Soapbox Engage Blog

Issue 260

Happy Tuesday, Fundraisers!

As we approach the end of July, it’s not too early to start making your plan for the year-end fundraising season. Wondering how you can prepare? Our free downloadable End-of-Year Fundraising Checklist will take you through all the giving season best practices, like setting clear giving goals, establishing a fundraising calendar, optimizing your donation pages, building a peer-to-peer campaign, and more!

Keep scrolling for great fundraising content related to major gifts, volunteer relationships, and appeal writing!

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

Great Fundraising Posts

Summer Fundraising Committee Tips for a Successful Fall Event

Tamara Varner (Greater Giving)

Things may feel quieter during July and August. But now is the time to lay the foundation that will set your fall fundraising event on fire. Strategic summer planning will lead to a smoother, more successful fall fundraiser. This blog post features seven actionable committee planning tips will help your nonprofit make the most of the summer months and maximize impact when the big day arrives.

Gamification: Turning Donor Engagement Into a Competition Everyone Wins

Tirrah Switzer and Kate McGinn (NonProfitPro)

When used intentionally, competition can be one of the most powerful tools in your fundraising toolbox. It’s not about creating adversaries — it’s about igniting motivation. Healthy competition can transform fundraising results. This blog post explains why competition works and offers tips on how to gamify donor engagement.

What’s Really Holding Your Major Gift Officers Back?

Gail Perry (Gail Perry Group)

Major gift fundraising should be one of the most energizing and rewarding parts of any development program. When this essential fundraising program is working well, your donors feel inspired, your staff feels confident, and transformational gifts begin to flow. But unfortunately, too many talented Major Gift Officers are running into the same roadblocks over and over. This blog post identifies the top challenges your major gift officers are facing.

4 Strategies for Building Lasting Volunteer Relationships

Timothy Sarazen (Get Fully Funded)

Volunteers are a vital part of many organizations, and can provide much-needed extra hands for your program. However, in order to develop a volunteer base you can rely on, you need to build lasting, meaningful relationships with them. This blog post explores four strategies for retaining your volunteers and cultivating loyal support for your mission.

Why Your Nonprofit Needs the Right Accounting System Before Embracing AI

Elizabeth Marenakos (The ENGAGE Blog)

Your nonprofit’s finance team is juggling restricted funds, grants, and project-specific donations, all while trying to prepare reports, stay compliant, and keep the organization’s mission on track. Now imagine layering automation and AI tools onto your existing system, expecting streamlined workflows and predictive insights—but instead finding more confusion, inaccuracies, and inefficiencies. The problem isn’t the technology. It’s the foundation. This blog post discusses how the right accounting system can help you achieve a strong foundation.

Top 10 Tips to Passionate, Colorful Appeal Writing

Claire Axelrad (Clarification)

A fundraising appeal is a vital part of fundraising campaigns. But not every fundraiser automatically knows how to write a strong appeal. In this blog post, Claire offers ten tips to help you write a passionate, colorful appeal that should boost your fundraising results.

Donor Motivation Is an Emotional Journey: Fundraising with Heart and Awareness

Dr. Bill Crouch (Market Smart)

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to what motivates a donor to give . But one thing is clear: the decision to give is emotional before it’s logical. In this blog post, Dr. Bill explains how you can use emotional intelligence to inspire meaningful generosity in your donors.

The Donor Survey that Can Shape Your Annual Fundraising Plan

Jeff Brooks (Moceanic)

A supporter connection survey can provide a lot of useful information that you can use in your fundraising. In this blog post, Jeff offers a three step plan to help you use a supporter connection survey to help boost your most successful campaign of the year.

5 Proven Ways to Make Your Giving Page Raise Money Fast

Vish Vass (Give Central)

Imagine a potential donor being inspired to support your cause and drawn to your website to give a donation. But then they reach your giving page and are uninspired, and decide to exit. Sounds terrible, right? Well, a lot of nonprofit donation pages are having this exact effect. In this blog post, Vish offers five ways to improve your giving page for better fundraising results.