail. In fact, this workhorse of our direct response fundraising plan has been a steady, reliable source of funding. And after everything that happened in 2020, this approached turned into the fundraising hero of the year. As…

Read More