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How to Invite Donors to an Event or Porch Party

Staging a porch party or small social is a terrific way to open the door and get in front of key philanthropists in your community.

From Porch to Philanthropy: How Porch Parties Fuel Fundraising Success

Fundraising Strategy

At its core, a porch party friendmaking event is a gathering that combines the fun of social interactions with the purpose of cultivating relationships with potential donors. A good Porch Party can be a masterful blend of warmth,…

Three Ways a Porch Party Can Ignite Interest in Your Cause

Just imagine: what if you had a new way to increase visibility and make new friends for your cause? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you had an authentic and impactful way to help donors get to know your work, build trust and establish meaningful…

How to Get Ready for a Capital Campaign

Capital Campaigns, Fundraising Strategy

What does it take to really be ready for a capital campaign? Often we see board members and leaders chomping at the bit to move quickly. And we hear from some fundraisers that they feel pushed to get going and start asking for lead gifts as…

2023

How to Write an Appeal Letter That Brings in the Money

Capital Campaigns, Fundraising Strategy

Appeal letters are the backbone of your annual fundraising campaigns that your nonprofit absolutely relies on.

The CEO’s Speech: “I Have a Dream”

Fundraising Strategy

At many events, your CEO has the opportunity to deliver a short, high-impact message about your organization. This is a chance for the CEO to shine as a visionary and inspirational leader and get everyone excited…

2023

ICON Takeways: Strategies, Trends and Data to Guide Your Fundraising

Fundraising Strategy

AFPICON was an amazing experience this year. We were pleased that attendance skyrocketed up to over 3500 attendees. (last year, there were around 2600 or so). So interest in fundraising education is high - there's much to learn and…

Top Capital Campaign Trends for 2023

Capital Campaigns, Fundraising Strategy

Capital campaigns are everywhere these days. Despite a murky economic outlook, nonprofits large and small are moving forward with big fundraising goals and high dollar campaigns. We’re seeing some interesting new capital campaign trends…

The Advice Visit: Opening the Door to Your Major Donor

Major Gifts

Advice Visits are one of our golden tools to get to know prospective major gift donors and discover what’s on their mind. They are a key step in the qualification and cultivation process for major donors. Advice Visits are based on the…

Suspects vs Prospects

Asking for Donations, Board Members and Fundraising, Capital Campaigns, Major Gifts

Today, we want to talk about two critical terms in major gift fundraising: suspects and prospects. These terms are often used interchangeably, but they have distinct meanings and huge implications for your fundraising efforts. Here’s…

The Backburner List: A Major Gift Fundraiser’s Top Secret Strategy

Major Gifts

One of the biggest challenges for major gift fundraisers is in the area of prospect management. When you have a whole list of projects in your portfolio, how do you prioritize your assigned prospects? That's where the concept of a Backburner…

Build a Culture of Philanthropy: Conversations with Doubting Colleagues

Fundraising Strategy

By Beth Ann Locke Most fundraisers aim to build a Culture of Philanthropy within their organizations. It's so important - because internal support is an important stepping stone to fundraising success – particularly in major gift…

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Our blog.

Discover our advice. Put it into action. Thrive.

Fundraising Blog Topics

How to Invite Donors to an Event or Porch Party

From Porch to Philanthropy: How Porch Parties Fuel Fundraising Success

Three Ways a Porch Party Can Ignite Interest in Your Cause

How to Get Ready for a Capital Campaign

How to Write an Appeal Letter That Brings in the Money

The CEO’s Speech: “I Have a Dream”

ICON Takeways: Strategies, Trends and Data to Guide Your Fundraising

Top Capital Campaign Trends for 2023

The Advice Visit: Opening the Door to Your Major Donor

Suspects vs Prospects

The Backburner List: A Major Gift Fundraiser’s Top Secret Strategy

Build a Culture of Philanthropy: Conversations with Doubting Colleagues

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