Have you ever seen a fundraising campaign that feels like, well, it’s just kind of sitting there? You know it’s an important cause, but there isn’t any "there" there in the messaging. Nothing is compelling you to take action, bringing together a coherent story.

It can all feel a bit, well, empty.

Launching your fundraising campaign without a theme is almost as tragic as having a cute cuddly puppy without a name, or a house with no foundation. Sure, the puppy is still adorable and cuddly, and the house might have some great features. If there's no way to introduce your puppy to your friends, and no firm foundation to keep the house stable, people have this missed connection that they can’t always point to, but they can feel.

We hope you haven't committed this fundraising faux pas yet, but even if you have, all is not lost. We gathered some of the industry best practices and recommendations by fundraising experts to help you come up with an exciting and effective theme for your next fundraising campaign.

Crowdfunding is fast becoming one of the most popular (and useful) fundraising strategies for all kinds of nonprofits. In 2018, 46% of millennials and 45% of GenXers gave to crowdfunding campaigns. It has the potential to bring in a lot of money, help you expand your network, and raise awareness of your cause all at the same time!

First introduced to help entrepreneurs and inventors attract investors and raise money to launch their business, the approach has grown substantially, with some experts predict crowdfunding will become a $90-$96 billion dollar industry in the next few years!

We created this handy guide to help you avoid some of the common crowdfunding mistakes that nonprofits make when deploying a campaign. We’ve also gathered some industry best practices that will help make your campaigns more successful.

Countless nonprofits and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) around the world are doing invaluable work to promote justice, care for people, and enact change. The scale of their impact often depends on the amount of support they can build up from various communities.

Advocacy campaigns are one of the most effective ways to mobilize people into action. They raise awareness, educate people, seek to influence decision-makers, attract donations, help build your brand, and much more. A well-designed advocacy campaign has the potential to trigger wide-scale responses, prompt people to change their actions, and even affect government policies.

Advocacy can be misunderstood and difficult to define at times. To further complicate things, there are some rules and regulations about how nonprofits can engage in advocacy. Before you start planning your first campaign, we created this resource to help guide your organization in incorporating advocacy into your work.

Are you thinking about starting a nonprofit? There’s so much to think about and consider! If you're located in the United States, one of the most important early decisions you’ll have to make is what type of the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) 501(c) categorization will best suit your nonprofit.

There are actually 27 different types of nonprofit organizations that cover everything from cemetery companies to benefit trusts and everything in between! Most charitable organizations fit into one of three 501(c) categories. Each type has its own rules for tax-deductible contributions, lobbying, eligibility, and other things.

It’s critical to choose the right type of 501(c) for your organization because it impacts far more than just your tax exemption status.

We created an overview of the three most popular types of 501(c) categories to help make your decision process a little easier. To be totally clear, we're not legal experts, so we always recommend consulting with your legal counsel before making any decisions. To be more direct: take the advice of legal experts before taking any action or making any decision!

Most development professionals and fundraisers who work for nonprofits apply for grants at some point in their careers. After all, someone in the organization has to do it! Grants are often an excellent source of money to accomplish specific initiatives.

In 2018, contributions from foundations made up about 16% ($66.9 billion) of the national philanthropic giving. While individual donations still make up 68% of the total charitable giving, grants for nonprofits are an excellent secondary funding source for all kinds of organizations.

Finding grants that fit your organization's mission can feel overwhelming. They come in every shape and size you can imagine! Identifying the best grants to apply for can require some serious research, time, energy, and maybe even a little self-reflection.

There are many resources and services to help you identify and apply for the grants that best fit your organization. We rounded up a few resources and tips to help you get started!