Category: fundraising-for-nonprofits

The Nonprofit Guide to Sell More Event Tickets

Are You Afraid to ‘Make the Fundraising Ask’? Many fundraisers are, but it’s a fear worth overcoming Everyone loves a juicy urban legend, right? Here’s one that, like most, may or may not be true. But it makes its point.

Honest Storytelling Deepens Your Impact Picture it: A trendy New York City restaurant crowded with hungry fundraisers fresh off a day of learning at a big annual conference. The chatter inside combined with the noise of a busy NYC street outside is deafening. That is until a voice rises above the crowd to say, “There are about 5,000 cases of leprosy in the United States. Most of them are caused by armadillos." All conversation fades out, wine glasses stop clinking and even the traffic outside silences itself. Or so it seems. Almost immediately the chatter begins again, traffic starts moving, waiters resume serving. Things get back to normal, but everyone within earshot is riveted. The...

Finally, I’ve sorted the ideas by type, so you can easily find the kind you’re looking for. Then further divided them into these 4 groupings: Chapter 01 | 18 Food and Drink Event Ideas Chapter 02 | 21 Active Event Ideas Chapter 03 | 29 Social, Community, and Other Events Chapter 04 | 28 Mega Event Fundraising Ideas Dig in, and enjoy! 01 | 18 Food and Drink Event Ideas Many of the classic fundraising ideas rely on big events. Here are all the ones we could find to help you out! 1. Bake Sale Overhead Cost: $ Complexity to Plan: 1 Expected Return: $ The bake sale is a classic. It’s something everyone knows how to do, and your audience knows what to expect from it. Also, since you’re dealing in...

01 | Introduction Boards and fundraising, I find, often mix as well as water and oil. You know this. You’ve seen it. Perhaps you are living it, dealing with board members who say “I’ll do anything but fundraise” and who tell you that they couldn’t possibly give you the name of one person who might care enough about what you do to make a charitable gift. Believe me, you are not alone. I do a lot of board training. Typically, I walk into a room full of lively, engaged people. Then I get introduced, and someone says, “Janet is here to talk with you about fundraising.“ And suddenly, these engaged people cross their arms and legs, purse their lips, and resolutely stare at the floor. Boards are...

Inside Look – this blog will cover the following topics: 01 | It Starts With You 02 | Keys to a Successful In-Person Fundraising Ask 03 | When Fundraisers Are Afraid to Ask for Funds 04 | The Actual Meeting: Tips and Structure 05 | When to be Quiet 06 | 5 Sure-Fire Ways to Blow a Face-to-Face Fundraising Ask 07 | The Problem with Leadership 08 | Your Asking Style 09 | A Step-by-Step Plan for Nailing the In-Person Fundraising Ask 10 | More About the Follow-Up 11 | What if the Answer is No? Before we really get going, here are the 6 most important rules for mastering the In-Person Fundraising Ask Relationships Relationships Relationships Preparation Preparation Preparation Do you have a Jimmy...

Inside Look | This guide will cover the following topics: 01 Introduction 02 Outline Your Nonprofit Storytelling Ambassador Plan 03The 6 Best Types of Stories for Nonprofits to Share 04 Conclusion 01 Introduction What is nonprofit storytelling, what does it do, and what does it matter for your nonprofit? Storytelling should be actionable - inspiring listeners or readers to take an action on your behalf, whether your goal is to get more members, donations, event attendees etc. It should also make readers want to share the story with others. Let me start with two scenarios. SCENARIO 1: You receive a dry-form letter in the mail from a breast cancer research charity that bought your name from...

In the first blog of this two-part series on How to Launch Your Endowment Giving Program, we discussed the fact endowment is not just for large organizations. Any nonprofit can benefit from having a pool—or pools—of money that could help to ensure the organization’s future. An endowment can fund a program, pay for staff, help to enhance operations. And having an endowment program signals to funders and donors that your organization plans to be around for the long haul.

Over the course of two blogs, you will be guided on how to launch an endowment-giving program for your nonprofit. In this first blog, we will look at what endowment is, what endowment funds are, how endowment funds are given, and—most critically—whether endowment is a good fit for your organization. In Part 2, we’ll look at all those policies and procedures, and consider who your endowment donors are and how you can find them. We’ll drill more deeply into how endowment funds are given and then we’ll look specifically about launching an endowment giving program. Let’s get started by looking at endowment and what it actually is. 01 Introduction When the topic of endowment comes up in...

Capital campaigns are one of the most extensive campaigns that an organization will ever undertake. In most cases, an organization needs to fund capital purchases, upgrades, and/or renovations and repairs. Given their highly episodic nature, organizations that are seeking to undergo a capital campaign must do so with foresight and preparation geared to success. The most critical steps are taken before even the actual capital campaign plan is drafted and far before an actual solicitation happens. Organizations that are embarking on their first-ever campaign or who have not undergone such intensive efforts in a while would be wise to take heed of the following preparatory steps to ensure...

Blog post by Brian Saber We all know that asking doesn’t just happen out of nowhere. Your organization and staff have to embrace asking for donations clear across the board in order for you to develop a strong culture of asking. Think of what it would mean if you did have a culture of asking for donations. First and foremost, fundraising would stop being a dirty word! We all know that as soon as we mention the word fundraising most people cringe. Well, that isn’t going to get us anywhere, is it? Here are seven ways to shape a culture of asking and a strong fundraising future at your organization. 1) View capital campaigns as the standard During a capital campaign we invest a tremendous...