Soapbox Engage Blog

Issue 62

Happy October to all you fundraising superstars! I know this final quarter of the calendar year tends to be the most packed and stressful, but I hope you’re able to slow down enough to enjoy the changing seasons, personal transitions, or whatever you may be experiencing in your life right now! I do love this time of year, and I am grateful to live in a geographic location that gets so colorful around this time— it certainly helps with the shorter and shorter days!

I’m excited for you to dive into this week’s newsletter. We’ve got loads of great content ready for you. Learn how to improve email deliverability, how to raise more money with less donors, or how to live a more balanced life in this high-stimulation, digital world. I hope you find something that aligns with your needs and interests. Have a wonderful week (and month)!

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Great Fundraising Posts

How to Develop Strong Community Partnerships for Your Nonprofit

Tim Forbes (Soapbox Engage)

Nonprofits often build partnerships with local businesses, schools, media outlets, and other places to enjoy mutual benefits like increased visibility, expanded reach into the community, and more connections. Sharing resources often means both sides of the partnership thrive. But it can be overwhelming to know exactly how to start or who to approach about forming a partnership. Head over to this blog to get started!

How to Improve Email Deliverability

Yulia Zubova (Nonprofit Hub)

While email fundraising campaigns can produce great returns on your investment, your emails have to get through to your audience for them to be prompted to donate. No matter how relevant the content is in your newsletters or appeal emails, deliverability is critical. How can you improve your email deliverability? Head over to this blog to get some practical tips and insights.

How to Involve Volunteers in Your Virtual Fundraising

Cassandra Smallman (NonProfit PRO)

More than ever, nonprofits are turning their attention to virtual fundraising strategies. But as your fundraising activity moves online, it's essential to remember your volunteers! Just as you steward donors, you should build healthy relationships with your volunteers who work tirelessly to help your cause. There are countless ways to involve them in your virtual fundraising efforts.

Donor Appreciation: 3 Virtual Strategies to Consider

Ann Green (Ann Green)

Thanking donors is a big--and important job for every nonprofit. Learning to do it effectively can be time-consuming, but it's a valuable investment. With the right strategies, you'll be able to craft an excellent virtual donor thank you plan that helps you cultivate lasting relationships and improves your overall fundraising. Head over to Ann's blog to get some practical tips and insights about how to thank donors well in a virtual space.

How to Raise Money Like an Organization That Has Twice as Many Donors

Steven Screen (The Better Fundraising Company)

Even if you can't change how many donors you have, you can change how much of your donors' attention you have. Steven argues that an organization with 1,000 donors can raise just as much money as a nonprofit with 2,000 donors if it can earn adn keep twice as much attention from each donor. How can you increase attention, engagement, and loyalty? These are a function of your donor communications.

Bullet Lists Can Drain the Life From Your Fundraising—Or Pump Up the Energy—Here's How

Jeff Brooks (Future Fundraising Now)

Bullet points can be a very helpful tool for making content more readable and add visual variety. The right kind of bulleted lists can either help or hurt your fundraising efforts. It's essential to know how to add bulleted lists to your fundraising content for maximum impact. This short blog will help you create interesting and impactful bulleted lists for your next fundraising appeal.

How’s Your Presence on Zoom?

Jenn Shefcik (Fired-Up Fundraising)

The trouble with Zoom is that your enthusiasm, personality, energy, and joy are condensed to a small box on a screen and people draw all sorts of conclusions about you based on how you "show up" and present yourself in that digital space. Unfortunately, many donors prefer Zoom these days, making it critical for development professionals to hone their "Zoom skills." Head over to this blog to learn some practical ways you can improve your Zoom presence and sign up for the complimentary webinar to dive even deeper!

Donor Offers are Not Valued

Richard Perry and Jeff Schreifels (Veritus Group)

There's a real need in the nonprofit world to marry real financial information to the donor "offer." That's where a Donor Impact Portfolio comes in. It's a process that takes the entire budget of a nonprofit (including overhead) and packages it into donor offers that fundraisers can then present in a clear and compelling way. Head over to the Veritus Group blog to learn how it works, why it's important, and how to create your own Donor Impact Portfolio!

How to Live a Balanced Life in a Digital World

Julia Claire Campbell (Marketing for the Modern Nonprofit)

Do you feel the pressure and impending burnout of trying to keep up with a backlog of emails or the latest batch of social media updates? Julia interviews Meico Marquette Whitlock who used to experience the same frustration, fatigue, and burnout until he learned how to be a "mindful techie." head over to this blog to get Meico's insights on how to develop a healthy work-life and tech-life balance.