Sat.Dec 12, 2020 - Fri.Dec 18, 2020

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Fundraiser vs. Friendraiser vs. Waste of Time

The Fundraising Authority

Last night, I was watching an old episode of The Office (US version) that brought a common non-profit problem to mind. In this episode , Michael is getting chided (over the phone) by the corporate office for spending too much money holding office parties. After listing a number of events the Scranton branch has hosted over the past year, the voice on the other end of the line say, incredulously, “You held a tsunami-relief fundraiser that lost money…” To which Michael replies,

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10 Nonprofit Sector Trends for 2021

Wild Apricot

Are you as ready for 2021 as I am? COVID-19 brought a slew of challenges for the nonprofit sector this year — but it didn’t get us down! As always, nonprofits showed their resilience and innovation to overcome a very difficult time. I’m.

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The Power of Plans, Peers, and Pivots

VQ Strategies

At the start of 2020, we at VQ Volunteer Strategies were training and coaching four different cohorts of organizations. While each was designed to help organizations engage volunteers to deliver on mission, the focus of each cohort varied significantly, including one focused on building capacity of food pantries, another on engaging volunteers to deliver para-pastoral care, another with the goal of certifying organizations as Service Enterprise, and a fourth dedicated to piloting innovations in

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70 New Year's Resolutions For Leaders

Eric Jacobsen Blog

With 2021 fast approaching, it's time to identify your New Year's Resolutions for next year. To get you started, how about selecting one or more of these 70 New Year's resolutions for leaders? Perhaps write down five to ten and then between now and January 1, think about which couple you want to work on during 2021. Don't micromanage Don't be a bottleneck Focus on outcomes, not minutiae Build trust with your colleagues before a crisis comes Assess your company's strengths and weaknesses at all t

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The Retention Ripple Effect: Nonprofit Staff and Donor Dynamics

Speaker: Andrew Olsen, CFRE - EVP, Fundraising Solutions at DickersonBakker | Kat Landa, CFRE, CSD - SVP, Talent Solutions at DickersonBakker

Across the nonprofit sector, organizations invest heavily in donor retention efforts, yet the struggle of cultivating lasting relationships remains. While attracting new donors is crucial, the lack of repeat donors poses significant financial risks. Through a comprehensive analysis of industry data, experts argue that there is a direct correlation between donor burnout, donor retention, and the talent retention crisis.

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Two Qualities Donors Need To See Before They Invest Big

The Fundraising Authority

As fundraisers, we often focus on planning and tactics: what five things are we going to do to raise $200,000 this year? How are we going to shift our direct mail strategy to find more mid-level donors? What’s our social media fundraising plan ? Tactics are important. Strategy is important. We can’t ignore them: that’s why much of our article archive is dedicated to writing your plan, tweaking your strategy, and implementing tactics that work.

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December Update: Ending the Year on a Great Note

Wild Apricot

We’ve almost made it through the year! As we’re counting down to 2021, let’s look at the resources and updates from December. This month's highlight includes the launch of digital products, where you can offer digital content for.

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Why we’re not making predictions for 2021

Nimble AMS

After the year we’ve all had (and what a year it’s been!), who can really predict what comes next? The truth is, nobody saw a year like 2020 coming. I mean, did you ever think toilet paper demand or mysterious monoliths would be headline-makers? Did you ever imagine that your organization might have to turn on a dime to work from home, cancel planned in-person events, and continue to engage with members and colleagues in an all-virtual environment (all while figuring out how to home school your

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How to Write a Case for Support for Your Non-Profit (Part II)

The Fundraising Authority

In Part I of this article , we talked about the importance of your non-profit case for support (also called a “case statement”). We also looked at which non-profits need written case statements and how they are used. In this part, we’re going to look at the statement itself… including what concepts should go into your case for support as well as the actual process of writing the document.

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7 Association Trends We'll See in 2021

Wild Apricot

Let’s be honest: 2020 was a tough year for associations. How you engage with members was flipped entirely on its head. However, despite cutbacks, canceled events, remote staff, and more, associations still managed to survive — congratulations!

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The Top 3 Benefits of AI for Fundraisers

Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media

Allison Fine and I originally published this blog post on the Candid Blog here. Please join us on January 13, 2021, for a free webinar on AI & generosity to explore these issues further. Register for the webinar. We are often asked, “What’s the next big thing?” The answer right now is easy: artificial intelligence (AI). AI is a uniquely powerful set of technology tools for making sense of enormous amounts of data.

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How to Design a Seamless & Personalized Digital Donor Journey

Speaker: Tim Sarrantonio

The average nonprofit uses five or more different software platforms to create their donor’s journey, making the experience clunky and disjointed. If you want to design a magical online giving experience for donors, making their journey as seamless as possible is key. In this webinar with expert Tim Sarrantonio, you’ll learn the fundamental steps to create an immersive and personalized online giving experience for your donors.

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What’s in My Mailbox | Random Thoughts on EOY Direct Mail

Pamela Grow

Following an initial drop-off in direct mail after our country’s lockdown, my mailbox started filling up again. Here are a few random observations from the past 6 weeks of mailings in an exceptional year…. Bright yellow “URGENT” envelopes seemed to be the order of the day. A tactic that probably worked well initially, but I wonder if it has lost its effectiveness now that it’s so commonplace.

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How Small Businesses Can Leverage Instagram’s Hidden Likes

NonProfit Hub

Instagram has stopped showing likes. Some might already know about this. Let’s take a little sneak peek into the background of the story. Back in November of 2019, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri announced the number of likes on the Instagram application is going to be private. It might have taken some famous Instagrammers by shock. This news isn’t new with Instagram upgrading every month; it’s a given that new features are always popping up.

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How the Diversity Workforce Coalition Grew Their Event Attendance by 526% in 2020

Wild Apricot

This year has been pivotal for many reasons — one of which is that the corporate world is finally realizing the impact and importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. However, many organizations are still learning the ins.

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Dig Deep Within Your Organization For New Ideas

Eric Jacobsen Blog

The next time you are looking for ideas for how to grow revenue, streamline processes and procedures and/or reduce expenses, dig deep within your organization. Don't ask only your direct reports for their suggestions. Instead, ask everyone at all levels. Some of the best ideas will come from your lower and mid-level employees who are interacting with your vendors, customers and co-workers every day in the very areas that, if improved, could make the most dramatic impact.

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Nonprofits Are Leveraging the Cloud, but Does It Have to Be So Complex?

Effectively managing cloud technology is getting more complex. From cybersecurity concerns, vendor lock-in, cost increases, or lack of transparency on costs, it can quickly get out of control. Knowing what you can control and finding a platform that’s built with nonprofits in mind is key.

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Nonprofit Email Marketing: The Ultimate Guide for Online Engagement

DNL OmniMedia

Once upon a time, the ability for a nonprofit to tell its story was handled through analog means. Spoken conversations, written letters, and in-person events were crucial for spreading the word. However, once nonprofit technology entered the equation, it drastically optimized the process. Social media, digital advertisements, websites, and email have improved nonprofit audience outreach and fundraising.

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Today’s Talk with Susanne Blue

NonProfit Hub

This week on Today’s Talk, we sat down with Susanne Blue, Executive Director of Matt Talbot Kitchen and Outreach Center. Matt Talbot serves individuals and families experiencing or at risk of homelessness in the Lincoln area. . This year, they had to find a completely new way to hold their annual fundraiser. Though it took a lot of extra time and effort, they came up with some creative virtual ideas.

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Lessons from MotivateMonday | Thriving During Change

Pamela Grow

How did your nonprofit adapt to the changes the past year has brought about? In this episode of MotivateMonday, speaker, change agent, and learning leader, Keisha A. Rivers joined us to reveal how, in the midst of change, you’ve got a brilliant opportunity to create your “next” normal and move beyond reacting to creating sustainable success.

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How To Reach Your Goals

Eric Jacobsen Blog

Social psychologist, Heidi Grant Halvorson , wrote Succeed to help you understand how goals work, what tends to go wrong, and what you can do to reach your goals or to help others reach theirs. Because many of us struggle each year to fulfill our New Year's Resolutions (goals), Halvorson's book, packed with the findings from her own research, along with the most useful tips from academic journals and handbooks, is a worthwhile read.

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Nonprofit Technology Kick Start: Free World Class Board Meeting Software

Looking for cost reductions for your nonprofit? Why not consider modernizing with a digital board management system that's designed to work with remote meetings, with immediate cost reductions if you still distribute paper packets to members? Get going in less than an hour on a fully hosted cloud solution built on the latest technology that runs on any device - from desktops to tablets and smartphones - without any installation.

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The 20 Most Popular sgENGAGE Articles Published in 2020

Connection Cafe

2020 has been quite the year, to say the very least. However, despite all the uncertainty and change, social good organizations have risen to meet the challenges thrown at them and find new ways to reach constituents and carry on their missions. That’s why it’s unsurprising that this year’s list of the most popular sgENGAGE posts overwhelmingly contains topics focused on helping social good professionals navigate through COVID-19.

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Reflections on 2020

Museum 2.0

Learning from challenges is one of the hardest things for me. I can’t help but wallow in my mistakes and relive my frustrations. So, if you’re not quite ready to learn from 2020, that’s fine. Also, if you have quite got it into your mind to think about The After, that’s okay. But here are some of my reflections from this year in museum work: Camp Life: I came to camping late and through my children.

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8 Platform Features That Can Make Your Virtual Event a Success

AccelEvents

Even before COVID-19 hit, event organizers were making the move toward a digital format as a way to save event costs, increase revenues, and reach a global audience. Virtual events are now playing a major role in the events industry. . There are different types of virtual events, from virtual conferences to a series of digital webinars and virtual trade shows for targeted industries.

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Three Tasks For Leaders This Week

Eric Jacobsen Blog

Be Decisive A manager who can't make a decision or who can't make a timely decision will frustrate his/her employees. Equally bad, a lack of decision will impede the progress of the manager's team. Some managers make endless requests for data as a way to postpone their having to make a decision. Employees end up spinning in circles, slicing and dicing the information far beyond what is truly needed for the manager to make a decision.

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Donor Engagement Guide: 8 Key Steps to Better Retain and Engage Donors

Are your donors your biggest fans, or are you lacking donor loyalty? The truth is, your donors have expectations of what their relationship with your organization should look like. This ebook will help you learn how to live up to those expectations!

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The sgENGAGE Podcast Episode 175: 10 Tips to Supercharge Your Content

Connection Cafe

Content is at the heart of how your constituents engage online. It’s how you inspire supporters to action and nurture their passion for your mission. But getting top-notch quality and performance from content isn’t always easy. Nyleva Corley, principal user experience designer at Blackbaud, talks all about how to get the most from your content on today’s episode.

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How to Write a Case for Support for Your Non-Profit (Part I)

The Fundraising Authority

Your case for support (sometimes called your “case statement,” a term we will use interchangeably in this article) is one of the most important documents you can write for your non-profit. It forms the basis for all of your donor communications and asks, and provides a valuable resource to everyone who is soliciting donations on your behalf. In this two part series, we’re going to take a look at how to write a strong and compelling case for support for your organization.

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How to Measure the Success of Your Virtual Event

AccelEvents

Measuring the success of your event is a key step in evaluating your effectiveness and determining which elements of your event worked well and which came up a little short. . At a physical event, it is easy to scan the venue and look at attendance numbers or monitor body language for attendee enjoyment. You can even count cash on hand for quick insight into ticket revenue.

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The Seven Attributes Of Meaningful Work

Eric Jacobsen Blog

There are so many good things to learn in the book, Helping People Win At Work , by Ken Blanchard and Garry Ridge. Among those is the section about how to define meaningful work. Their definition consists of these seven attributes. Work is meaningful when it : It is conducted in a manner that is "good and proper" in all respects. It positively affects our company and our communities, giving our work an impact that extends beyond ourselves.

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Nonprofit Technology Adoption: Why It Matters and How to Be Successful

Organizations like yours are increasingly realizing that technology adoption is only as good as the technology you choose. Statistics from a 2014 NTEN study show that seriously investing resources in training for your staff corresponds to higher adoption and ultimately technology effectiveness. In this report, we’ll give you a high-level overview of how to get your organization in shape for technology adoption and best practices for facilitating this critical process.

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5 ways an online community is key to delivering a great member experience

Nimble AMS

Delivering value for your members is what your association is all about. You’re the go-to resource for your industry or profession. You’re the place your members go to stay informed, network, and advance their careers. In fact, Community Brands research shows that networking is one of the primary reasons members join an association. It also suggests that staying up to date on industry news, regulations, and trends is one of the most valued benefits across all generations and career stages, makin

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Why Even a Pandemic Can’t Stop Our Employee Giving Campaign

Connection Cafe

Since 2001, Shepherd Center has run an employee giving campaign. This annual campaign has been increasingly successful each year, regularly exceeding financial goals during the 5-week period and cumulatively raising more than $2.1 million. We began our annual planning in February 2020 as we always do, preparing for an August start date. . And then the pandemic hit.

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How to Measure the Success of Your Virtual Event

AccelEvents

Measuring the success of your event is a key step in evaluating your effectiveness and determining which elements of your event worked well and which came up a little short. . At a physical event, it is easy to scan the venue and look at attendance numbers or monitor body language for attendee enjoyment. You can even count cash on hand for quick insight into ticket revenue.

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Today's Business Quote

Eric Jacobsen Blog

"We can't solve problems by doing the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." -- Albert Einstein.

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Achieving Organizational Transformation: Pathways to Success

Association executives—and hopefully their boards—know that they are facing perilous times. Driven by the pace of cultural and technological change, they are experiencing major disruptions in the traditional business models that used to guide organizational growth strategies.orgSource offers a straightforward approach to navigating these changes and readying your organization for growth.