Soapbox Engage Blog

Issue 53

And this week’s Fundraising Weekly is coming to you live from…Lake Tahoe! That’s right, I have found my way back to the west coast to spend some time with family. I will be here for another week and a half, so if you are familiar with the area and want to send me some great hiking or restaurant recommendations, I am always excited for new experiences! Feel free to give me a reply.

As always, this newsletter has been carefully curated to ensure you have the latest and greatest on all things fundraising. There’s something for everyone, with topics like CRM systems for nonprofits, foundation grants, digital marketing, and the future of virtual events. Enjoy!

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Great Fundraising Posts

How to Choose a CRM System for Your Nonprofit

Tim Forbes (Soapbox Engage)

Whether you’re a small nonprofit with just a few donors or a major organization with thousands of people to stay in touch with, it’s critical to keep updated contact information, monitor interactions, track donations, and grow your relationship with individuals and groups. That’s where having the right CRM system comes in. This blog will help you know what to look for as you choose (or upgrade) a CRM system for your nonprofit.

Offers are Twice as Important as Delivery

Steven Screen (The Better Fundraising Company)

Many development professionals know all too well that how you deliver your fundraising “offer” is just as important as what’s in the offer itself. Your “offer” is what you promise to accomplish with the donations you receive. The better your “offer,” the more money you’re likely to receive. This blog has some helpful tips about how to make a great offer in your fundraising content.

Is Your Nonprofit Ready for Foundation Grants?

Caitlyn Cawthon (Nonprofit Hub)

Securing nonprofit grants can be quite a process for any organization. One of the main reasons many nonprofits fail to win grants because they aren’t prepared to receive them as part of their overall fundraising strategy. This blog unpacks the “Time, Will, and Skill” test to make sure you’re ready to apply for and receive nonprofit grants.

What’s the Future of Virtual Events?

Big Duck (Big Duck)

Either read the transcript in this blog or listen to the podcast in which Chris Tuttle and Farra Trompeter discuss the future of virtual events. Virtual fundraising events became very popular in 2020 and many nonprofits continue to keep them in their fundraising calendar even as COVID-19 begins to loosen its grip on the world. Head over to this blog to hear what these two experts have to say about whether virtual events will become a permanent part of successful fundraising.

Another Exercise for You: The Brain Dump

Kristina Leroux (Nonprofit Marketing Guide)

Do you ever feel like you can’t keep up with everything you need to do, despite making endless lists and notes? There just seems to be too much crammed in your mind to try to keep up with. Kristina suggests using the “brain dump” method. Brain dumps are easy--you just write down everything that comes to mind, but head over to this blog to learn why this strategy can be helpful and some ways to implement it.

5 Tips for Energizing Your Organization’s Board Virtually

Jeb Banner (J Campbell Social Marketing)

If we learned anything in 2020 it’s that it takes a lot of effort to effectively communicate in a virtual or remote environment. Morale can easily falter and tasks can fall through the cracks if you’re not careful. This is true for your board members, too! Many of them have full-time jobs, families, and other responsibilities to keep up with on top of serving on your board. It’s time to rethink how you engage with your board and keep them engaged and passionate in a remote environment and this blog offers some insights about how to do just that!

3 Ways Capital Campaigns Will Boost Your Major Gift Program

Guest Contributor (Veritus Group)

Capital campaigns are an important component of a larger fundraising strategy. Major gifts are often the perfect warm-up for a successful capital campaign. And capital campaign strategies and techniques can be very helpful for everyday major gift fundraising. This blog unpacks three specific ways that a capital campaign can boost your major gift fundraising and how the two are interconnected.

How to Supercharge Nonprofit Major Giving Using the Language of Love

Claire Axelrad (Clairification)

How do you develop the interest and passion of a new donor? What motivates someone to make a major gift? Claire suggest this process is actually quite simple as long as you take the time to understand why people give--the process that most people in the nonprofit world call “donor development.” It takes planning and strategy, but it’s worth the time and energy investment.

Quick Wins – How to Get a Boost Out of Your Digital Marketing

Imtiaz Ahmed (Ruffalo Noel Levitz)

Quick wins are short tactics that development professionals can deploy alongside the long-term strategies to get a quick fundraising or networking boost. Head over to this blog to get some great ideas and examples of some quick wins you might like to experiment with. While this blog isn’t directly written to nonprofit development professionals, it does have some wisdom that can be applied to the nonprofit sector.