Soapbox Engage Blog

Issue 011

Ah yes, autumn is here. How do I know this? Today I co-hosted a fundraising cloud services webinar (have you heard of Soapbox Engage?) and had a giant screen with a bonfire behind me, and wore a faux fur hat.

I'm not kidding. Maybe that's less about autumn, and more about welcoming the cooler weather here in the northern hemisphere. Whatever it is, I can definitely tell you by the spike in conversations that I'm having that it's definitely warming quickly into the fundraising season.

No matter which home appliance you call your desk today, keep you game face on, fundraiser. Here's a round of knowledge to go with your next batch of thank you letters!

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Great Fundraising Posts

Microsoft Teams for Nonprofits: What You Need To Know

Leslie Fowler (Soapbox Engage)

Collaboration and connection is key in nonprofit fundraising. Microsoft Teams has loads of great features and tools to help you and your team communicate clearly, collaborate, and continue fundraising effectively, whether you’re working from home or back in the office. This blog has some great insights into features that are particularly applicable to nonprofit organizations and ideas on how your team can get the most out of Microsoft Teams.

From Phone To Online Giving: 3 Ways To Enhance the Donor Experience with Personal Outreach

Shad Anselman (RNL Engage)

Over the past few months of the pandemic, personal conversations have become key to effective fundraising. Suddenly, potential donors are more willing and able to talk because they’re spending far more time at home! Shad reveals some helpful insights and clever ideas on how to take advantage of this quarantine phenomenon and take your donor care to the next level.

5 Ways To Diversify Your Nonprofit’s Revenue Streams

Aly Sterling (NonProfitPRO)

We’ve all heard that it’s good to diversify our investment portfolios and that businesses should diversify their revenue sources. It’s easy to fall into the false thinking that nonprofits don’t need to diversify their revenue streams because all fundraising is equal. But, if this challenging season has revealed anything, it’s that depending on the contributions of a few major donors is not wise. Read this blog for some great insight into how your organization can diversify your donation revenue streams.

Leadership Transition During A Pandemic

Scott Warren (Stanford Social Innovation Review)

Regardless of what’s going on (pandemic, economic unrest, etc.), life goes on and leadership transitions will come. Sometimes it’s wise to put things on hold. In other scenarios it’s wise to press forward. Scott Warren shares some personal insights and valuable wisdom about effectively navigating leadership transitions in unsettled times.

The Cold Open

Seth Godin (Seth’s Blog)

When you first started fundraising, you were probably told to develop an “elevator pitch.” Here’s the harsh reality: nobody ever bought anything on an elevator. An elevator question is far more effective than the traditional elevator pitch! This blog has some great ways you can make the most of those networking moments!

5 Ways To Convince Your Organization To Go Digital

Norah Stevens-Kittner (Salesforce)

Going digital and having a way to organize your data can make all the difference in your fundraising, program management, and other areas. Organizing all the data you’re collecting means you won’t need to spend hours cross-checking systems or hunting for that piece of information you need. Read this blog post for some ideas on how you can convince your nonprofit to adopt a digital data organization solution.

Build Strong Donor Relationships through Hyper-Personal Connections and Responsive Fundraising

Gabe Cooper (Pursuant)

Have you noticed how most streaming platforms offer customized recommendations for a personalized experience? The more we experience personalization, the more we expect it. For better or worse, this expectation is seeping into our giving habits and choices. Today’s donor is also today’s consumer and organizations must keep up with consumer market trends wherever applicable. This blog post offers excellent insight into how nonprofits can offer personalized donor experiences.

What’s In My Mailbox: The Anatomy of a Successful Donate Page

Pamela Grow (Pamela Grow Consulting)

Here’s an important question--how easy is the donation process on your website? Head over to this blog to read Pamela Grow’s analysis of a donation process to learn to good, the bad, and the ugly so you can improve your organization’s online donation process (which is especially valuable ahead of year-end giving season)!

Your Nonprofit Website: The Importance of User Experience

Ann Green (Ann Green Consulting)

As fundraising professionals, we think about donor experience all the time. It’s easy to forget that your website is another space where people have either a positive or negative experience. If nonprofits don’t consider the website user’s experience, there’s a risk that visitors won’t return. Ann Green shares some valuable insights on how to assess and improve your website visitor’s experience!

8 Assumptions You Should Make About Donors

Jeff Brooks (Future Fundraising Now)

Though this blog post is very short, it packs a powerful punch that will help you communicate more effectively with your donors. These eight assumptions are so common among development professionals that you’ve likely internalized at least one or two of them as truth! We’d love to hear which assumption stood out to you the most.

Who Are You Talking To?

Mary Cahalane (Hands On Fundraising)

Just like kids, fundraisers have “inside” and “outside” voices. Both are useful and helpful when applied to the right circumstances. In this blog, fundraising expert, Mary Cahalane, enlightens readers about how to adjust their donor communication so you’re not shouting indoors or whispering on the playground (so to speak).