The TopNonprofits blog contains articles, stories, tips, and other helpful information for nonprofit professionals. Be sure to bookmark this page and join our mailing list so you won’t miss any new material added to this treasure trove of knowledge.
Our blogs are written by seasoned professionals with topics carefully selected and information referenced and curated to provide the best possible information available on the Internet. We’re always open to new ideas, suggestions, and contributions for content. Start learning by clicking on the selections found on this page. Contact us if you have any questions.
Year-End Fundraising Season: Top Tips to Prepare Your Nonprofit
Planning your year-end fundraising strategy is an important process that requires time. So, even if the end of the year is months away, it’s worth it to get started now. After all, your nonprofit will likely be too busy making resolutions for the new year to build an effective strategy amid this vital fundraising period. That’s why preparing months in advance helps your nonprofit capitalize on year-end giving. Donations tend [...]
Four Trends to Watch in Peer-to-Peer Fundraising
The State of Peer-to-Peer Fundraising 2016 Report from DonorDrive has new stats that bring four key trends to light, all of which can dramatically increase your fundraising. DIY is on the rise At the nonprofit conferences everyone is talking about Do It Yourself fundraising. If you're not familiar with it, DIY gives your supporters the opportunity create their own campaigns (based on things like life events, memorials or running in [...]
Donor Retention: 3 Modern Strategies to Maintain Growth
CP_TopNonprofits_X Strategies to Retain the Modern Donor_Feature.jpg Perhaps the most frustrating part of running a nonprofit organization is seeing short term growth in your donor pool disappear from one fundraising campaign to the next. If you want your nonprofit to be successful in the longrun, retaining your donors is a must. Historically, donor retention has been a difficult endeavor. Without the right tools to manage your donor pool, it’s impossible [...]
How Nonprofits Take Advantage of Matching Gifts
One of the largest sources of untapped funding for nonprofit organizations comes from corporate philanthropic programs. These include matching gift programs, in which corporations match employee donations, usually dollar for dollar, to eligible nonprofit organizations. About 65% of Fortune 500 companies offer a program like this, as well as countless other corporations, so the chances that a donor works for a company with a matching gift program is relatively high. [...]
4 Tips for Effective Online Interviews
"While I wouldn't recommend using it for a second round interview, online video interviews are a great way to screen interviewees for the first round," offers Don Tebbe, an Executive Succession & Planning Consultant and Author. "It gives more texture to your interview than a phone call," but he warns that it shouldn't act as a substitute for all face-to-face meetings or for advanced rounds of interviewing. Technology exists to make [...]
Leveraging Linkedin to Connect Your Nonprofit
This post was originally published on our sister site, Third Sector Today Feel at Home on LinkedIn LinkedIn is the nice aunt of social media–it’s more civil, professional, and informational. Its “house” is visited by influencers who bring advice, expertise, and resources like the flowers, candy, and wine you bring to your auntie’s place–all for the taking. This is a place of generosity, sharing, and (usually) professional demeanor. Job seekers [...]
Capital Campaigns: 4 Strategies to Get Your Board Involved
A capital campaign is a fundraising campaign hosted by a nonprofit with a specific dollar amount in mind. There is an intense focus on funding a high-cost project, backed by a nonprofit’s board, and the campaign’s timeline can last upwards of a year, consisting of two phases: the quiet phase and the public phase. The quiet phase comes after your preparation. This is when you’ll focus on major gift donations [...]
7 Social Media Mistakes that Affect Brand Perception
Many people confuse brands for logos, icons, and marks. Your organization's true brand is actually not defined by you. It's the impression or gut reaction people have about your organization. Logos, tag lines, typefaces, imagery standards, and communicated values are all used to help shepherd this perception of your organization. Unfortunately, they can't dictate how people perceive you. No organization would intentionally communicate their brand attributes as "Desperate," [...]
Does Your Nonprofit Prioritize Diversity?
Workplace diversity is indeed a diverse concept, encompassing a wide array of people in terms of gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, age, ability, economic status, and more. Most nonprofits tout diversity in their staff and their actions as though achieving full-fledged diversity were a high honor. But how many prioritize diversity, making it a reality for most nonprofits? According to the Level Playing Field Institute’s April 2011 study of over [...]
Text Messaging Q&A with Freddie Bologno at DoSomething.org
Craig Van Korlaar (TopNonprofits) With me today, I got Freddie Bologno the Director of Mobile Messaging with DoSomething.org. Through their work, they develop best practices for how to engage young people in social action using everyday technology like text messaging. Freddie, thanks for joining us. Preview of the Topics Covered Responsibilities of a Director of Mobile Messaging How does mobile messaging fit into the greater organization & mission Tips and [...]
EXPLORE OUR NONPROFIT RESOURCES
Sign up for a webinar, tune into a podcast, take a course, or access a guide on a vast array of topics including fundraising, board governance, marketing and communications, and much more!
We are renowned for our top-nonprofit lists including the best logos, websites, and degree programs. We also have an ever-expanding blog full of valuable information to help your not-for-profit org reach its potential.