Soapbox Engage Blog

Issue 60

Happy Tuesday! Today happens to be one of my favorite days of the year, all because of an Earth, Wind & Fire song that goes, “Do you remember, 21st night of September?” I recommend giving “September” a listen to add a little groove to your day!

This week’s newsletter has loads of excellent content. Check out some creative ideas for your next gala fundraiser, learn how to make your fundraising appeal stand out, or organize a virtual scavenger hunt to raise funds or awareness for your cause.

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Great Fundraising Posts

8 Creative Ideas and Strategies for Your Next Gala Fundraiser

Tim Forbes (Soapbox Engage)

Nonprofits have been hosting fundraising galas for many generations. It's a classic fundraiser that often appeals to high-value donors. Just because it's a more traditional fundraising strategy doesn't mean your next gala needs to be archaic or outdated! Head over to this blog to get some fun, creative ideas on how ot spice up your next gala and make it fresh, fun, and successful!

How to Create a Better Fundraising Appeal That Will Stand Out

Ann Green (Ann Green)

September is the beginning of the busiest time of the year for fundraising. Even if you're not launching your year-end fundraising campaign until later, you should still get started on your appeal now because everything takes longer than you anticipate. Ann outlines a practical list of things you need and some tips on how to create a better appeal that stands out from all the others.

‘That Doesn’t Sound Like Us’ and Insanity

Steven Screen (The Better Fundraising Company)

Most development professionals think it's a negative thing when they read a draft of an upcoming appeal and think it doesn't "sound" like them. But what if sounding different isn't actually a bad thing? In this blog, Steven outlines what most nonprofits point to when they say it "sounds different" and asserts that organizations must sound different if they want to raise a different amount of money than they're currently raising.

How to Create an Effective Email Communications Strategy for Your Next P2P Event

Amanda L. Cole (NonProfit PRO)

Email communication is perhaps one of the most effective tools for nonprofits to engage with donors and peer-to-peer participants. The right communication can make a powerful impact on your peer-to-peer fundraising, but a strategic plan is one key to success. Head over to this blog to hear how one nonprofit used email communication to take their Darkness Into Light campaign from $41,000 in 2015 to $2.5 million in 2018.

Donation Processing Set-up: 4 Tips for New Nonprofits

Guest Author (Get Fully Funded)

If you're a new nonprofit still getting things set up and organized, you might be thinking that setting up your donation process will be easy compared to many other things you've already accomplished. But it's actually more complicated than you might expect, especially if you want to ensure you have a secure, efficient, and usable system that will serve you and your donors for the long term. Head over to this blog for some great insights that will help you make an informed decision about how to set up a donation process that will work for you!

How to Organize a Virtual Scavenger Hunt Everyone Will Love

Debby Roth-Bush (Greater Giving)

In the age of COVID, it's more important than ever to balance safety and fundraising when planning charity events. In-person events aren't always an option right now (and many nonprofits are seeing the benefits of offering both in-person and virtual events in their fundraising calendar). Virtual scavenger hunts have emerged as a popular and effective way to engage supporters in a safe, socially distanced way! Head over to this blog to get all the details about how to organize an effective virtual scavenger hunt that your supporters will love!

Using a Feasibility Study to Close Gifts

Gail Perry (Fired-Up Fundraising)

Most nonprofits want feasibility studies to tell them how much they can raise or whether a campaign is likely to be successful. But these might not be the right questions to ask, especially if you're investing a lot of money in the feasibility study. Gail Perry unpacks what kinds of information a good feasibility study can give your nonprofit and how you can apply that information to improve your overall fundraising.

Why Are You Hiding the Truth?

Richard Perry and Jeff Schreifels (Veritus Group)

When a donor-funded project or program has a failure or poor performance, the temptation is to hide the problem rather than try to explain the truth. Instead of being honest, nonprofits sometimes try to conceal the problem for fear that donors might not give again or even pull their funding. But being honest in a timely manner and not trying to hide anything allows you and your donors to continue moving forward. Head over to this blog to learn more about how (and why) to be honest when things don't go quite to plan.

Gift Planning Campaigns: An Integral Part of Your Fundraising Strategy

Kurt Worrell (Heroic Fundraising)

Studies indicate we are in the midst of perhaps the largest generational wealth transfer in history. As much as $59 trillion will transfer over the next 40 years. This is important information for fundraisers. About 5% of donors make planned gifts but as many as 30% say they would consider making a planned gift if asked. Now's the time to boost your planned giving program and take the opportunity to ask for those gifts!