Ah, your donor database. We love to hate it. 

Most of us don’t have a dedicated database manager (can you imagine? Living. The. Dream). So our databases are often neglected, rarely used, and…as a result not that useful.

But there are some things you can do to actually use your database. And the more you use it, the more it can guide and shape your fundraising. Remember, we’re all about making our tools work for us! 

Fundraising is emotional work. We tell stories and build relationships. But we also do a surprising amount of routine, administrative work. So, can we use automation and software for our routine fundraising tasks, while still keeping the personal touch?

Yes. In fact, automating our administrative fundraising work means we have more time (and more energy) for relationship-based fundraising. Let's look at five ways that we actually use automation to build stronger relationships and free ourselves up for real creative thinking - and better fundraising.

Segmentation. It's a word fundraisers love to throw around...although very few of us do it well. So, let's put our money where our mouths are, and start segmenting our data.

So what is segmentation? When we segment our data, we're able to group our supporters based on shared characteristics (e.g. age, donation history, geographical area, etc.) Doing this gives us a deeper understanding of donors and what drives them to give. As a result, we can send more tailored messages that appeal to each group, which creates more value for our nonprofit.

It's time to stop wasting your money on tools you're not using.

And it's time to really use your tools to save you time...and headaches.

Look, I know the nonprofit sector is not known for its tech-savviness. We're bargain shoppers, coupon clippers, free-software users, and sometimes tech Luddites. But we can - and should - start using the many tools available!

Technology and tools are an important part of any fundraising or nonprofit operation, from our websites to our CRMs. However, it's not enough to just have them – you need to use them effectively in order to see results. That's why we love conducting a regular tool and tech audit - to see the full landscape of our tech tools and figure out which ones we can use better and which ones we might not even need. It also helps us make sure that we are using the tools to the fullest extent possible and that we're not paying for tools that could be simplified or replaced. Conducting a tool and tech audit can help you work smarter, not harder, and keep your costs down!

So, you hosted a wildly successful fundraising event last year and this year, you want to grow your corporate sponsorship program. 

After sponsors wrote the check last year, you sent them a heartfelt thank you note but realized you haven’t connected with them since. Now you’re racking your brain for the best way to make the ask again.

And, maybe like us, you’re really sick of the transactional nature of event sponsorships and are ready to shake things up. 

What if there was a better way to secure corporate sponsors?

So, you’re planning a fundraising event for your nonprofit and you want to secure some corporate sponsors. But you're not sure how to go about it….maybe your last sponsorship deck didn’t get any sponsors, or you spent more time on the phone than you did planning the event…or you’re just not sure what to include to make this year’s event a success.

Good news: a winning sponsorship deck is simpler than you think! A good sponsorship deck is a powerful tool you can use when you’re pitching corporate sponsors for your next fundraising event.

One of the common challenges people face when pitching corporate sponsors is not knowing what to include in their sponsorship deck. This can lead to a lot of wasted time and energy spent on putting together a deck that doesn't actually tell potential sponsors what they need to know. So, how can we do better?

So you want to throw a fundraising event. Sounds fun! But before you dive into your event (and hopefully start raking in donations) hit pause: fundraising events are not magic bullets...they take a lot of planning and hard work, and the return on investment can be pretty low. So, while we're big fans of a good party, it’s important to ask yourself some questions so that you can create an event that is successful for your organization.

It's summer! And whether your fiscal year is almost over, or you're smack-dab in the middle of the year, summer often comes with a pause in frantic fundraising activities. And it's a great time to hit pause and revisit those "important but not urgent" action items that make your development plan work....from donor relations to deduping data. So what are you waiting for? Let's get started!

As an amazing nonprofiteer, you know that grant writing is essential for getting grants (obviously!). But what do you need to know about crafting grants that will catch the attention of reviewers? 

Fortunately, it doesn’t take painstakingly crafting a perfect piece of writing or squeezing every single detail into a 250 word count response (... if you can do both, you may be a superhero!). Getting the attention of program officers is really about sharing your work clearly and finding ways to connect with them through your writing.

Here is some advice from those who know best:

The Giant Squid Group team writes a lot of grants, and we have a running joke: “Hey, what's it like to be a grant writer?” 

Because good grant writing is about a lot more than just writing grant narratives! 

A lot of grant writing is about following directions a.k.a the rules, especially when you’re first starting. Do you remember in high school - or whatever your place of residence’s equivalent is of high school - when your teacher would remind you to write your name on a test because it was an easy 10 points? This is the energy you must cultivate to be a successful grant writer. 

That said, I promise there will come a time after intentional cultivation with a funder when you can rock the boat and challenge their processes. 

When I put on my “grant writer hat” and dive into the song-and-dance of grant deadlines, character counts, and funder priorities, sometimes it feels like I’m doing nothing but reinventing the wheel. 

I’ve been writing grants for a long time. I’ve been fundraising even longer. And some days it feels like I have one foot in the vital work of the Community-Centric Fundraising movement, and one foot stuck in the mud of grant deadlines. But, grant writers play a critical role in branding an organization, and crafting the ways in which it’s presented to funders. And so grant writers play a critical role in integrating social justice into fundraising programs —and the overall culture and work of our organizations.

Congratulations on winning a grant! Your nonprofit has worked tirelessly to get this far - but there's still more work to be done! Do you know what you need to do once you actually receive that grant? For starters, you need to make sure that you review the grant contract thoroughly, update your database with all of the details, and celebrate with your team. Let's take a closer look at each step.

If you are struggling to get grant funding, there’s a good chance the goals and objectives you include in your grant proposal are the reason.

You’re looking for ways to raise money for your new nonprofit, and want to hire a pro to help you win grants. Your budget is tight now, but if you’re awarded the grant, you’ll have tens of thousands of dollars. So, why not pay your grant writer a percentage of the grant you receive, since it’s the grant writer’s job to get you that money anyways, right?

This essay was originally published on Community-Centric Fundraising’s website.

——

Throughout my career, I’ve worked many, many jobs in a variety of sectors. Any talent that I had and could make money off of, I, for lack of a better term, milked it. Most of those jobs didn’t materialize into a full-blown career until my first full-time development position. My first development position was also, truly the first time I faced white supremacy culture head-on. But before I dive into that, I must first explain how I got this job in the first place.

This essay was originally published on Community-Centric Fundraising’s website.

——

So, I have a mental illness. Like any disability, there is shame and stigma associated with mental illness, and because mental illness is something most individuals generally can’t see, it also comes with much denial. 

My experience with mental illness is often challenged and gaslighted by family members and friends — but, I never expected that it would play such a role in my professional career. I want to share some of what I’ve experienced while navigating mental illness in professional spaces and hope to challenge managers and leaders to be better when managing individuals that don’t fit a neurotypical mold.

You’ve probably participated in,  or even run, a peer to peer (P2P) fundraising campaign. P2P campaigns have grown in popularity over the last decade since anyone can launch one and fundraise for themselves or an organization they care deeply about!   Whether your fundraiser is a 5K run, a day of giving like Giving Tuesday, or another event, you can use your P2P campaign to mobilize your board and volunteers and raise money from a large audience. 

While these campaigns have great potential, there are a few considerations to determine if a P2P Fundraising Campaign is the right strategy for your organization.

Newsletters are a great way to keep donors, volunteers, and other stakeholders engaged and informed about the work your organization is doing. When done well, they can be a tool to deepen your relationships and invite readers into greater involvement.

However, given that the average person only opens about 18% of their emails, you want to make sure the message you’re sending is accessible, engaging, and gives a clear sense of the next step the reader should take. Here are our tips on what can take your newsletter from good to GREAT!