Soapbox Engage Blog

Issue 70

Today’s the day! Giving Tuesday is here and all of your hard work, tedious plans, and strategies are about to pay off. Though today may be the single most important calendar day for fundraisers, we know that it is only the beginning of the mad dash to the end of the year. Remember to slow down, connect with loved ones, and enjoy some delicious food when you can!

If you have a spare moment in your busy day, I hope you’ll check out some of these awesome blog articles and resources— the learning never stops! Wishing you all much fundraising success!

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

Nonprofit merchandise can help boost donations, build your brand, and educate people about valuable causes. Everyone from the American Cancer Society to the Heal the Bay organization uses e-commerce stores to advance their causes—and you can, too!

Keep reading to get some expert advice about adding an online store to your fundraising and brand awareness strategies for the greatest success.

With just a few weeks remaining in 2021, your fundraising team is determined to make the most of it and finish out the year strong. But your tasks aren’t over once the ball drops and brings in the new year. It just means you’re on to a new fundraising season in which you’ll aim to excel.

As such, now is the perfect time to take a good look at your organization’s fundraising practices and see what you can do to raise more through the end of 2021, throughout 2022, and long into the future.

Issue 69

It may be a short work week for some of us, but it certainly isn’t any less busy! In fact, as a fundraiser, this week may bring one of the heaviest workloads you experience all year. With Giving Tuesday just ONE week from today, make sure you double check all your fundraising to do lists. Then, most importantly, check in with yourself and your rest. You’re a rockstar, and I’m rooting for you!

I’m excited to share more great content this week. Read on for advice on retaining donors after virtual events, important reminders for expressing donor gratitude during the holidays, and a webinar about making better fundraising asks. Cheers!

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

It takes a lot of time, money, and energy to recruit new donors to your nonprofit. Of course, bringing in new supporters throughout the year is vital to the long-term financial stability of your organization. Many nonprofits began incorporating virtual fundraising events during the COVID-19 pandemic to continue fundraising and connect with new donors during the "age of social distancing."

Your nonprofit probably emphasized connecting to as many donors as possible during those virtual fundraisers. But something that many nonprofits overlooked in their virtual fundraising strategy is donor retention.

Advocacy campaigns are about garnering public support for a specific policy, cause, or position on an issue. Advocacy can take many forms, from lobbying directly (usually in political advocacy campaigns) to raising awareness or money.

Moving your followers and supporters from the stage of understanding the issue all the way to taking action can be quite a long, tedious journey. Even simple advocacy campaigns can take months to plan and execute. That's why nonprofit leaders need to identify the best ways to use advocacy campaigns and even leverage current events to fuel their advocacy and fundraising efforts.

Asking for donations is the "bread and butter" of the development professional's job. You are fundraisers, after all. But that doesn't mean you're immune to intimidation, self-doubt, and even a bit of uncertainty or confusion. It IS intimidating to ask people to give their hard-earned money to your nonprofit.

Whether you're a professional fundraiser or a member of your local PTO, we've gathered some tips, tricks, and basic best practices to help you either review the basics or get started fundraising toward your goals.

Originally known as "autoblogs," podcasting dates all the way back to the 1980s, but they really began to gain traction in 2004 with the introduction of portable digital audio devices like the iPod. About 57% of the US population listens to audio podcasts regularly today.

Why are podcasts so popular and compelling? Humans love stories, and we tend to remember information easier when it's communicated as part of a narrative. Podcasts tend to include more storytelling and narrative communication, allowing people to engage with content uniquely and effectively.

Issue 67

The clock is ticking and Giving Tuesday is now just three weeks away. There’s still time to make the most of this de facto start to the nonprofit end-of-year giving season. Here are 6 tips to help you design an effective Giving Tuesday landing page. Whether you choose a simple landing page or a full website, there are some practical things you can do to drive more visitors to your page and increase donations.

In other fundraising news, we have a lot for you in this week’s newsletter. Scroll down for some grassroots marketing basics, nonprofit storytelling tips, and a complete year-end fundraising calendar. Happy reading!

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

Grassroots marketing campaigns can be an effective way for nonprofits to raise awareness about their cause, expand their support base, and even raise money. They're also a valuable way to mobilize your current supporters to share their passion for your mission with others.

With all kinds of different marketing and networking strategies out there, it can be tough to keep up with best practices and strategies to use each of them effectively. Have no fear! We created this intro guide to help you get the basics of grassroots marketing for your nonprofit.

If you're a nonprofit organization currently using or interested in using the Microsoft technology stack, the Microsoft Tech for Social Impact (TSI) team has given you new reasons to consider the Microsoft ecosystem.

With the November 2, 2021, general availability announcement of Microsoft Cloud for Nonprofit, organizations now have a solution provided by Microsoft that covers a wide range of services needed by most organizations, including constituent management, fundraising, volunteer management, program impact management, and more. Rather than one piece of software you'll download or purchase, think of this as more of a broad solution that can be pieced together under one supported umbrella of offerings by Microsoft.

The solution was released with paid services provided by Microsoft directly to help organizations get started with the solution and supported for the long-term, while also providing Microsoft nonprofit tech consulting firms more tools to custom build solutions.

Issue 66

Happy Tuesday, fundraisers!

Can you believe it’s already November? With Giving Tuesday just four weeks away, there is no denying we are now deep into the busiest time of the year for nonprofits— and particularly for fundraisers and development professionals. Hang in there, find some ways to celebrate the season, and let’s make these last two months count!

Curating this week’s newsletter was a lot of fun. Scroll down for some awesome content about major gifts, donation pages, digital donor retention, and more!

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

Salesforce is arguably one of the most advanced CRM systems for businesses and nonprofits alike. It's consistently one of the top CRM systems for nonprofits and fundraising.

The software can help nonprofits track all of their donor's information and engagement in one convenient, organized location. It features lead management, donor data, marketing automation, and so much more!

As a development professional, you may already use a CRM system. Still, even if you're new to Salesforce, there are some great apps that can help you grow your audience, increase your fundraising revenue, and make your systems more efficient.

We know time is limited for busy fundraisers, and there are loads of great Salesforce apps. That's why we compiled a list of our top picks for nonprofits!

Most nonprofits use fundraising events to raise large portions of their annual budget. Everything from charity golf tournaments and galas to 5Ks and bake sales fund organizations large and small.

Events are excellent ways to bring supporters and like-minded people together around a common cause. The right fundraising event can generate a lot of revenue for your nonprofit. Still, big events can require more time to plan and advertise, and they usually have a higher overhead cost. It's critical to choose fundraising events that match your nonprofit's budget and execution capacities.

We gathered a list of some of the top fundraising event ideas and some practical insights about their ease of execution and potential return on investment. Our goal is to help guide your decisions about which events might best fit your nonprofit.

Issue 65

Good afternoon and happy Tuesday! In exactly 5 weeks, Giving Tuesday will be here— so the countdown begins! (I’m sure the countdown actually began a while ago for many of you). What tips or resources have you found to be the most helpful in your year-end fundraising strategy this year? I’ll be sure to share them, as there is still time to spread the knowledge. Feel free to respond directly to this email!

Speaking of year-end fundraising, are you wondering how to leverage matching gifts this year? Trying to come up with creative and meaningful ways to thank your donors? Curious about how to leverage stories to increase your appeal? All of that is covered in this week’s newsletter! Dig in!

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

As you know, the year-end fundraising season is critical for many nonprofits to bring in a large portion of their annual budget and fund projects and programs throughout the following year. Many fundraising experts agree that one of the most effective strategies for year-end fundraising is the matching gift.

We aren't talking about matching gifts that generous companies often provide their employees for their financial donations. We're talking about the kinds of matching gifts that come from foundations or major donors to match the contributions made to a particular fundraising campaign. These types of major gifts are often called "challenge grants," and they're designed to kickstart or fuel a fundraising campaign.

We rounded up some practical tips and insights to help you use "challenge grants" to fuel your year-end fundraising campaigns.

We get it. Development professionals are expected to somehow accomplish spectacular fundraising feats, plan unique events on a shoestring budget, create heartfelt, compelling content, and find time to stay up to date on the industry trends and best practices. It's a Herculean task, even for the best, most experienced fundraisers.

We might not be able to take anything off your to-do list, but we can help you work more efficiently and effectively and perhaps streamline some of the tasks.

Issue 64

Happy Fundraising Tuesday! Recently, my team created a new Slack channel for sharing the music that we listen to throughout the work day. It’s really been keeping me going lately! What kinds of music or artists do you like to listen to while you work? Or if you’re like me and sometimes find music distracting, you may want to check out myNoise. This site (another recommendation from one of my awesome coworkers) has seemingly endless ambient noise tracks.

But enough of my tangent! We’ve got some great stuff for you in this week’s newsletter, particularly when it comes to donor relations. Read on to learn about donor renewals, secrets to keeping your donors, and those things your donors wish you would do more of. Enjoy!

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

At Soapbox Engage we have a great ecosystem of consultants that share our non-profit values and have expertise in Soapbox Engage solutions. OpenTent is one of those amazing consultants whose work we have long admired!

We recently caught up with Kayleigh Collins at OpenTent to learn more about what they offer, what kinds of organizations they work with, and what makes them unique. Get to know them better below!

Online directory software really can make or break your online directory, and not all directory apps are created equal. Many online directory apps and software need some finagling and retrofitting to work with other platforms or meet the needs of modern nonprofits.

Finding the right directory app can save you time, money, and a lot of frustration, but it can be tough to know what to look for. We've got you covered with all the essential information you need to choose the right software for your organization!