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Image via Bloomerang. Monthly or recurring giving is a great way to raise more money and give you a constant stream of revenue throughout the year. More nonprofits are taking advantage of this. According to CauseVox, 54% of donors give through a sustainer (recurring) program, with 82% giving monthly. Plus, monthly giving will raise your retention rate.
One of the most overlooked aspects of social business and social media is the power of the personal brand. Unfortunately, many marketers and business leaders wrongly assume that personal branding is only for those looking to be “famous” or become some type of online or social marketing “guru.” This couldn’t be further from the truth. Think about this… When was the last time you handed your credit card to a logo?
Lisa Northrop. Welcome to the latest installment in our series on the “Day in the Life” of nonprofit communicators, where we ask you to describe your day in your own words. We’d love to feature YOU in this series! Don’t be shy – tell us what you do in a typical day as a nonprofit communications pro. Volunteering since she was a Brownie in Girl Scouts, Lisa always knew she would work in the non-profit sector.
Today on CauseTalk Radio , Megan and I talk to Anne Candido , Fabric Care Communications, Procter & Gamble about bringing relief to residents affected by Hurricane Harvey and Irma with P&G product kits and Tide Loads of Hope laundry services. On the show, Megan, Anne and I discuss: Anne Candido, P&G. How Tide Loads of Hope got started and how it has evolved.
Speaker: Lee Andrews, Founder at LJA New Media & Tony Karrer, Founder and CTO at Aggregage
This session will walk you through how one CEO used generative AI, workflow automation, and sales personalization to transform an entire security company—then built the Zero to Strategy framework that other mid-market leaders are now using to unlock 3.5x ROI. As a business executive, you’ll learn how to assess AI opportunities in your business, drive adoption across teams, and overcome internal resource constraints—without hiring a single data scientist.
Now entering its sixth year, #GivingTuesday is a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media. To tap this potential, your NGO, nonprofit, or charity needs to activate its social media presence before, during, and after #GivingTuesday to help build the movement and, in the process, raise awareness and funds for your organization and mission.
Do you need to worry about your personal brand as a working professional? Or is a personal brand only for those “online gurus” trying to get rich and famous? The truth is this… You have a brand regardless if you plan it or not. Your brand is made of perceptions. You can sit in a room and create, ideate, and develop your brand for the next year to 10 years.
We recently asked you to share your advice for new communications directors, and we heard from 25 of you. That’s a great start, but we’d love to hear even more! Share your advice here. Here are just a few of the great nuggets of wisdom so far. . . “The most important research you can do is research into your own audience. You can study communications best practices obsessively, but if your plan of action isn’t hyper-targeted to the specific people you’re trying to r
We recently asked you to share your advice for new communications directors, and we heard from 25 of you. That’s a great start, but we’d love to hear even more! Share your advice here. Here are just a few of the great nuggets of wisdom so far. . . “The most important research you can do is research into your own audience. You can study communications best practices obsessively, but if your plan of action isn’t hyper-targeted to the specific people you’re trying to r
Even though Tom persuaded me to give up working with cave art and stone tablets when we ‘modernized’ the Agitator offices, we’ve never lost interest in the power and importance of storytelling. It’s just that we now have paper and digital bits and bytes for the all-important fundraising task of tale-telling. Over the years we’ve honored the importance of storytelling in various posts — Top 10 Secrets of Successful Storytelling … Storytelling vs.
Did you ever hear the proverb the early bird gets the worm ? When I was a kid, I was very, very literal. I decided that if the early bird got the worm, I had no desire to be that bird! From that came my habit of sleeping in. But now I know better and can apply this lesson to something as far afield as grantwriting. The idea is simple but it has a lot more to do with success than a quick glance might suggest.
The cues are all around you. Kids are back in school. The calendar begins its string of months ending in “.ber” as if to subliminally prepare your skin for the shock of seasonal cold ahead.
Thanksgiving is the perfect time to release a thank-you video for your supporters. Think it’s impossible to create one that quickly? Think again! Next week, Kivi will give you everything you need to create a great thank-you video just in time for Thanksgiving during her BRAND NEW 60-minute webinar: How to Create a Thank-You Video for. Supporters Before Thanksgiving.
Speaker: Gareth Webb & Phil Selley, Founding Partners at Intouch Business
For many nonprofit organizations and NGOs, managing grants and monitoring projects with spreadsheets and manual processes feels familiar—but is it holding your organization back? As funding requirements become more complex and stakeholder expectations for transparency grow, relying on outdated methods can lead to inefficiencies, missed opportunities, and compliance risks.
It’s tempting to think fanatize that our donors and donor prospects are hovering over their favorite digital device, eagerly awaiting each and every one of our fundraising messages … and of course ignoring all that other ‘clutter’ sent by others. Of course such vigilance is a fantasy. I’m sure no Agitator readers are mistaken about that.
Combating employee turnover in the nonprofit sector is tricky, and, unfortunately, it’s pretty common. The hours are long, the work is hard and the pay isn’t always what it should be. The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that fifty percent of chief fundraisers plan to leave their jobs within two years. Forty percent are thinking about leaving fundraising entirely.
The nature of nonprofit work makes it especially important to stay on top of a budget. Fortunately, there are some purposeful apps that make this easier to manage, without taking too much out of your accounting budget. 1. Pennies. This user-friendly iOS app lets you set a budgetary goal and an associated timeframe as starting points. It then uses color-coding to indicate how close or far you are from spending more than your budget allows.
The Hound. Auburn, AL. Ready for a fresh batch of Mixed Links? Join me then… There is lots of buzz about influencer marketing right now. Beth Kanter wants to know Is Influencer Marketing Part of Your Nonprofit’s Social Media Strategy in 2018? Use these Tips for Creating a Stellar “About Us” Page for Your Website. Want to start creating videos for social media?
Your financial statements hold powerful insights—but are you truly paying attention? Many finance professionals focus on the income statement while overlooking key signals hidden in the balance sheet and cash flow statement. Understanding these numbers can unlock smarter decision-making, uncover risks, and drive long-term success. Join David Worrell, accomplished CFO, finance expert, and author, for an engaging, nontraditional take on reading financial statements.
On their face, three topics covered by The Agitator over recent days seem quite different — the rise of marketing pros in nonprofits … #Giving Tuesday … and email ad nauseam. A comment by Claire Axelrod to Tom’s post Yikes…Fundraisers Make Way for Marketers! triggered my desire to tie the three topics together. Claire commented, “Many nonprofits could use more pros — of all stripes.
First, there’s a lot of talk about donor retention these days. . Don’t get me wrong. I believe it’s critically important to retain donors with awesome stewardship. But sometimes I wonder, should we retain every single donor? After all, stewardship costs money and aren’t some donors more valuable than others? Of course, we love all of our supporters but, as we spend money on stewardship, shouldn’t we recognize the fact that some donors have more potential than others
Tom’s already grumping about #GivingTuesday and it’s months away. I’m not a big fan either. But I am blessed with a far gentler, docile disposition. So, in the interest of foregoing a rant and instead give Agitator readers a head start on a better alternative to #GivingTuesday I refer you to a post we ran last year on #ThanksGivingTuesday. Agitator readers with longer-term memories will recall the powerful message that came from Concordia College-New York.
On today’s episode we discuss donor advised funds. What they are and how your organization can take advantage of them. Related Posts: >>It’s time for the nonprofit sector to stop whining about donor advised funds. >>6 ways you should suggest your donors use their donor advised funds. LIKE THIS EPISODE? LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW AND/OR SHARE IT WITH YOUR PEERS!
Traditional budgeting and forecasting methods can no longer keep pace with today’s rapidly evolving business environment. Static budgets, rigid annual forecasts, and outdated financial models limit an organization’s ability to adapt to market shifts and economic uncertainty. To stay ahead, finance leaders must leverage a future-forward approach—one that leverages real-time data, predictive analytics, and continuous planning to drive smarter financial decisions.
Here’s the NY Times headline that caught my attention: To Sell Themselves to Donors, Nonprofits Are Turning to the Pros. Wow! I thought … I’m about to find some real breakthrough thinking. Can’t wait to see who are these “pros” are? Don’t get me wrong, I do agree that nonprofits can communicate in ways that obscure their missions, accomplishments and stories.
Over the summer I was admonished by an “expert” in the field. I’m used to it by now. I’ve been helping nonprofits (instead of private sector businesses) for about 9 years. When I first started helping nonprofits the “experts” and amateurs both seemed to relish in telling me I was wrong and misinformed about almost everything.
“What’s your average?” I found myself asking that question in meetings with clients all the time. What surprised me was that most didn’t know the answer. Most businesses know their numbers. Nonprofits usually know their overall average donation size. They might also know their retention rate too. But when it comes to major gifts things get tricky because before the average amount can be determined, the organization has to first determine what qualifies as a major gift.
Haven’t quite filled in your content calendar for next month? Use these prompts taken from our Monthly Nonprofit Writing Prompts Email Newsletter for your blog posts, social media updates or newsletter articles. (If you are all set for content ideas in October, sign up for our Nonprofit Writing Prompts email newsletter and you’ll receive November’s prompts early next week.).
Speaker: Tim Sarrantonio, Director of Corporate Brand
Do you really know your donors? Not just what they give, but who they are? 👥 In this interactive session, we’ll break down how nonprofits can use behavioral indicators (affinity, recency, frequency, and monetary value) to build prospecting segments that go beyond wealth screening and actually align with donor identity. You’ll walk away with practical strategies to move beyond basic demographics and cultivate supporters based on how they already engage with you!
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