Soapbox Engage Blog

Issue 265

Happy Tuesday, Fundraisers!

This week’s newsletter covers some of the biggest opportunities (and challenges) in fundraising today. From sparking curiosity in your direct mail, to strengthening financial transparency, to rethinking monthly giving, these insights will help you connect more deeply with donors and keep your fundraising efforts strong! Dig in!

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Great Fundraising Posts

How to Increase Direct Mail Open Rates Using Mystery

Jeff Brooks (Moceanic)

Curiosity is one of the most human traits. When we don’t know what’s going on, we feel compelled to find out. This is true for us all, including your donors! In this blog post, Jeff offers tips on how to use curiosity to increase direct mail open rates.

Nonprofit Financial Transparency: Benefits, Tips, and Tricks

re: charity (re: charity)

Good nonprofit financial management and transparency is more than a value; it’s a necessity. But nonprofit leaders juggle complex financial responsibilities which can make financial transparency difficult to maintain. This blog post explores the ways nonprofits can ensure complete transparency with supporters and community members.

Unheard Voices That Come Back to Haunt Fundraising

Jim Langley (Market Smart)

A lot of fundraising is about listening. But unfortunately, with so many things to manage, nonprofit fundraisers can sometimes let important voices go unheard. In this blog post, JIm talks about the importance of listening to these voices and how it will impact fundraising.

Monthly Giving: The Lifeline We Keep Ignoring

Roger Craver (The Agitator)

As donations continue to fall across the board, you may be doing a review of what works and what doesn’t. One thing the studies indicate does work: monthly giving. And yet, so many nonprofits ignore that. In this blog post, Roger offers a comprehensive break down of the benefits of monthly giving.

Do You, or People You Know, Hate Fundraising? Read This!

Claire Axelrad (Clairification)

Is there someone on your team who actually hates fundraising? Is that person maybe even you? If the answer to either of those questions are yes, check out this blog post. In it, Claire talks about what happens when a fundraiser hates fundraising and how to shift that.

How To Increase Participation in Your Nonprofit Programs

Julia Claire Campbell (Marketing for the Modern Nonprofit)

Your nonprofit’s programs have the power to change lives, but only if people know about them and participate. Every day, valuable services go unused because people face barriers to joining, don’t immediately see the value, or simply never hear about them. The good news is that you don’t need a huge budget or a massive marketing team to boost participation. In this blog post, Julia talks about what you can do to increase participation.

Pain Point #7: When Fundraisers Feel Undervalued, Results Suffer

Gail Perry (Gail Perry Group)

Far too often, fundraisers feel undervalued in their roles. And the impact of that ripple across the organization. On the flip side, when fundraisers are part of the team at the highest level, everything gets stronger: donor confidence, staff energy, and the results that fuel your mission. This blog post discusses the cost of undervaluing fundraisers and offers tips on how to support them.

Embrace the ‘In Between’

Steven Screen (The Better Fundraising Co.)

The moment in between when you send out a fundraising appeal and when you start to receive gifts can be tough. There is worry, excitement, and expectation. In this blog post, Steven explains why you need to embrace the in-between moments.

Multicultural Fundraising: How to Reach New Markets

TrueSense (TrueSense)

As fundraising costs rise and the share of the donor wallet continues to shrink for many nonprofits, it’s becoming critical to find new or underserved donor groups in our communities. At the same time, our communities are growing and diversifying to such a degree that new cultural groups are soon to outnumber what many nonprofits would describe as their “traditional” donors. The time for new strategies to reach these new donor populations is here. This blog post offers tips on how to diversify your fundraising to reach new donor populations.