Soapbox Engage Blog

Issue 205

Happy Tuesday, Fundraisers!

We made it to July! Let’s celebrate with some summer fundraising ideas! While summer is not commonly thought of as a banner fundraising season, we’ve rounded up some tips and tricks to get people to show out to your nonprofit events. From petting zoos, to bake sales, to outdoor concerts, here are some ideas to get your community in the giving spirit.

Keep scrolling for some excellent fundraising tips related to capital campaigns, AI fundraising, and brand strategy. Enjoy!

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Great Fundraising Posts

How to Make Your Capital Campaign an Effective Trojan Horse

Andrea Kihlstedt (The ENGAGE Blog)

Your nonprofit capital campaign can be a trojan horse—an opportunity to solve organizational problems that have likely existed for years, under the guise of your fundraising campaign. But you have to be strategic about what you put in your proverbial trojan horse. In this blog post, Andrea offers tips to help you carefully decide that.

The Secret to Evoking Emotions in Writing: Why ‘Crying’ Beats ‘Sad’ Every Time

Kevin Schulman (The Agitator)

Fundraising appeals require strong, evocative writing. However, that might not be your strong suit. This blog post features tips to help you evoke strong emotions through your writing, in order to have better success at fundraising.

6 Steps to Navigate Workplace Change

Jeff Brooks (Moceanic)

Change in the workplace can be off putting, and sometimes difficult to navigate. However, it is necessary. In this blog post, Jeff lays out six steps to navigate workplace change so that your organization is ultimately changing for the better.

Building AI Capacity in Nonprofits: Challenges and Opportunities

Eric Burger (Nonprofit Hub)

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a rapidly developing technology, and it can be difficult to know how or when to ethically implement AI within your nonprofit organization. There are ways that your nonprofit can harness AI to maximize impact, even with limited resources. In this blog post, Eric offers challenges and opportunities to help you ethically build your AI capacity at your nonprofit.

Brand Strategy Is Critical for Helping Nonprofits Fulfill Their Mission

Teresa Liu (NonProfitPro)

Between fundraising, operations, program development, community building and strategic planning, a nonprofit’s competing priorities are endless. With so much to do, it can be easy to overlook your organization’s brand strategy. However, your brand is very important to communicating your mission, and ultimately fulfilling it. In this blog post, Teresa highlights why and offers multiple tips for building your brand and strengthening your brand strategy.

Why ‘Having Access’ Isn’t a Compelling Reason to Give

Sarah Lundberg (The Better Fundraising Co.)

When it comes to fundraising appeals, the language you use is incredibly important. Certain phrases can be the difference between meeting your goals or falling short. In this post, Sarah highlights why one common phrase—”having access”—misses the mark, and what you can say in its place.

The Great Obstacle to Professional Growth, Fulfillment, and Sound Decision Making

Jim Langley (MarketSmart)

We all want to grow in our careers in order to be more fulfilled. But we may be standing in our own way. In this blog post, Jim highlights the biggest obstacle to professional growth and how we can overcome it.

The Dark Secret of “Churn-and-Burn” Fundraising

Jeff Brooks (Future Fundraising Now)

Have you heard of “churn-and-burn” fundraising? If you’re not familiar, know that it is as bad as it sounds. In this blog post, Jeff explains what “churn-and-burn” fundraising is and isn’t, why it doesn’t work, and how to avoid it.

Unveiling the Power of Fund-A-Need Appeals

Taylor Rogers (Greater Giving)

Have you implemented Fund-a-Need appeals (also known as a Paddle Raise) into your fundraising? If not, you should start! In this blog post, Taylor explains what Fund-a-Need appeals are, and how to make them as effective as possible.