2023

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Evolving Top Nonprofit Storytelling Practices

Clairification

Everyone knows storytelling = good. Humans wired for stories. We want to enter into them … become part of them… see ourselves, in some way, expressively reflected in the characters, plot and struggle. Everyone responds, all ears, to “Shall I tell you a story?” Yet there’s been a brouhaha of late around so-called “donor-as-hero” stories. I’ve long been a proponent of encouraging donors to jump right into the narrative to give it a happy ending.

Ethics 322
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Nonprofit Radio for September 11, 2023: Donor Retention

Tony Martignetti

Dennis Fois: Donor Retention The challenges are real and widespread: Aging donors; smaller gifts; and abysmal retention rates. Dennis Fois brings strategies and tactics to raise your consciousness and turn things around. Let’s talk about emotional connections, multithreading, and multichannel, just for starters. He’s CEO of Bloomerang. Listen to the podcast Get Nonprofit … Continue reading Nonprofit Radio for September 11, 2023: Donor Retention → Dennis Fois: Donor Retention The ch

Nonprofit 306
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99 Ways To Get New Members For Your Organization

Wild Apricot

The post 99 Ways To Get New Members For Your Organization appeared first on WildApricot.

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How a Debate Over Vaping Might Derail the War on Tobacco

The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Anti-smoking groups aren't just fighting big tobacco. They're fighting amongst themselves. By Marc Gunther Anti-smoking groups aren't just fighting big tobacco. They're fighting amongst themselves.

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AI for Grant Writing: 20+ ChatGPT Prompts You Can Use

This prompt guide for ChatGPT contains 20+ tested ChatGPT prompts, along with tips on how to use this tool the best way. Nonprofits can engage with ChatGPT to brainstorm ideas, refine project plans, and craft compelling narratives for grant proposals.

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How to turn a grant rejection into an acceptance

Professional Grant Writers

We preach that grant writing is a process, a long-term investment in the financial stability of your nonprofit. Grant rejections can be common. The post How to turn a grant rejection into an acceptance appeared first on Professional Grant Writer.

Grant 141

More Trending

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The 3 Keys to Future-Proofing Your Fundraising

NonProfit PRO

The future’s looking bright for fundraising, but the rapidly upcoming generational shift has a lot of nonprofits looking to the future. Focusing on the traditional donor profile isn’t going to work going forward — which is why future-proofing your fundraising should be No. 1 on your priority list.

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5 Things You Should Never Write in a Thank You Letter

Get Fully Funded

Writing a thank you letter should be the easiest task on your to-do list. There are just two simple words: thank you. And these two simple words are so powerful, showing gratitude and making the donor feel valued. Yet, it can feel hard sometimes to write a good thank you letter. Maybe you don’t know what to write. Or where to start. You want your letter to sound sincere, not like a form letter.

Donation 132
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How to Feel More Confident When Reviewing RFPs

DH Leonard Consulting & Grant Writing Services

Reviewing funder guidelines, especially large government guidelines, comes with a fair amount of pressure not to miss a key detail or misinterpret an organization’s eligibility, alignment, and overall competitiveness with the opportunity. There is the pressure to not miss out on a funding opportunity , but also the counter pressure to ensure that it is an appropriate opportunity for you to commit your resources, as well as those of your colleagues, to the work to put a competitive application to

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TikTok, Reels, and Shorts: Candid’s big swing at short-form video 

Candid

By now you’ve probably heard that short-form video on social media is an important tool for reaching new and younger audiences. This is not groundbreaking news, yet many nonprofit organizations (Candid included) have hesitated to jump in for a variety of reasons. Despite the real and perceived challenges of creating short-form video, there are compelling and research-backed reasons to consider incorporating it into your social media strategy: 88% of people say they’ve been convinced to buy a pr

Media 130
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5 Things Smart Fundraisers Do in December

Gail Perry Group

With the holidays approaching & year-end fundraising closing out, we are all stampeding towards our goals. Here are 5 things smart fundraisers always do in December.

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Do You Know How to Use AI for Your Nonprofit?

Clairification

Have you been struggling with whether – and how – to incorporate generative artificial intelligence (AI; ChatGPT) into your work? Or perhaps you’ve been worrying your job will soon be obsolete? You’re not alone. Honestly, the whole AI thing scares the you-know-what out of me on most days. But, let’s consider the encouraging present rather than worry so much about the possibility of a bleak future (as in destruction of humanity?!).

AI 317
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Nonprofit Radio for October 2, 2023: Fundraising For Introverts

Tony Martignetti

Brian Saber: Fundraising For Introverts That’s the title of Brian Saber’s new book. He returns with uplifting news for those who prefer quiet time over party time: You can be a great fundraiser! Brian knows. He’s been a successful introverted fundraiser for nearly 40 years. He’s also president of Asking Matters. Listen to the … Continue reading Nonprofit Radio for October 2, 2023: Fundraising For Introverts → Brian Saber: Fundraising For Introverts That’s the title of Brian Saber’s

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Instagram For Nonprofits: The Ultimate Guide

Wild Apricot

The post Instagram For Nonprofits: The Ultimate Guide appeared first on WildApricot.

Nonprofit 203
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Education Cannot Wait Commits $500 Million to Serve Refugee Students and Teachers

The Chronicle of Philanthropy

By M.J. Prest Save the Children Bangladesh The Education Cannot Wait grant aims to continue the education of up to 5 million school-age refugee children worldwide, including Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. Also, the Lilly Endowment gave almost $146 million to six colleges and universities in Indiana for community-development projects, and the U. of Massachusetts at Boston received $10 million to establish the New Balance Institute for Innovative Leadership in Sport.

Education 145
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What to include in your letter of inquiry (LOI)

Professional Grant Writers

A letter of inquiry (LOI) is often the first step to opening a conversation with a grantmaker and — hopefully — receiving funding. The post What to include in your letter of inquiry (LOI) appeared first on Professional Grant Writer.

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How to Work Smarter, Not Harder with Fundraising Automation

Qgiv

Fundraisers like you have a lot of work to do to make the world a better place, so any time you can save on administrative tasks is incredibly valuable. Fundraising automation saves your nonprofit valuable time and resources by streamlining time-consuming tasks, so you can devote more to time advancing your mission and raising more money. Learn more about the perks of fundraising automation and how to automate some of your processes at your nonprofit: What is fundraising automation?

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4 Things Every Nonprofit Should Do to Optimize Fundraising Results

NonProfit PRO

Your nonprofit probably spends a great deal of time on fundraising. So, how can you raise more dollars without adding yet another campaign or event to the calendar? Let’s look at four effective ways to optimize your fundraising results.

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Which Fundraising Events Bring in the Most Money for Small Nonprofits?

Get Fully Funded

A very common “go-to” funding idea for small nonprofits is fundraising events. Events are a great way to bring like-minded people together and have a good time in the name of your cause. Some fundraising events are huge, drawing attendees and sponsors like moths to a flame. Other events are smaller, more intimate gatherings where guests are directly asked for money.

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All the Data for All Your Grants

DH Leonard Consulting & Grant Writing Services

We have all been there. It’s time to draft a problem statement, and as grant professionals we know data is a necessary element to prove the need for our community. So where do you start? If you did not immediately think “the U.S. Census Bureau”, let me encourage you to always leap to that conclusion. And why wouldn’t you? The mission of the U.S. Census Bureau is to “serve as the nation’s leading provider of quality data about its people and economy.

Grant 126
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5 things to know about philanthropy to HBCUs

Candid

For every $100 foundations give to an Ivy League school, how many dollars do you think foundations give to a historically Black college and university (HBCU)? That’s a trick question—it’s not a matter of dollars, but of cents. In fact, for every $100 foundations gave to the average Ivy League, they gave 56 cents to the average HBCU. HBCUs have long played a pivotal role in the United States.

Education 127
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Nonprofits are NOT self-reliant

The Fundraising Coach

One of the biggest red-herrings I see nonprofit boards pursue is a pipe dream of “self sufficiency” for their nonprofit. Rather than pursuing their mission, the board directs the executive director to look at selling things and renting things in a quixotic attempt to be financially independent. It’s as though they see fundraising as a “stop gap” solution.

Nonprofit 124
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Top Secret Strategy to Communicate with Nonprofit Donors

Clairification

Did you ever wonder if there is a foolproof way to communicate with donors? Actually, there is! And it’s not about process. It’s about another ‘P’ word. Can you guess? I’ll give you a hint. It relates to the secret business your nonprofit is in. You may think you’re in (arts, healthcare, human services, environment, social justice, animal rescue, education or whatever) but, fundamentally, your core business is something else.

Nonprofit 318
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Two Simple Steps Helped a Donor Go from $50,000 to $1,000,000

Veritus Group

There are no shortcuts to a transformational gift. But, if you consistently take these two simple steps, you can experience amazing success. The post Two Simple Steps Helped a Donor Go from $50,000 to $1,000,000 appeared first on Veritus Group.

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15 Ways to Grow Your Nonprofit With Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Wild Apricot

The post 15 Ways to Grow Your Nonprofit With Word-of-Mouth Marketing appeared first on WildApricot.

Nonprofit 188
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Donor Revolts, Fundraising Fallout, and Why the Ivy League's Turmoil Matters to All Nonprofits

The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Nonprofit leaders, academics, and funders weigh in on donor influence and free-speech politics, following the resignation of Penn President Liz Magill Following the resignation of Penn President Liz Magill, nonprofit leaders, academics, and funders weigh in on donor influence and free speech politics.

Nonprofit 145
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How grant writing works

Professional Grant Writers

Grant writing can be a confusing endeavor, especially for new nonprofits, or even established nonprofits that have simply never gone through the grant. The post How grant writing works appeared first on Professional Grant Writer.

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Don't Be a Big Box Nonprofit: 3 Steps to Better Donor Relationships

Tech Soup

For years, many book lovers felt that Barnes & Noble was the epitome of a soulless big box store. The store prioritized cost and efficiency over readers while putting many local, independent bookstores out of business. Then Amazon supersized this approach and put Barnes & Noble on the brink of bankruptcy as the pandemic began.

Nonprofit 117
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What Americans Think About Nonprofits, Per New Study

NonProfit PRO

What Americans Think About Philanthropy and Nonprofits,” a new study from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, polled about 1,300 Americans over the summer of 2022 to learn more about how the American public perceives philanthropy and the nonprofit sector.

Nonprofit 132
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Examples of Nonprofit Storytelling to Increase Donations and Involvement

Get Fully Funded

Words are everything in fundraising. Your success is found in the strength of your nonprofit storytelling. The way you tell your story and engage people in your message can make or break your fundraising efforts. Again, words matter. You’ve probably heard this already – that storytelling is important. But do you really understand it? What do we mean by storytelling?

Donation 124
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Why You Need to Segment Your Donors

Ann Green's Nonprofit

I’ve been emphasizing the importance of personalizing your communication lately. One way to do that is to segment your donors. Your donors are not the same. Some donors have given for at least five years (these donors should get a lot of attention). Some are monthly donors. Yet, nonprofit organizations fail to recognize that and send everyone the same messages.

CRM 309
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Is your nonprofit thinking about using ChatGPT? Your first step is to do no harm

Candid

In this article, we unpack the lessons learned from a nonprofit’s chatbot project to dispense mental health advice that went wrong, and how nonprofits can reduce the risks when adopting ChatGPT and other generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) technologies. Over the past five years of researching and writing about AI adoption for the nonprofit sector, we have argued for nonprofits to use AI ethically and responsibly—which means taking a human-centered, strategic, and reflective approach.

ChatGPT 126
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5 Things to Know About Effective Virtual Storytelling

Ignited Fundraising

With OH so many options to share stories and updates about our work, how do we create effective virtual storytelling? How do we cut through the clutter of the incredibly loud level of noise in the social sector? Research tells us stories are more memorable than just statistics. And, science tells us everything we believe comes from stories we’ve been told by others OR we tell ourselves.

Ethics 122
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Plan ‘Random(ish) Acts’ of Nonprofit Donor Kindness, Especially Now

Clairification

Getting in the spirit of acts of kindness It’s been a rough decade thus far, beginning with a pandemic out there killing people. And then the hurricanes, fires, floods and earthquakes killing people. Not to mention the genocides, autocracies, global and domestic terrorists killing people. The list, unfortunately, goes inexorably on. What can your nonprofit organization do to offer a remedy?

Nonprofit 301