INDUSTRY INSIGHTS YOUR PEERS ARE READING
I get it. You’re committed to making a difference in the world. You love you what you do and you’re good at it. But you struggle with finding the right balance between your work and having a fulfilling personal life. MORE
It’s no secret that turnover is a known evil for many social good organizations. What may be less obvious are the reasons why. MORE
At the end of February, I attended the first of (what I hope will be) many Museums Advocacy Days (MAD) on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. There was something magical about the combination of something I love – museums – with something that scares me: US politics. MORE
Prospect researchers are up to their ears in data—and usually with requests. Responding to individual needs probably occupies most of your day but reacting to requests is not the best way to spend your time. MORE
Everyone is talking about alumni engagement. For many institutions, the topic raises more questions than answers. How do you engage with former students beyond asking them for money? What kinds of data should be tracked from these interactions? What does success look like? MORE
When Giving Tuesday started six years ago, it was about sparking a movement—giving people and organizations a day specifically dedicated to giving back. MORE
As a nonprofit leader myself, I know how frequently social sector organizations are strapped for capacity. MORE
Donor acquisition is all the rage, but did you know nearly 3 out of 4 new donors leave and never come back. I’d stay that’s pretty stinky, wouldn’t you? Blackbaud’s latest Charitable Giving Report sheds light on the importance of donor retention in the nonprofit industry. MORE
Cheryl Contee, CEO of Do Big Things and author of the upcoming book “Mechanical Bull: How You Can Achieve Success,” joins the podcast to talk about digital innovation and how it can be used to increase stakeholder and supporter engagement. MORE
Online fundraising isn’t a fad. As a matter of fact, online fundraising accounted for seven-percent of total fundraising in 2016. Online fundraising has also proven to be an extremely effective donors acquisition vehicle. MORE
Save the Children Action Network (SCAN) is the political voice for kids. We’re fiercely bipartisan because we believe that kids’ issues shouldn’t be a Republican or Democratic issue. MORE
#GivingTuesday is the largest global day of giving and it’s fast approaching. According to GivingTuesday.org, over $300 million was raised online in 2017, totaling 2.5 million gifts. This philanthropic effort continues to grow, especially across all social media efforts. MORE
“Like a Girl” is a phrase we often hear to demean and deride, either consciously or not. Whether they are playing a sport or reacting to an awkward social situation, boys and girls alike are teased that they are running, throwing or crying “like a girl.” MORE
How’s the morale in your office? Are your staff members excited to work together? Or are you plagued with high turnover? How your staff feel about their work affects your bottom line, as donors and volunteers are turned off by a revolving door of staff members. MORE
How does unconscious bias interfere with the hiring process? It may be different than you think. Listen to this episode t0 learn more about how unconscious bias affects the workplace and how it can be overcome to create diverse and inclusive workplaces. MORE
How can fundraising professionals, especially those working for smaller organizations, improve their own fundraising skills? And what can organizations do better to attract and retain fundraising talent? MORE
It’s easy to think of data as something that’s entirely neutral, but like most things, data is open to interpretation. MORE
Women’s and girls’ empowerment is a sweeping topic, defined and shaped by family beliefs and cultural norms in the community and country where one lives. MORE
Prior to working at Blackbaud, I spent 10 years working in annual giving. I’m embarrassed to admit that it hadn’t occurred to me in those years that all my work in annual giving was really direct marketing. MORE
This article is the first installment of a four-part series examining digital challenges and opportunities for nonprofits in 2018. Let’s start with the big question: is Facebook worth it? MORE
We’ve all heard the saying “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” Have you ever tried? It’s a myth. You sure can! New forms of games or play can actually provide more happiness and longevity in a dog’s later years. MORE
Many nonprofit organizations struggle with communications. A lot of times, this problem is caused by too many complications in their strategy. This episode’s guest is Michael Beall, Principal Consultant and Communications Practice Leader at Accordant Philanthropy. MORE
Start Early and Never Stop Engaging . When you hear the name of your alma mater , what feelings bubble up? What keeps you engaged? . In our family, my husband, daughter and I all have three very different perspectives: . MORE
The concept of recurring giving is pretty awesome. It enables people to make a meaningful increase in their impact on an organization that they care about without feeling a big impact in their checkbooks. For donors who care about a cause, nothing could be much better than that! MORE
If you’re like most peer-to-peer fundraising (P2P) staff, you’re drowning in data. You ascertain averages, browse benchmarks , and create charts. You detail donations, edit estimates, and fetch files. You hoard history, gather graphs, and index indicators. We’re very serious about our data in P2P! MORE
In our last npENGAGE post , we shared some advice for establishing a trusting corporate volunteer relationship that results in not only great project outcomes, but also sets the foundation for a successful long term partnership. MORE
In our last Charitable Giving Report, we entered 2018 with a first look at answers to heady questions swirling around the sector. How was philanthropy affected by the tumult surrounding us? MORE
In this post, you’ll learn from my mistakes and create better charts for your audience – to show fundraising results, organization’s impact or benchmarking. Have you seen a chart and asked yourself, “What is this? What am I supposed to learn from this?”. You’re not alone. Are we guilty of creating such charts ourselves? I will let you decide. Here’s a chart from my thesis I created about 15 years ago. Whatttt?????? Here are a few things you should think about while creating charts: Shape. MORE
Have you ever signed up to get email updates from 152 Canadian charities? What about receive, read, and analyze 1,234 emails from those organizations? Or how about make $25 donations to each and every single one of those 152 charities? MORE
As you start planning messaging and emails for Giving Tuesday, spread a little love to your donation forms too. Below I will outline the five tips that can help you stand out from the crowd on a day like Giving Tuesday but are also good enhancements for your everyday forms. MORE
This piece originally appeared in “The Right Mix: How Diverse Income Models Influence Giving” by the Blackbaud Institute. Download the full report to learn how to develop a stable, sustainable, and supported organization. MORE
It is not a secret that nonprofits need volunteers and donors to achieve their goals and carry out their mission. The question is, is your organization focusing on the volunteer base that you already have? Many nonprofits do not know that the line between their volunteers and donors is very thin. MORE
From another record-breaking #GivingTuesday to the power of women’s philanthropy, 2018 has been a year replete with new movements and all-time highs. Take a look below to discover the Blackbaud Institute’s top trends that reverberated across the social good sector this year. MORE
“Hello Susan, it’s good to see you,” said the member of Congress at the sight of the constituent walking into his Capitol Hill office. “So, So, what bill will I end up cosponsoring for you today?”. You might think Susan was a wealthy donor or perhaps a significant employer in the Member’s district. MORE
Whether your social good organization has a political affiliation or not, your donors do and their behavior (and your fundraising) is impacted by the state of national politics. That is the focus of episode 79 of The sgENGAGE Podcast: How Elections Influence Charitable Giving. MORE
Higher education advancement teams from around the country are noticing that alumni participation is shrinking, even as donations and commitments from a small group of big donors has grown. MORE
Things are changing in the world of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Employee volunteerism is on the rise, and a variety of new trends in employee giving programs are taking hold. MORE
You’ve probably heard a lot about persona-based marketing. But do you really know what it is? What are personas, how do you develop them, and what do you do with them? And should your organization even be worrying about incorporating personas into its marketing efforts? hint…probably). MORE
As stewardship professionals know well, strengthening and preserving relationships with the donors is essential to an institution’s success. In fact, over 50% of higher education institutions are focused on creating more impactful donor stewardship practices in 2019. MORE
A Reel Leadership Article My thought going into Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle was “Do we really need another remake of a film?” ” The 1995 Jumanji starred Robin Williams as Alan Parrish (who gets a nod in the new Jumanji). MORE
I recently had the pleasure of attending a Better World Leadership event in NYC at which Alice Korngold presented the findings of the 2018 Nonprofit Board Leadership Study. MORE
This article was originally published on The Sponsorship Collective website. Email is a fabulous tool to help warm up cold calls…except when it isn’t! I hear from clients and colleagues all the time that their e-mails are not producing results. They send out 1,000 emails and hear nothing back. MORE
We recently held the fifth annual Blackbaud Target Analytics donorCentrics Sustainer Summit, hosted by WGBH in Boston on March 23 and 24, 2019, the question on everyone’s mind was simple: following significant gains in donors in FY2017, were we able to retain these surge donors in FY2018? MORE
Connection Cafe
APRIL 19, 2019
Donor acquisition is all the rage, but did you know nearly 3 out of 4 new donors leave and never come back. I’d stay that’s pretty stinky, wouldn’t you? Blackbaud’s latest Charitable Giving Report sheds light on the importance of donor retention in the nonprofit industry.
Connection Cafe
APRIL 11, 2019
As a nonprofit leader myself, I know how frequently social sector organizations are strapped for capacity.
Connection Cafe
MARCH 8, 2019
I get it. You’re committed to making a difference in the world. You love you what you do and you’re good at it. But you struggle with finding the right balance between your work and having a fulfilling personal life.
Connection Cafe
MARCH 28, 2019
It’s no secret that turnover is a known evil for many social good organizations. What may be less obvious are the reasons why.
Connection Cafe
MARCH 4, 2019
How’s the morale in your office? Are your staff members excited to work together? Or are you plagued with high turnover? How your staff feel about their work affects your bottom line, as donors and volunteers are turned off by a revolving door of staff members.
Connection Cafe
APRIL 19, 2019
We recently held the fifth annual Blackbaud Target Analytics donorCentrics Sustainer Summit, hosted by WGBH in Boston on March 23 and 24, 2019, the question on everyone’s mind was simple: following significant gains in donors in FY2017, were we able to retain these surge donors in FY2018?
Connection Cafe
APRIL 18, 2019
It’s easy to think of data as something that’s entirely neutral, but like most things, data is open to interpretation.
Connection Cafe
MARCH 6, 2019
Prior to working at Blackbaud, I spent 10 years working in annual giving. I’m embarrassed to admit that it hadn’t occurred to me in those years that all my work in annual giving was really direct marketing.
Connection Cafe
FEBRUARY 5, 2019
Have you ever signed up to get email updates from 152 Canadian charities? What about receive, read, and analyze 1,234 emails from those organizations? Or how about make $25 donations to each and every single one of those 152 charities?
Connection Cafe
FEBRUARY 21, 2019
Higher education advancement teams from around the country are noticing that alumni participation is shrinking, even as donations and commitments from a small group of big donors has grown.
Connection Cafe
DECEMBER 27, 2018
From another record-breaking #GivingTuesday to the power of women’s philanthropy, 2018 has been a year replete with new movements and all-time highs. Take a look below to discover the Blackbaud Institute’s top trends that reverberated across the social good sector this year.
Connection Cafe
APRIL 12, 2019
This article was originally published on The Sponsorship Collective website. Email is a fabulous tool to help warm up cold calls…except when it isn’t! I hear from clients and colleagues all the time that their e-mails are not producing results. They send out 1,000 emails and hear nothing back.
Connection Cafe
APRIL 11, 2019
You’ve probably heard a lot about persona-based marketing. But do you really know what it is? What are personas, how do you develop them, and what do you do with them? And should your organization even be worrying about incorporating personas into its marketing efforts? hint…probably).
Connection Cafe
APRIL 8, 2019
As stewardship professionals know well, strengthening and preserving relationships with the donors is essential to an institution’s success. In fact, over 50% of higher education institutions are focused on creating more impactful donor stewardship practices in 2019.
Connection Cafe
APRIL 4, 2019
The concept of recurring giving is pretty awesome. It enables people to make a meaningful increase in their impact on an organization that they care about without feeling a big impact in their checkbooks. For donors who care about a cause, nothing could be much better than that!
Connection Cafe
NOVEMBER 19, 2018
#GivingTuesday is the largest global day of giving and it’s fast approaching. According to GivingTuesday.org, over $300 million was raised online in 2017, totaling 2.5 million gifts. This philanthropic effort continues to grow, especially across all social media efforts.
Connection Cafe
APRIL 3, 2019
If you’re like most peer-to-peer fundraising (P2P) staff, you’re drowning in data. You ascertain averages, browse benchmarks , and create charts. You detail donations, edit estimates, and fetch files. You hoard history, gather graphs, and index indicators. We’re very serious about our data in P2P!
Connection Cafe
APRIL 3, 2019
Things are changing in the world of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Employee volunteerism is on the rise, and a variety of new trends in employee giving programs are taking hold.
Connection Cafe
DECEMBER 10, 2018
In our last npENGAGE post , we shared some advice for establishing a trusting corporate volunteer relationship that results in not only great project outcomes, but also sets the foundation for a successful long term partnership.
Connection Cafe
APRIL 2, 2019
Everyone is talking about alumni engagement. For many institutions, the topic raises more questions than answers. How do you engage with former students beyond asking them for money? What kinds of data should be tracked from these interactions? What does success look like?
Connection Cafe
DECEMBER 13, 2018
I recently had the pleasure of attending a Better World Leadership event in NYC at which Alice Korngold presented the findings of the 2018 Nonprofit Board Leadership Study.
Connection Cafe
MARCH 28, 2019
At the end of February, I attended the first of (what I hope will be) many Museums Advocacy Days (MAD) on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. There was something magical about the combination of something I love – museums – with something that scares me: US politics.
Connection Cafe
MARCH 28, 2019
How does unconscious bias interfere with the hiring process? It may be different than you think. Listen to this episode t0 learn more about how unconscious bias affects the workplace and how it can be overcome to create diverse and inclusive workplaces.
Connection Cafe
MARCH 21, 2019
Cheryl Contee, CEO of Do Big Things and author of the upcoming book “Mechanical Bull: How You Can Achieve Success,” joins the podcast to talk about digital innovation and how it can be used to increase stakeholder and supporter engagement.
Connection Cafe
MARCH 20, 2019
Prospect researchers are up to their ears in data—and usually with requests. Responding to individual needs probably occupies most of your day but reacting to requests is not the best way to spend your time.
Connection Cafe
MARCH 20, 2019
This piece originally appeared in “The Right Mix: How Diverse Income Models Influence Giving” by the Blackbaud Institute. Download the full report to learn how to develop a stable, sustainable, and supported organization.
Connection Cafe
MARCH 20, 2019
In our last Charitable Giving Report, we entered 2018 with a first look at answers to heady questions swirling around the sector. How was philanthropy affected by the tumult surrounding us?
Connection Cafe
FEBRUARY 13, 2018
This article is the first installment of a four-part series examining digital challenges and opportunities for nonprofits in 2018. Let’s start with the big question: is Facebook worth it?
Connection Cafe
SEPTEMBER 5, 2017
“Hello Susan, it’s good to see you,” said the member of Congress at the sight of the constituent walking into his Capitol Hill office. “So, So, what bill will I end up cosponsoring for you today?”. You might think Susan was a wealthy donor or perhaps a significant employer in the Member’s district.
Connection Cafe
APRIL 15, 2019
In this post, you’ll learn from my mistakes and create better charts for your audience – to show fundraising results, organization’s impact or benchmarking. Have you seen a chart and asked yourself, “What is this? What am I supposed to learn from this?”. You’re not alone. Are we guilty of creating such charts ourselves? I will let you decide. Here’s a chart from my thesis I created about 15 years ago. Whatttt?????? Here are a few things you should think about while creating charts: Shape.
Connection Cafe
MARCH 14, 2019
“Like a Girl” is a phrase we often hear to demean and deride, either consciously or not. Whether they are playing a sport or reacting to an awkward social situation, boys and girls alike are teased that they are running, throwing or crying “like a girl.”
Connection Cafe
MARCH 14, 2019
How can fundraising professionals, especially those working for smaller organizations, improve their own fundraising skills? And what can organizations do better to attract and retain fundraising talent?
Connection Cafe
DECEMBER 20, 2018
Whether your social good organization has a political affiliation or not, your donors do and their behavior (and your fundraising) is impacted by the state of national politics. That is the focus of episode 79 of The sgENGAGE Podcast: How Elections Influence Charitable Giving.
Connection Cafe
MARCH 11, 2019
Start Early and Never Stop Engaging . When you hear the name of your alma mater , what feelings bubble up? What keeps you engaged? . In our family, my husband, daughter and I all have three very different perspectives: .
Connection Cafe
SEPTEMBER 8, 2017
It is not a secret that nonprofits need volunteers and donors to achieve their goals and carry out their mission. The question is, is your organization focusing on the volunteer base that you already have? Many nonprofits do not know that the line between their volunteers and donors is very thin.
Connection Cafe
SEPTEMBER 20, 2017
As you start planning messaging and emails for Giving Tuesday, spread a little love to your donation forms too. Below I will outline the five tips that can help you stand out from the crowd on a day like Giving Tuesday but are also good enhancements for your everyday forms.
Connection Cafe
JUNE 22, 2017
Save the Children Action Network (SCAN) is the political voice for kids. We’re fiercely bipartisan because we believe that kids’ issues shouldn’t be a Republican or Democratic issue.
Connection Cafe
JANUARY 1, 2018
A Reel Leadership Article My thought going into Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle was “Do we really need another remake of a film?” ” The 1995 Jumanji starred Robin Williams as Alan Parrish (who gets a nod in the new Jumanji).
Connection Cafe
MARCH 7, 2019
Many nonprofit organizations struggle with communications. A lot of times, this problem is caused by too many complications in their strategy. This episode’s guest is Michael Beall, Principal Consultant and Communications Practice Leader at Accordant Philanthropy.
Connection Cafe
MARCH 7, 2017
Women’s and girls’ empowerment is a sweeping topic, defined and shaped by family beliefs and cultural norms in the community and country where one lives.
Connection Cafe
FEBRUARY 23, 2017
Online fundraising isn’t a fad. As a matter of fact, online fundraising accounted for seven-percent of total fundraising in 2016. Online fundraising has also proven to be an extremely effective donors acquisition vehicle.
Connection Cafe
SEPTEMBER 6, 2017
When Giving Tuesday started six years ago, it was about sparking a movement—giving people and organizations a day specifically dedicated to giving back.
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