Soapbox Engage Blog

Issue 55

Happy Fundraising Weekly Tuesday! We recently picked up quite a few new subscribers, so I wanted to say, “Welcome to this community!” We are thrilled to continue growing and sharing the wealth of information around fundraising, philanthropy, and nonprofit success.

In the spirit of sharing knowledge, I’d like to highlight this awesome, free guide to online fundraising. (It may look familiar to some of you long-time Fundraising Weekly subscribers.) Check it out to learn all about the three key elements of effective fundraising— storytelling, relationships, and optimization. Enjoy!

You can receive the Fundraising Weekly newsletter each Tuesday by subscribing today!

Great Fundraising Posts

Why (and How) Your Nonprofit Should Start a Recurring Giving Program

Tim Forbes (Soapbox Engage)

Monthly or recurring donations are perhaps one fo the easiest ways to boost your fundraising revenue without recruiting new donors. This giving strategy also appeals to many donors who are more able to give small amouonts more frequently. Online giving platforms and fundraising systems can automate most of the recurring giving process, freeing up a lot of valuable time and energy. Head over to this blog to learn about all the benefits of a recurring giving program and how to start one for your organization.

3 Strategies to Boost Your Giving Tuesday Results

Brian Gawor (Ruffalo Noel Levitz)

It’s hard to believe Giving Tuesday is right around the corner and your donor engagement strategy is critical to fundraising success during this global event. Whether you’re running a full-blown campaign or a smaller Giving Tuesday program, it’s important to show enthusiasm, make it easy for people to give, and make sure you stay visible amidst all the other organizations trying to grab the Giving Tueady attention. This blog offers three great strategies to boost your Giving Tuesday campaign.

The Bread and Butter You Should Serve to Your Bread and Butter Donors

Shawn Reed (Heroic Fundraising)

While every nonprofit is on the never-ending hunt for major donors, the “bread and butter” donors are the small, consistent supporters that collectively keep things going. These “bread and butter” donors need a bit of TLC and care to ensure they continue giving--and even increase their support! This blog unpacks the interconnection between donor stewardship, consistency, and a little extra effort toward cultivating those smaller but very valuable donors.

How to Use Emojis in Fundraising

Jeff Brooks (Future Fundraising Now)

Emojis aren’t just a fad that “kids these days” are using. Many development professionals are finding that when used properly, adding emojis in email subject lines can improve response rates. In the traditional short and sweet style, Jeff outlines some positives and negatives of adding emojis to some of your fundraising content.

Your Ridiculous Donor Goals Are Driven by a Need for Money

Richard Perry and Jeff Schreifels (Veritus Group)

Stretch goals in fundraising can be nice to have, but they can also be stressful and overwhelming. Annual donor goals are usually a very delicate process, rooted and guided by the giving history and capacity of donors. Too often, these goals come from the top down, not the bottom up. In this blog, Jeff and Richard offer some practical steps nonprofits can take to set and work toward reasonable stretch fundraising goals.

Plan Ahead for Your Year-End Appeal

Ann Green (Ann Green)

It’s hard to believe year-end giving is just around the corner. Now is a great time to start planning your year-end fundraising campaign, especially with the added uncertainty that COVID adds. Ann offers a helpful checklist to guide your year-end fundraising campaign planning and preparation so you arrive at the start feeling equipped, ready, and confident that you’ll accomplish your fundraising goals!

Context is Everything

Steven Screen (The Better Fundraising Company)

When we’re creating content for one donor or partner, it’s easy to naturally contextualize the information accordingly. But when creating mass fundraising content, organizations usually raise a lot less money because they fail to contextualize appropriately. This can feel a bit complicated, but there are some small things you can do to meet the donor where they are, and contextualize the content in a way that makes a big impact.

Reframe Fundraising: Responsibility, Privilege, and Opportunity

Claire Axelrad (Clairification)

Fundraising is often viewed as a necessary evil by many nonprofits. This means that staff and volunteers tend to loath and even avoid the work. But that’s not fundraising at all! This blog unpacks the importance of reframing fundraising to see it as an act of love and service to humankind, not a necessary evil.

Why Volunteers are More Important Than Ever Before

F. Duke Haddad (NonProfit PRO)

In normal years, volunteers are a valuable resource for any nonprofit. Now, in the age of COVID, the real question is, can nonprofits bring those volunteers back? Volunteers aren’t just important to the organization, they’re valuable to neighbors, communities, and they provide valuable expertise. This blog outlines some of these critical things that volunteers bring and highlight some ways for nonprofits to re-engage volunteers going forward.