Soapbox Engage Blog

We no longer live in times when direct mail advertising and word of mouth is enough to inform people about your organization. We’re in a digital era, meaning there are many other channels of communication that we need to master. According to websiterating.com, people are 4 times more likely to click ads on Google than on other advertising networks.

However, spending a lot of money on ads might not be feasible for your budget. Luckily, Google Ad Grants is a virtually free advertising program that can help your nonprofit acquire website users while furthering your organization’s impact. Unlike most grants, Google Ad Grants also has a very simple application process.

In today's global and digital world, digital marketing isn't an option for nonprofits–it's a necessity for success! People rely on phones, laptops, and other devices for everything from work and shopping to social gatherings.

As a nonprofit fundraiser, it's critical to ensure you're reaching your supporters in the spaces they use most frequently–both digitally and in real life.

It’s no secret that nonprofit fundraising has a lot of moving parts. Typically your organization will start by setting goals for a specific campaign or fundraising event and then spend months planning out your strategy. Once you have a solid plan in place, you’re finally ready to spread the word about your campaign.

That’s where marketing comes in. After all, half the battle for successful fundraising is promoting the campaign to your support base and letting them know about new opportunities to give.

Despite all the changes and the rapid rise of social media over the years, nonprofit newsletters remain one of the best ways to stay in touch with your donors. While the purpose of nonprofit newsletters hasn’t really changed over the years, delivery methods and best practices have evolved. Most nonprofits now rely primarily on e-newsletters to interact with their donors regularly.

Email still dominates as a reliable form of communication across all age categories, and it’s actually a tremendous complementary strategy to your social media presence. In short, even if you still send a print newsletter, it’s essential to have a solid nonprofit email newsletter.

It’s the digital age, and practically everyone has a smartphone now. Mobile giving is definitely here to stay. If you want to remain competitive and relevant, it’s time to expand your fundraising strategies to include a wide range of mobile giving tactics, from peer-to-peer fundraising to mobile email and everything in between.

Have no fear! We’re here to help you understand why mobile giving is so important and explore some of the most popular mobile giving strategies and tools!

During 2020, many nonprofits were more focused on staying afloat rather than growing their services and fundraising opportunities. However, as we shift into 2021, we can take what we’ve learned in the last year and use it to our advantage, shifting back to the road of growth and development. Many are back to focusing on increasing impact rather than just maintaining services.

Growth takes hard work and careful planning to achieve. You’ll need to raise more money, make the right investments, and maintain efficient strategies to make it happen.

When most development professionals think of fundraising sources, they primarily list individual donors and grants. But there's another revenue source--corporate giving! Though it only adds up to a small fraction of fundraising efforts, receiving corporate gifts can also bring other benefits!

According to Giving USA and other sources, corporate giving is on the rise, motivated by a mix of altruism and a desire to attract employees that value working for socially responsible companies. Nonprofits can undoubtedly take advantage of this trend to increase funding and even create great partnerships.

So, you’re thinking about starting a nonprofit website optimization project?

Whether you’ve been falling behind on regular website maintenance or you’ve simply outgrown your original build, taking the time to upgrade your nonprofit site is critical. It’s especially imperative if you want to increase your online fundraising and improve donor engagements.

Specifically, a dedicated website optimization project can ensure that all online processes are working correctly, raise your site’s search engine ranking, improve the user experience, and better position your organization for future engagements.

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.

Some people may say that business plans are a thing of the past--outdated, unnecessary, and a waste of time. Other nonprofits consider business plans something to create just for the sake of donors who demand it.

These opinions could not be further from the truth! Even for the modern nonprofit, a business plan can be an invaluable tool to help you maintain a strong purpose statement and clear messaging. Nonprofits who don't have a purpose statement often have a hard time getting loans, grants, or even corporate donors. Business plans can also help you attract quality board members.

Needless to say, business plans are definitely not a thing of the past and shouldn't be glossed over. Still, it can feel daunting or be challenging to know exactly how to write an effective nonprofit business plan. Have no fear! This blog will walk you through the basic steps to creating your own helpful business plan for your nonprofit.

SEO, analytics, advertisements, email campaigns, direct mailers, social media, blogs, TikTok... oh my! There are a lot of marketing options and avenues available to promote your fundraising events. Perhaps you're feeling a bit overwhelmed?

A marketing tool is only as good as how you use it. The key to using it effectively is to have a plan.

Ok, that was a little obvious. But we're here to let you know that event promotion doesn't require anything complicated, just a little bit of forethought and planning to get the show going. Since the most overwhelming place is always, "where do I start?", we made this guide for you!

The world of nonprofits is a constantly-changing world of people. It's critical to continuously grow, evolve, learn, and improve yourself and your skills. Whether you're a development professional or hold another nonprofit job, you're responsible for building people up, empowering them to transform the world, and helping them see that change happen.

It's an inspiring—and sometimes overwhelming—task! Sometimes you need some inspiration yourself. Or perhaps you're looking for a new perspective or strategy to address an old problem.

We've assembled ten TED Talks to help you refine your donor relationships, increase motivation, and refine your leadership tactics to yield a greater influence on the world.

How amazing would it be if your donors saw a color or an image and immediately thought of your organization or mission? That is successful branding at work.

When we think of Nike we picture award winning athletics, professionalism in sport, determination to succeed, a trusted company with trusted products- and of course, we picture the Swoosh™. This is a brand. It is consistency in marketing a company identity.

Branding isn’t something only large corporations and big name nonprofits can have. In fact, we’re here to let you know that not only is developing a trusted brand possible for your nonprofit, it’s necessary!

But, don’t worry! You don’t need to have all the resources of Nike to make this happen. We’ve got some tips to help you develop a branding strategy for your nonprofit.

Email is a popular marketing and communication form for businesses and charitable organizations alike—and for a good reason! With email updates, you can do everything from sharing about accomplishments, needs, and events to attracting and engaging new audiences for very little money.

But how is an organization to choose the right email marketing tool or software to maximize its marketing potential! There are so many options to choose from and factors to consider. Have no fear! We put together a quick guide to help you find the best email marketing tool for your nonprofit.

In 2023, Facebook remains one of the easiest, most affordable, and effective ways for nonprofits to expand their audience. A few years ago, Facebook added a feature that allows charities and nonprofits to add “Donate Now” buttons to their organization page.

With all the buzz and traffic on Facebook (and the continued success of social media fundraising campaigns), many nonprofits see this as great news for fundraising! But is it really? What are the pros and cons? And how do you add this button to your organization’s Facebook page? We dug up all the dirt on the Facebook Donate Now button to help you decide if it’s right for your fundraising goals.

It’s been a long year, and like us, you’re probably eager to see 2021. To send 2020 off in style (or with “good-riddance”?), we thought we’d go through the past two years and look at the philanthropic landscape. And wow do we have some great news to share with you!

Here are some of the key statistics and takeaways we think are important to keep in mind as you lead your nonprofit in fundraising and donor care.

Perhaps as you’re wrapping up another year of fundraising you’ve noticed your database isn’t quite as automated as you would like, the fees on your donation apps are not ideal, or maybe your donor contact efforts could be more targeted. In short, you’ve been thinking of getting or upgrading your fundraising software.

You may have even looked online at a few options (and found this blog!). But there are so many apps and feature lists to sort through, each one promising the moon. It can be hard to make a simple choice and you’ve got a lot to do. You want simple, practical, and affordable.

So, in the spirit of simple, we’ve come up with three easy steps to help you figure out what online fundraising tools, software, apps, platforms, or widgets will help you streamline your fundraising efforts and empower your nonprofit to soar even higher.

Most nonprofits rely on the generosity of donors for a majority of their funding. It’s the primary way organizations pay bills, employ staff, and steer their impact in the world! That means fundraising is a necessary (and massive) undertaking… but it doesn’t have to feel like a “necessary evil”!

Great fundraising can (and should) be a learned skill. Sure, many development professionals are naturally skilled in the fundraising department, but excellent fundraisers take the time to hone their craft— and they back their skills with a strong fundraising plan that equips volunteers for success and cultivates a stronger, sustainable organization.

We know that time, energy, and money are precious for development professionals, so we created this nonprofit fundraising guide to help you build a fundraising plan that fits your nonprofit’s strengths and mission.

As a busy development professional, you have a lot to do, a shoestring budget, and not a lot of time to do it all. We know the internet is overflowing with nonprofit marketing strategies and quick tips to increase your reach, and it can be challenging to narrow it down to the must-know information.

What you need most is easy, efficient, and effective online marketing solutions that you can put in place for your nonprofit now. We have good news: you’re likely already doing half of it!

A key reason you’re not converting as many website visitors to donors is due to poor performing website pages. Too often, you’re left feeling like you’re doing everything right, but still aren’t seeing the impact you want. If only there were an easy way to gain powerful insights into your website’s visitors to help you figure out what to improve.

Luckily, that tool exists, and it’s free!

Many organizations successfully use email marketing, blogging, and social media to attract visitors to their websites. Unfortunately, a lot of nonprofits don't use Google Analytics to understand how people interact with their site once they get there.

We get it! Google Analytics can be overwhelming and hard to understand. But, if you know what to look for, it is an invaluable tool for your organization! Here are the basics of what you need to know about Google Analytics so you can get the most out of your nonprofit's website.