One of the most loved fundraising events is the silent auction, a modification of a traditional auction, where bids are written on a sheet of paper alongside each item. At a fixed time, the auction ends and the highest bidder wins the item. Not only ...


Small but powerful isn’t a statement often associated with nonprofits. Bigger, better known organizations have obvious advantages over their smaller counterparts. Does this mean that small nonprofits can never be powerful agents for change? Not at all. So, what advantages do small non-profits have over ...


Every new president brings policy and economic changes that affect charities and their fundraising.  Possibly never before has the nation been so uncertain about the future than with the new Trump administration, however. Changes can be good for you – if you adapt with them to keep being ...


The nonprofit world is unique. We’re mostly people here because the robot that can do our job has yet to be invented. Mistakes and blunders can and do happen. This is the measure of what makes us human, along with our compassion, drive, integrity, loyalty, ...


The nonprofit starvation cycle is a grim truth, the not-so-hidden, murky underbelly of the social benefit sector. The sad reality is the majority of nonprofit organizations are trapped in a vicious progression of inadequacy and chronic under-funding. This toxic cycle has been the omnipresent, dark ...


Your nonprofit spends a huge chunk of resources trying to get donors to your donation forms, and it’s good to see a lot of donors landing on your giving page. But don’t start celebrating just yet. Just because donors reach your donation form doesn’t mean ...


With the year almost over, your nonprofit is probably looking for ways to optimize your fundraising. Luckily, your supporters are in a giving mood: Up to 50 percent of total annual income for nonprofits comes from the year-end ask alone! Let’s take a look at ...


If you still need volunteers for your holiday and end-of-year events, or you simply need some fresh ideas for your ongoing volunteer search and recruitment, read on for 16 ways to find and recruit volunteers now! 1. Make Volunteers Part of Your Strategic Plan According ...


It’s that time of year again, when your board chair is asking, “how did fundraising go this year?” Whether you met your goals or fell short, it can be difficult to explain all of the work you did to cultivate your donors, throw events, find ...


The holidays are just around the corner, and end-of-year has snuck upon us once again. Read on for one of our sample donation request letters we hope will provide some inspiration and help for your appeal! For more sample fundraising letters, browse here. For more ...


What nonprofit wouldn’t like to save money? Benjamin Franklin wisely counseled, “A penny saved is a penny earned.” Like all great entrepreneurs, Franklin knew the value of a buck. For most nonprofits, a shoestring budget is part of the day-to-day reality. By cutting excessive costs, ...


Nonprofits raise more than half their funding at “year-end”, or the final two or three months of the year. Up to a third of online donations are made in December alone. From emails to formal letters to “tweet” or text campaigns, here are some concrete ...


Are your organization’s social media pages collecting dust and cobwebs? For most groups, there are never enough hours in the day to finish the to-do list, let alone to keep up their social media accounts. Yet social networking is an excellent, cost-effective marketing tool for ...


In just 6 steps, you can create meaningful benchmarks to help your nonprofit in strategic planning, proposal writing, and evaluation of your staff and programs. You can apply benchmarks to nearly anything that is goal oriented, so you can use them liberally to improve your ...


Nonprofits cannot get involved in politics and elections, but they can piggyback off of them! Here’s a simple road-map to identify how your nonprofit can benefit from elections this fall, and some ideas for how to go about it. At minimum, you can boost attendance ...