Soapbox Engage Blog

Issue 116

Happy Tuesday, Fundraisers! Have you taken some time to enjoy October? Over the weekend I had the chance to volunteer at a local community garden and prep some beds for end-of-the-season garlic planting. I even got to take a few green peppers home and make a soup to share with friends. However you choose to spend your autumn days, I hope you are able to slow down and be with loved ones!

Keeping up with the theme of Giving Tuesday prep, I wanted to share this helpful blog we wrote last year about Donor Retention After Giving Tuesday. Yes, that’s right— when planning your Giving Tuesday campaign, you should include the steps you want to engage your donors once the day has passed. It’s a lot to consider, but we break it down into some simple steps here!

Scroll on down for more great fundraising content relating to email marketing, text to give, and donor acquisition. Enjoy!

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

Issue 115

Happy Tuesday, Fundraisers! I hope this quarter has been off to a good start. I’m looking forward to watching you crush your year-end fundraising goals!

Here’s a pro-tip for the week. As you prepare for Giving Tuesday, consider creating a dedicated Giving Tuesday donation page. This allows you to adjust the wording/design to best appeal to online donors. It also simplifies tracking the results of your Giving Tuesday campaign, since the majority of your donations will flow through that page. Learn more about affordable fundraising tools for building donation pages.

Scroll on down for more great fundraising content relating to nonprofit boards, donor segmenting, and year-end campaigns. Cheering for you!

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

One of the most important first steps to starting a nonprofit is the creation of a board of directors. A nonprofit board of directors is the governing body of an organization. It is made up of a group of people that meet regularly to discuss and make decisions for the organization that they serve. In a nonprofit’s case, these people are typically unpaid volunteers.

Nonprofit boards and nonprofit board member engagement are an important part of the overall success of an organization. In addition, most states require you to have a board established before you apply for incorporation, and register with the IRS. Therefore, it is one of the first things you must do when building your nonprofit.

Issue 114

Happy Tuesday, Fundraisers! Don’t get me wrong, I love the fall season, but could we really already be in *checks calendar* October of 2022? Meaning Giving Tuesday is happening next month?? Whew! Luckily, we share some Giving Tuesday tips in this newsletter, with some templates to help you craft your social media game.

Speaking of social media, it seems like nearly all nonprofit fundraising is digital these days, but don’t forget that a physical letter can make all the difference when you’re making a fundraising appeal this holiday season. Here’s how direct mail appeal letters can develop your donor relationship in ways that social media falls short.

Scroll on down for more excellent fundraising content relating to holiday fundraising, Giving Tuesday, nonprofit websites, and more!

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

Issue 113

Happy Tuesday, fundraisers! Well, we’ve officially passed the autumn equinox, so the days will be getting shorter for those of us in the northern hemisphere. Call in the apple cider, hot chocolate, and just about any warm beverage you can name! It’s time to get cozy as we settle into year-end fundraising season.

As you hone in on your fundraising strategies for the remainder of the year, it might be worth considering a corporate matching gifts program. These programs are some of the most popular forms of corporate philanthropy (or nonprofit partnership) developed by companies of all shapes and sizes across the globe. To learn more, you can download this guide to corporate matching gifts for free.

Scroll on down for more great fundraising content related to nonprofit e-commerce, development plans, impact reporting, and more!

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

“Marketing” may not always be on the top of your mind, as a nonprofit professional. We focus on fundraising, networking, and reaching our financial goals. But whether you’re aware of it or not, many of the strategies you use in these fundraising steps, especially around year-end giving campaigns, are actually marketing strategies!

We've got some practical steps to help you develop a successful strategy for your 2022 year-end fundraising campaign. With a little advanced preparation, you can conquer your holiday fundraising goals!

Have you added, or are you interested in adding an e-commerce store as an innovative source of funding? You’re not alone! An online store for people to shop can be a steady source of year-round revenue for your organization, which can be ideal for nonprofit oranigzations.

There are many platforms that can support your e-commerce store. For example, the Soapbox Engage Shop app allows you to create a customizable shopping experience to sell subscriptions, merchandise, or memberships while storing important customer/donor data in your CRM. Here are top things to consider when choosing an e-commerce platform.

After you’ve chosen an e-commerce platform, it’s time to focus on making whatever you’re selling as enticing as possible. That means you need to write compelling product descriptions that will boost your nonprofit merchandise sales.

Issue 112

Happy Tuesday, fundraisers! I am writing to you from the west coast because I’m here for Dreamforce, the world’s largest software conference. And I’m ready to take a three-day deep dive into the world of nonprofit tech, Salesforce nonprofit offerings, and top fundraising tools.

Speaking of, I recently stumbled across this blog post about top affordable and free fundraising tools for nonprofits. We wrote it a couple years back to help nonprofits navigate the beginning of Covid-19, but it’s never a bad time to improve your online fundraising tools and processes. I hope you find it useful!

Scroll on down for more great fundraising content. And let me know if you have any San Francisco food recommendations— I’ll be here until Thursday!

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

It's a competitive fundraising world out there! As various sources for funding seem to be decreasing, many nonprofits are getting creative to diversify their fundraising streams. Grants and individual giving trends are shifting which leaves room for innovative funding solutions.

Having a variety of funding sources lays the groundwork for healthy, viable long-term success for many nonprofits. This creativity can include opening an online store for your nonprofit!

If your organization is just starting out, you’re probably trying to find ways to spread the word about your mission. Having a well-designed website is key to raising awareness, engaging with supporters, and getting the most out of your fundraising efforts.

For many potential supporters, your website will be the first point of contact they have with your nonprofit. It’ll likely be a source of information for supporters who find out about your organization as well as if they want to learn more. So, over time, your website will become the center of your nonprofit’s marketing strategy.

In this guide, we’ll explore five tips to get started with designing your organization’s website:

Issue 111

Happy Tuesday, fundraisers! How are you holding up? I noticed there are a few articles in this week’s newsletter that reference the honesty and heart that are often required to plan succcessful campaigns, and it reminded me of just how personal fundraising can be. When you’re really putting yourself into your work, it is even more important to take breaks and care for yourself. I hope you take the time to do that this week!

In other news, last week we released a brand new downloadable guide! This one is all about tools and strategies for optimizing online donations. You can download the Complete Guide to Online Donations for free here. Let me know what you think of it!

Scroll on down for more quality fundraising content, and have an excellent week!

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

When trying to start a new program or venture, raising money is one of the biggest hurdles. You can and should apply for grants, or reach out to people who can make large donations. But a valuable method of fundraising that you should definitely think about is crowdfunding. When crowdfunding, you can get support from a group of individuals who believe in your idea and want to bring it to reality. It is a great way to build community while you’re fundraising.

According to Fundly’s latest report, crowdfunding sites have allowed entrepreneurs around the world to fundraise for their businesses and causes, adding $65 billion in revenue to the global economy in 2020.

Issue 110

Happy Tuesday, and welcome to the first September 2022 edition of the Fundraising Weekly! That’s right, year-end fundraising prep is upon us and you can expect the rest of the year to be a blur from here. But take a deep breath! This community has your back.

First up in this week’s newsletter is a complete guide to preparing for Giving Tuesday! This day is probably the most anticipated day of the year for fundraisers. If you’re looking to get your tech ready, plan out your campaign calendar, or boost your donor engagement, read on!

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

Who doesn’t love saving time and money when planning an event? Waivers can save you money before and after a fundraising event by preparing attendees for what to expect. They’ll also help protect your organization from legal liability and set you up with important information that will empower you to stay connected with donors after the event.

Waivers can include all kinds of coverage for your event, so let's dive into the essential components of a waiver for your next fundraising event!

Summer is winding down, and before we know it, Giving Tuesday will be here!

This annual giving day is a major opportunity for nonprofits to generate support while raising awareness for their missions. In this guide, we'll share some of our favorite Giving Tuesday ideas to help your organization generate more donations and plan a campaign with long-lasting benefits.

Issue 109

Happy Tuesday, Fundraisers! It’s the end of August, which means we are just under 3 months away from Giving Tuesday 2022.

If you are wondering what that means or what you can be doing now to position your nonprofit for maximum success, you can check out this helpful blog post. This post will take you through 10 FAQs when it comes to Giving Tuesday. Things like “When should organizations begin planning a Giving Tuesday campaign?” and “Is online giving critical for Giving Tuesday success?” Plus some helpful insight around peer-to-peer campaigns, recurring gifts, campaign timelines and hashtags. Whew! A lot to consider!

And for the newsletter this week, we are excited to share some great content around fundraising letters, crafting a fundraising voice, and increasing online donations. Dig in!

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

It’s true that online fundraising becomes more popular every year. But no matter what goes on online, one thing that will never go out of style is the fundraising letter. A compelling fundraising letter is one of the most valuable tools in your organization’s toolkit. A fundraising letter is a great way to connect with current and potential donors.

You can incorporate fundraising letters into your fundraising strategy all year long to help you raise support for new programs, get funding for capital campaigns, in-kind donations, sponsorships, and other types of support. These letters are also another opportunity to tell your story and demonstrate your organization's impact.

Check out the tips we have rounded up to help you write excellent fundraising letters!

Issue 108

Happy Tuesday, fundraisers! With fall just around the corner (though not official until September 22!), it’s hard not to think about year-end fundraising prep. It’s true that nearly a third of all giving occurs in the final month of the year, which can feel like a lot of pressure. I thought I would dig up an old but very helpful blog post that’s all about building a successful year-end fundraising campaign. Hopefully staying ahead in your planning will alleviate some of that pressure!

Scroll on down for more great fundraising content. We’ve got some helpful marketing strategies, capital campaign secrets, in-kind donations types, and more!

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

As a nonprofit professional, you probably find motivation in your organization’s mission. This mission not only gives you a reason to work hard each day, but it’s also why your organization exists. Therefore, you likely spend a lot of time planning for fundraising efforts and figuring out new ways to make an impact.

Because you spend so much time earning revenue, you’d think it’d be a top priority for most nonprofits to review and manage their various sources of revenue. However, many professionals get so swept away in programming—not without reason—that financial management activities sometimes take a backseat.

Donation receipts may seem like a task that you don’t want to deal with. They are sometimes thought of as a “necessary evil,” and are required by the IRS. However, their role in tax deductions is not the only purpose they serve. Your donor receipts can serve as another touchpoint to connect with your donors. And that means they’re important for you to pay attention to!