Author: Virginia Davidson

Engaging your organization’s board members in your year-end appeal can boost the effectiveness of your appeal. But in order to involve your board members productively, it’s important to choose an approach that best suits your organization. To gather some practical and effective ways to involve board members, I spoke with fundraising expert Erik Hanberg, author […]

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The halfway point through the calendar year offers a valuable opportunity for fundraisers. Whether you’re on track to meet your fundraising goals or you’re falling a bit short at midyear, there’s still ample time to prepare for a strong second half of the year. In fact, what you do at midyear can play a big […]

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Communicating with your organization’s supporters is key to strengthening their connection to your mission. But without a full picture of your supporters, you may miss opportunities to engage more deeply with them. That’s why it’s so important not only to track donor and volunteer data, but also to consider both when communicating with your supporters. […]

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Persistence is key when it comes to pursuing grant funding for your organization. Grant writer Stephanie Mathers encourages organizations to commit to a sustained grant writing effort of 12 to 18 months and finds that when they do, their rate of success increases. This recommendation is supported by the 2024 State of Grantseeking Report, which […]

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Older Americans with individual retirement accounts (IRAs) can meet their required minimum distribution by making qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) to eligible nonprofit organizations. This method offers a nice option for donors to support organizations they care about, and brings much-needed financial support to the organizations they choose. But, in order for the donor to satisfy […]

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Whether you need to learn to use a donor management system because you’re starting a new job, or because your organization has just implemented a new system, the process can feel overwhelming. But there are few steps you can take to make it more manageable and effective. 4 tips for learning a new donor management […]

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When you treat your donor database as an active resource rather than a place to simply store data, you can harness its power to provide meaningful information to current and future stakeholders at your organization. Here are 3 ways you can maximize your donor database and strengthen your fundraising efforts as a result: 1. Consistently […]

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The first several weeks of the calendar year are a flurry of activity for fundraisers. You’re wrapping up your year-end appeal while simultaneously launching a whole new year of fundraising efforts. Ensure you’re ending and starting on the right track with a few essential to-do items completed by the end of February. 3 essential fundraising […]

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Once the bustle of year-end fundraising recedes, fundraisers have an opportunity to reset and prepare for a productive year ahead. Here are 3 ways to reset after your year-end fundraising season concludes: Tend to returned mail If you received any returned mail in response to your year-end appeal, now is the time to update your […]

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