nonprofit versus for profit fundraising

Just because the for-profit world has customers and clients and the nonprofit world has donors and volunteers doesn’t mean that they both can’t stand to learn from one another. Nonprofits have major gift donors, and for-profits have big spenders. Nonprofits have recurring donors, and for-profits have loyal customers. And the parallels continue. Running an organization

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crm tools

We all know donor management is the key to personalizing donor communications and a vital factor in donor retention. Segmenting and managing donors effectively makes for  better relationships and encourages future engagement. But what is the best way to get this accomplished? Enter CRM – Customer/Constituent Relationship Management tools.     What to use CRM

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register charity to fundraise

Did you know that forty states require you to register your charity – before you even start to fundraise? And only three states let you fundraise freely without any requirements. Nearly all have different forms, penalties, and fees as well. State-by-state registration is so seemingly complicated that thousands of charities pay for-profit legal firms annually

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The legal and tax components of planned gifts often seem so complicated that small nonprofits rule them out as a funding strategy. But ignoring planned giving could equate to ignoring new opportunities for major donors! Plus resources and support services to demystify planned giving make it much simpler for even the smallest of nonprofits to

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donor cultivation strategy

“Cultivation” is development jargon for maintaining the relationships with your donors necessary to convince them to maintain and potentially increase their giving to your organization. Think of your donor pool like the plants in your garden – each variety needs different amounts of water, fertilizer, nutrients, space, sun, and pruning. Your donors are individuals that

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Nonprofits too often look at fundraising only as a means to making money to accomplish their agendas and pay their staff, so much so that they neglect to integrate fundraising into their plan as a whole. Nonprofits that do incorporate fundraising and development into their organizational strategy are the ones that end up being successful,

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Philanthropists give billions to nonprofit hospitals each year – recently Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg made headlines for a record $75 million gift to the San Francisco General Hospital, for example. In a tight race for philanthropy dollars for nonprofits across the nation, is it fair that hospitals, which operate more like businesses, are considered charities? (Source:

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For the 2016 presidential election, more than $6 billion will be donated to political campaigns according to The Wire – and generally the side that raises the most money wins. Where does that money come from and where exactly does it go, however? Political donation law limits the amount of money that one individual or

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Whether you are looking for new prospects, or some fresh fundraising ideas for Earth Day, you need a crash course in proposal writing, or you have no idea how to get started about development planning, these fundraising resources are a must for any conservation, environmental education, or green activist group!     Grants These sites

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Are your fundraising efforts standing on the firm foundation of an outstanding case statement? Of all the documents an organization uses to aid fundraising, the case statement is one of the most important. The case statement (or case for support) is used by a nonprofit as a basis for all communication and solicitations with donors.

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The most successful nonprofits, no matter their size or mission, have strong fundraising boards. It is the job of the nonprofit development professional or executive director to craft board members into champions, and here is a checklist to inspire you to do so! Define the Board Member Role as a Fundraising Job First board members

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must read books for fundraisers - book

Need some new reading material? A gift for that special fundraiser in your family? Take a look at these top picks available in print or for instant download. But how do you pick among the hundreds of good fundraising books that help you develop the resources you need to make your organization successful? Focus your

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Your last bake sale was an outrageous success and the car wash did even better, but does that mean that it’s time to introduce a yearly dinner gala to your fundraising calendar? Unless your organization is flush with time, money and resources with staff to spare, you might be feeling a tad overwhelmed. If you’ve

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planning the who, what when where why and how

Don’t let all this talk about nonprofit plans, strategic plans, fundraising plans, marketing plans or annual plans get you rattled. Whenever your nonprofit year begins – be it January or June – it’s never too late to put nonprofit planning on the agenda. Even if your organization only comprises yourself, your mother, the green grocer

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