More Trust = More Donations. Here's how to build Trust on a budget. Read time: 4 minutes Trust is arguably THE most powerful asset a nonprofit can have. When people trust your organization, they're more likely to donate, stay engaged, and bring others into your community. Building trust doesn't require a big marketing budget, a fancy website redesign, or a professional PR team. Instead, trust is built through small, consistent actions that show people you're credible, transparent, and...
10 days ago • 5 min read
Your Nonprofit Content Multiplier: How to Turn One Story Into 3 Pieces of Content You’ll Actually Use Read time: 4 minutes Let's be real. Creating fresh content for your nonprofit every week can feel exhausting. You're already stretched thin, and now you need something for Instagram, Facebook, your newsletter, your website, and blog (And somehow you're supposed to make it all look effortless)? Here's what you might not realize: You don't need three different stories. You just need one good...
17 days ago • 6 min read
What Businesses Wish Nonprofits Understood About Sponsorships Read time: 4 minutes Here's a question I get a lot from nonprofit leaders. "Why do some organizations seem to land corporate sponsorships easily while others struggle?" The answer isn't that businesses don't want to support nonprofits. Most companies actually want to give back. But there's often a disconnect between what nonprofits think businesses want and what businesses actually need from a partnership. When you understand what...
24 days ago • 5 min read
Building Your Nonprofit's Talent Pipeline: 3 Ways to Grow Leaders From Within Read time: 4 minutes Picture this. Your board president announces they're stepping down. Or, maybe your most reliable volunteer coordinator moves out of state. Suddenly, you're scrambling to find someone who can step into that role. This happens all the time in nonprofits. When this would happen at my organization, it was super stressful, so I completely get it. But what if I said… it doesn't have to be this way? 🙂...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
How to Run a 1-Hour Strategy Meeting That Recharges Your Nonprofit Team Read time: 4 minutes Let's be honest. So many nonprofit team meetings feel like they drain energy rather than create it. You leave feeling more overwhelmed than when you started, maybe nothing actually got decided, or worse, the meeting could have been an email. But strategy meetings don't have to be that way. When done well, a focused one-hour meeting can help your team get aligned, clear roadblocks, and leave feeling...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
Only 14% of First-Time Donors Give Again. Here's How to Fix That. Read time: 3-4 minutes Here's a stat that should get your attention. According to a recent Fundraising Effectiveness Project report, only 14% of first-time donors give again the following year. That means 86 out of every 100 new contributors you work so hard to bring in won't come back. Talk about lost time and potential. It's easy to focus all your energy on finding new donors. But if you're not keeping the ones you already...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
3 Shifts That Turn a Start-Up Nonprofit into a Sustainable Org Read time: 3-4 minutes Starting a nonprofit is no small feat. You had a vision, took action, and you're making a difference. That's worth celebrating. But if your organization is in the early stages, you might be noticing some growing pains. Maybe one person – maybe you?! – is wearing every hat. Fundraising feels chaotic, and important details live entirely in your head. The good news? Moving from a start-up to a sustainable...
about 2 months ago • 6 min read
What Winning Grant Proposals Have in Common Read time: 4 minutes Want to know what separates grant proposals that get funded from the ones that don't? (Who doesn’t? 😆) I recently analyzed 10 successful nonprofit grant proposals totaling over $2 million in funding to find out exactly what they were doing differently. Here's what I noticed: These applications weren't using secret formulas or insider connections. They were simply doing a few key things really, really well. In this week's...
about 2 months ago • 6 min read
We're fundraising in uncertain times. Here are a few things working. (+ Join me Feb 4!) Read time: 3 minutes If you've felt the weight of this moment, you're not alone. Let’s name what’s going on: 85% of nonprofits expect service demand to increase and 36% of orgs ended 2024 with an operating deficit, the highest in 10 years (Nonprofit Finance Fund). Total giving grew 6.3% in 2024, but… the number of donors dropped 4.5% (BWF). So yeah, there's uncertainty… BUT there's also creativity and real...
2 months ago • 5 min read