One of the happiest and most fulfilling results of providing database technology to the nonprofit sector for nearly four decades has been being able to witness the overwhelming majority of those new customers raise more dollars each year to fund their mission. In the last seven years at Bloomerang we [...]
My favorite band is Los Lobos. I’ve listened to their music since (gulp!) high school more than 30 years ago, and I’ve been to countless of their concerts. All five original members have played music together for more than 40 years. I’m telling you all this to get to the [...]
“Abuse of power comes as no surprise” – Jenny Holzer Evidence suggests you do not pay your women enough. According to Bloomerang’s recent research of over 1100 people working in the nonprofit sector, women make less than men, in every level of experience, whether they have one year of experience, [...]
The recently released Fundraising Effectiveness Project Report summarizing the fourth quarter of 2018 provides numerous insights, that not only put the full year of 2018 into perspective, but also sheds insight into what 2019 should bring for the fundraising profession. The Fundraising Effectiveness Project continues to be the most reliable [...]
There’s been some excellent talk recently in the nonprofit community about how difficult it can be for some nonprofits to gain access to credit card information. Many companies use the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI-DSS) as a barrier to allowing organizations to make changes to how collected credit [...]
I get asked all the time about what non-profits can do to stand out in fundraising and communications. For a long time, my understanding of why people ask me for advice about this boiled down to the increasingly noisy space non-profits are operating in. We’re all on the same social [...]
We've all seen the stats outlining the poor retention rates for working fundraisers, with most leaving their positions every 16-18 months. Researcher Penelope Burk found that this costs nonprofits $127,650 in direct and indirect costs every time a fundraiser needs to be backfilled. While there's a lot of (good!) ideas and strategies [...]
These are the fundamental areas your nonprofit must focus on in the year ahead. And I mean focus. Prioritize these areas.Create written plans for these areas.Include goals, measurable objectives, strategies and timelines.Assign staff and volunteer responsibility.Monitor, measure and evaluate what’s working/not working.And don’t get distracted from your mission. Persist. I’ve selected [...]
Whether you are a nonprofit organization or a for profit business, your true motives, and thereby your core values are reflected more strongly by actions than by press releases! Everyone has heard the old adage “Actions speak louder than words.” Yet, time and time again the very actions undertaken seem [...]
Is the beginning of the year seeming especially long to you? ARE YOU SO BUSY YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO? Maybe you should do like DMX says, and stop, drop and shut em down open up shop! So maybe you’re not going to ride a four-wheeler up a set [...]
When I worked full time in fundraising, I felt like I was scrambling to find money to fund our many programs. We took money from Nike. From Boeing. These companies would be considered anathema to some nonprofits because of their involvement in the abusive Chinese labor factory industry, and in [...]
This video has been making the rounds on social media. If you haven't seen it, it does a great job of shining a light on the unreasonable demands some nonprofit funders make. It's both hilarious and depressingly accurate. Thanks to the folks at Human Services Council of New York for [...]