Fundraising

Ready Development Data For a Strong Fourth Quarter

Ready Development Data For a Strong Fourth Quarter

As the fourth quarter approaches—a critical time for fundraising—nonprofit development teams are gearing up for year-end campaigns, donor outreach, and planning beyond 2025. We recently supported a leading local nonprofit during a busy hiring season by helping their development department prepare their Bloomerang donor database for stronger donor retention and campaign readiness.

This assignment offered valuable insights into how nonprofits can optimize their data systems to drive fundraising success. Whether you're onboarding new team members or refining your donor engagement strategy, here’s our Good Advice for getting your development data in shape for a strong finish to the year—and a powerful start to the next.

Managing the Summer Schedule Shuffle

Managing the Summer Schedule Shuffle

Summer is a season of sunshine, travel—and for nonprofit leaders, a strategic juggling act. As board and committee members head to vacation homes, travel abroad, or simply unplug, keeping your organization’s momentum for strategic planning, fundraising and community engagement can feel like a challenge. Add in your own need for rest and vacation time, and it’s easy to see why summer requires a thoughtful approach.

Here’s some good advice for managing the shuffle of summer schedules while still making meaningful progress on your mission.

Three Takeaways for Nonprofit Leaders from NCN’s Webinar: The Legal Landscape and Path Ahead for Nonprofits and Philanthropy

Three Takeaways for Nonprofit Leaders from NCN’s Webinar: The Legal Landscape and Path Ahead for Nonprofits and Philanthropy

On March 17, the National Council of Nonprofits (NCN) hosted a webinar titled The Legal Landscape and Path Ahead for Nonprofits and Philanthropy. The event featured attorneys, nonprofit leaders, and philanthropists from organizations such as the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Democracy Forward, the Robin Hood Foundation, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. (You can view the full webinar recording here.)

Three key insights from the panelists stood out as valuable guidance for local nonprofit leaders navigating the current, unstable landscape of government funding. 

Find Joy in the Job

Find Joy in the Job

With a recent invoice payment, we received a handwritten thank you note insert from a client, (and we were still in the middle of the assignment).

At a board meeting, we were given an iced sugar cookie in the shape of a unicorn with appreciative words of how unique our services were to the exact needs of that board and foundation.

Another time, we received a crystal vase from an executive committee with sentiments of how we served as the vessel for their cause to flourish and how they hoped we would remember them by filling the vase with fresh flowers in the future.

Kickstart Your 2025 Fundraising Strategy Using This Resource From Gravyty

Kickstart Your 2025 Fundraising Strategy Using This Resource From Gravyty

I have become a big fan of webinars for professional development, and I attended several in 2024.  I gleaned good information from each of them, and am appreciative to all who hosted, but I found the follow-up resource I received from one of Gravyty’s webinars especially helpful. It’s called the 2025 Donor Pipeline Workbook, and with Gravyty’s permission, I’m sharing the resource here: Gravyty’s 2025 Donor Pipeline Workbook