Soapbox Engage Blog

Issue 44

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but happy June, everyone! It’s so strange to already be at the 6 month mark of 2021. To those of you who enjoyed the government holiday here in the US on Monday, I hope you had a wonderful, relaxing long weekend. To those of you worked, I hope your week has been off to a smooth start.

Today’s Fundraising Weekly has some exciting gems. Read on for tips relating to ROI, solicitation emails, and donor incentives. Or learn why a virtual assistant may be the extra set of hands you need to launch a successful fundraising campaign.

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

Issue 5

Hello Soapbox Engage partners!

Happy June! The cicadas are singing loudly here in DC as the city slowly begins to awaken from it’s pandemic hiatus. As things pick up speed in this part of the world, we’re following suit at Soapbox Engage, staying on top of nonprofit needs.

Donor incentives are simultaneously popular and controversial in the nonprofit world. Many reputable nonprofits and charities use them as a fundraising strategy. Yet, experts seem to have mixed opinions about their effectiveness and strategic benefits overall.

Have no fear. Whether you’re considering adding donor incentives to your fundraising strategy for the first time or you’d like to upgrade existing donor incentive strategies, we’ve gathered opinions, insights, and tips from industry experts to help you choose the best approach for your organization.

Spring fundraisers are in full swing, and your organization is probably making strides towards your next goal - but are you feeling like your campaign could use a boost? Employer matching gifts are a great way to engage donors and revamp your current fundraising initiatives.

If you’ve never incorporated matching gift asks into your fundraising campaign, it can be tough to know where to start. That’s why we’ve compiled 3 ways to revamp your fundraising strategies using matching gift appeals. These proven best practice approaches include:

Issue 43

Greetings Fundraising Weekly community! I hope you had an excellent weekend and an even better start to your week. Personally, I had the chance to spend some time in Kansas with family over the weekend. A change of pace and scenery is always nice, especially when it means seeing loved ones!

You’re in for a treat with this week’s newsletter. We’ve got lots covered, from volunteer appreciation, to mission statements, to cyber security. We’re also excited to highlight some think pieces relating to community building, donor love, and the spiritual component of fundraising. Enjoy!

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

Infographics have become very popular and influential over the last few years, especially on social media platforms where people are more interested in scrolling and scanning than reading dense content.

Infographics are the perfect tool to communicate details in a visually appealing, easy-to-digest way. And the good news is things have gotten a lot better since their introduction around 2012, when it seemed like everyone was jumping on the infographic bandwagon with low-quality products.

There are loads of benefits that nonprofits can enjoy with the right infographics! We rounded up some of the top reasons you should add this tool to your fundraising content and a few great examples to get you started!

Volunteers are a cornerstone of the great work that nonprofits do. They’re dedicated and generous with their time, energy, and resources as they help you achieve your goals and transform the world.

More than 40% of public charities rely on volunteers to conquer events and day-to-day activities. They give millions of hours of time and energy each year to make the world a better place. It’s critical to show your appreciation and gratitude for your donors. Now is a great time to evaluate your current volunteer appreciation strategies so you can keep your volunteers engaged and connected to your organization and mission!

Capital campaigns have the potential to launch massive projects, making real progress towards fulfilling your nonprofit’s mission. However, these funding campaigns also have the potential to negatively impact your nonprofit’s bottomline and reputation if poorly executed.

Before beginning a capital campaign, almost all nonprofits conduct a feasibility study to ensure they are in a position where their campaign can succeed. Since a capital campaign is a serious undertaking, the feasibility study, alone, also requires proper research and preparation to be worthwhile.

Issue 42

This week’s Fundraising Weekly has me thinking about relationships, and how, at the end of the day, they are what fundraising is really all about. All nonprofit actions are interconnected and relate back to forging a relationship with a community. Improving your donor relationships can result in more funding. Meanwhile, improving your fundraising strategies will increase transparency, resulting in better donor relations.

As you read through this week’s curated articles, consider how relationships play a key role in each one. They are the foundation of peer-to-peer fundraising; they’re essential to adding influence to a campaign; and they are at the heart of donor care and appreciation.

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

When it comes to peer-to-peer fundraising, success is usually defined by factors such as the number of participants, the average amount raised by each participant, the reach of your marketing strategy, and of course, the ability of the campaign to reach its overall fundraising goal.

What if you pivoted the focus of your peer-to-peer fundraising to building relationships with individual participants, rather than raising as many donations as possible?

Issue 41

Happy Tuesday fundraising superstars! This past weekend I had the chance to trek up to New York City, and it almost felt normal. It made me daydream about the days in-person fundraising can resume at the scale it once was. I'm not sure about you, but I'm eagerly awaiting the days we can gather together in person again!

But until then (and, if we’re being honest, even after), virtual land is the place to be! This week’s newsletter highlights a blog article about how to build and sustain an online community, with tips like leaning into peer-to-peer fundraising, recruiting ambassadors, and upgrading your social media presence. We’ve got a lot of other great stuff for you too— so dig in for tips on fundraising letters, volunteer handbooks, and more!

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

Political campaigns are expensive--whether you’re running for a local office or a national position! It seems like the price tag for a successful political campaign is only increasing. Up and down the ballot, the 2020 election season broke quite a few campaign spending records!

Raising that much money can feel like an overwhelming prospect and discourage very qualified candidates from running for office. Even though the political fundraising scene is highly regulated, the right fundraising strategies can help you reach your financial goals and run a competitive political campaign.

While we can’t advise you on those campaign finance regulations, we can help you lay a strong foundation for your fundraising.

Issue 40

Happy Fundraising Weekly Tuesday, and to all the Star Wars fans, May the Fourth be with you! It’s been an excellent start to the month over here at Soapbox Engage, and I hope all of you can say the same. This week’s newsletter has loads of amazing content to help you upgrade your fundraising game. Read on for advice on donor needs, key website features, and even incorporating TikTok into your giving strategy. Hope there’s a Gen Z on your team!

By the way! If you’re eager for more fundraising goodness, we wanted to take a moment to plug this free resource we created to help nonprofits navigate the online fundraising world. You can get the Definitive Guide to Online Fundraising here. Happy fundraising!

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

Stories are a cornerstone of our everyday lives. Whether we acknowledge it or not, we love the stories of Olympic athletes’ journeys to athletic greatness or lose ourselves in the pages of a great book (fiction or nonfiction). Stories help us understand complex issues and can even deepen our connection with each other.

If we love getting swept up in stories, why do so many nonprofits leave them out of the biggest storytelling project of the year?! Telling the right stories can showcase your impact, empower your donors to celebrate your collective accomplishment, and equip them to share about your organization with others.

Putting storytelling at the core of your annual report can make it an irresistible read and assure your donors they made a strong investment.

Issue 4

Hello Soapbox Engage partners!

The temperature is rising here in DC and I’m ready for all the hiking, kayaking, and camping that summer has to offer. It's a busy time of year, but I hope you have the chance to take a break and get outside, curl up with a good book, or simply pause and take a breath.

You've made the decision to start using Microsoft Dynamics 365 for your organization, but you don't know where to start. We know it can be daunting wading through the Microsoft ecosystem, so we're here to hand you a map and compass to get you started in the right direction.

This guide gives you commonly asked questions for new organizations that are just getting started with Microsoft Dynamics, and are looking for the first steps they'll need to take. We've put this post together in a frequently asked questions format because we keep hearing the same questions being asked and wonder "isn't there a place where all these questions are being answered?"

We couldn't find one, so we figured we'd roll up our sleeves and get to work. We'll keep updating this over time as community questions keep coming in.

Let's dive in!

Issue 39

Greetings from Tampa, Florida, where the weather is warm, the food delicious, and you can glimpse a dolphin or two swimming mere feet away! I’m here working remotely for the week and I gotta say, you Floridians are onto something. It’s been a wonderful change of scenery.

If the pandemic has taught us one thing in the work sphere, it’s that we don’t always have to be in the office to be our most productive (though I do miss all the coworker interactions)! It just so happens that the folks over at Veritus Group wrote an article on this very subject that we have featured in today’s newsletter. How fitting! We’ve got lots of other great content for you this week as well. So dig in to learn more about topics like building a fundraising calendar, analyzing the origins of your donations, and how to center and utilize community in your fundraising efforts. Enjoy!

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

Have you ever been looking over your fundraising calendar and thought, "Man, we need some fresh fundraising events here!" Or have you found yourself on the brink of starting a new fundraising campaign and wanted some unusual fundraising event ideas to get things started?

We get it. Sometimes you get into a fundraising rut, and you just need some ideas to get those creative juices flowing, add a little spark of excitement, or rally people to reach your fundraising goal. That's why we rounded up some great fundraising event ideas that you can add to your fundraising calendar.

They say, "failing to plan is planning to fail." The same is true with fundraising, and experienced development professionals understand that successful fundraising demands strategy, organization, and a plan.

It can feel difficult--even overwhelming--to manage the entire fundraising process day in and day out. Things can get even more complicated when you're working with a fundraising team.

Creating a fundraising calendar can be an excellent recipe for year-round fundraising success! The great news is that you can develop and implement a fundraising calendar any day of the year. We've consulted with some fundraising and nonprofit experts to gather the best tips, tricks, and strategies to help you build a great fundraising calendar.

Giving days have risen in popularity and effectiveness in recent years. As I’m sure you guessed, the most popular giving day is #GivingTuesday. By now, most nonprofits and charities have some kind of Giving Tuesday plan and strategy. Still, there’s always room for a bit of growth and improvement.

Social media can be an excellent way to reach new audiences and raise awareness about your cause on Giving Tuesday. After all, giving days are practically designed for social media campaigns. But there’s a lot of “noise” as everyone is vying for attention around that day.

Have no fear! We’ve rounded up some tips and tricks to help you boost your #GivingTuesday social media campaign so you can enjoy greater engagement and more donations.