Soapbox Engage Blog

Issue 59

One of my favorite things about the fundraising community is your endless creativity and commitment. Would I ever have personally used fishing as an allegory for fundraising? Nope! But does it make so much sense now that I’ve read Claire’s blog post? Absolutely!

I guess it makes sense. To be a good fundraiser, you need to understand how to keep campaigns fresh and engaging. And you probably have a good grasp of how giving is an essential part of human relationships— and relates to just about everything (not just nonprofits and year-end fundraising campaigns). All that to say, thank you for your continued inspiration! I hope you enjoy this week’s newsletter.

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Great Fundraising Posts

6 Easy Strategies to Boost Your Nonprofit Virtual Event Attendance

Tim Forbes (Soapbox Engage)

For all their benefits, virtual fundraising events also bring new opportunities and challenges for development professionals, event planners, adn attendees. One of the biggest questions is how to boost attendance at these virtual events and hold people's attention in a digital venue. This blog offers some practical things you can do to create and promote an effective virtual event that your target audience wants to attend!

A Matching Gift Brings in Big Bucks

Sandy Rees (Get Fully Funded)

Matching gifts can be a great strategy to leverage large donations to bring in even more money! Psychologically, it's more powerful to give $25 when you know the donation turns into $50 with the match gift. Both the donors who gave the matching funds and those who contribute to the campaign feel extra good knowing their dollars are stretched. So, why doesn't every nonprofit leverage a matching gift with every fundraising campaign? Because it can get confusing to know where to find matching funds and how to maximize them. This blog breaks it down for you so you can run a powerful matching gift campaign for your nonprofit.

The Biggest Mistake with Major Gift Asks

Marc A. Pitman (The Fundraising Coach)

You're probably pretty familiar with the stress, doubts, or fear of "getting it wrong" in a major gift ask. The donors you meet with often pick up on that stress and it can even impact their decision about making a donation! Head over to thos blog to get Marc's advice about how to address these stresses and fears so you can be more effective in those major gift asks.

8 Steps to Moving Your Donors to Action

Jeff Brooks (Future Fundraising Now)

Perhaps the most important piece of any fundraising content is your call to action. In his traditional short, sweet, and to-the-point style, Jeff offers eight simple ways to write a call to action that your readers won't overlook or misunderstand.

5 Ways to Make Your Nonprofit Annual Report Stand Out

Joe Garecht (Joe Garecht Fundraising)

Your nonprofit's annual report should give readers an overview of your work and your impact, along with evidence of how you're putting money to good use. Unfortunately, many nonprofits put a lot of time, energy, and resources into creating comprehensive annual reports, only for them to go unread. That's because most annual reports are boring and filled with "insider language." They look intimidating and hard to read. This blog includes five easy ways to get more people to read your next annual report!

What Fishing Can Teach Us About Fundraising

Claire Axelrad (Clairification)

Success in both fishing and fundraising requires more than the right gear, enough time, and enough hard work. If you're fishing in the wrong place, all the hard work and the right gear won't make any difference. Head over to this blog to get some great insights about how to make sure you're "fishing" in the right place for the right donors!

Is The Digital Fundraising Formula Right for You?

Julia Claire Campbell (Marketing for the Modern Nonprofit)

Julia Campbell recently launched her program for nonprofit fundraisers called The Digital Fundraising Formula. As anticipated, people have some great questions about the program and what they can expect. With the first class set to take place on September 20, Julia answers some hot questions and gives more details about the program. This is a valuable blog to help you understand what to expect from The Digital Fundraising formula and determine if this program is right for you.

Can One Person Handle Planned Giving and Major Gifts?

Richard Perry and Jeff Schreifels (Veritus Group)

In smaller organizations where people wear many hats, it's common (and even necessary) for one person to handle both planned giving and major gifts. However, Richard and Jeff argue that, as the nonprofit grows, a hybrid position will always be detrimental to either major gifts or planned giving--or both. Head over to this blog to learn why this hybrid position should be avoided.

Donor Fatigue is a Myth

Jeff Schreifels (NonProfit PRO)

Have you ever actually empirically encountered donor fatigue? Or is it a barrier you (and countless other development professionals) use to explain away why donors aren't giving? While donor fatigue might make good headlines or be a comforting rationale, there are probably other factors at play keeping your donors from giving. This blog offers three potential factors--one you can't control adn two you can influence.