Partner Post

Time and time again as we are working with our nonprofit clients we hear a common challenge: We don't have the budget to do that. Whether it's investing in a new website, buying a better camera, spending money on a fancy social media metrics dashboard, or even having a full-time social media employee, the refrain is all the same - small nonprofits are strapped for cash and have a limited budget.   We get it, we really do. At CSL, the majority of us have worked at nonprofits or startups so we understand competing priorities when it comes to your limited [...]

Major gifts are the financial backbone for your organization. Follow these 8 best practices to grow your own major giving strategy.   Perform a prospect screening. This is a good place to start, as it feeds directly into the major donor identification process. Prospect research can reveal a wealth of information about potential and existing donors. Whether you hire a screening company, bring in consultants, take on the task in-house or some combination thereof, it’s going to be crucial to candidate identification.   Form a major giving society. Launching a major giving society is an excellent way to recognize and reward [...]

If you are serving on a nonprofit board or are considering doing so, it is important to keep in mind that along with the great work of that organization, it’s also your responsibility to understand that nonprofit’s finances. There are a variety of differences between non- and for-profit accounting. The more familiar you are with the differences, the better prepared you will be as a board member.   Why is it so different? It’s important for nonprofit organizations to understand their accounting needs to be able to maximize their resources and spend more time raising awareness for their cause and less [...]

You’ve done it. You’ve managed to cut through the nonprofit clutter and catch the attention and interest of a potential donor. Eager (or at least willing) to open their wallet and donate, they’ve landed on your website’s home page. Now that they’re here, the question is: can your website close the deal? If your answer is an emphatic yes, good for you! You’re part of a growing contingent of nonprofit organizations who have come to the realization that putting time, energy and money into an effective and attractive website is an investment in not only converting donors, but in achieving a [...]

Building With, Not For, Your Communities At Timshel, we know that to design great products, we have to understand what our stakeholders value. This is true whether we’re designing an engagement platform to help nonprofits and advocacy groups connect with their supporters, or a tool that helps rural health workers with little to no experience with technology collect and disseminate patient information. So how do we understand what our stakeholders value? That’s where human-centered design (HCD) comes in. To make sure we truly understand the problem that we’re trying to solve, we have to understand it from the standpoint of the [...]

The cost of hiring and firing any employee is astronomical when counting the expense of time spent, and the psychology of a failed choice.  Between the cost of onboarding, training, coaching, staff time, wasted salary, and administrative costs, HR professionals project that an organization can easily spend thousands of dollars on a hire that has gone wrong. Most so called bad hires should not have happened in the first place. Given that the cost of a hire that’s gone wrong—generally estimated to be anywhere between $4,000-$12,000—it’s hard to understand why you wouldn’t use a professional recruiter. Eight Reasons Why You Should Hire [...]

Audience segmentation is a common strategy for businesses working to sell products and services, but it can also be useful to nonprofits looking to engage their audience. Segmentation means taking your whole community of potential donors and participants and breaking it up into smaller groups, or segments. This allows you to tailor your marketing and communications strategy for each group so you don't waste time and money sending them messages that aren't likely to appeal. For twenty-somethings, a digital campaign might be a better strategy, while sending direct mailers might be better for older segments that don't use as much technology. [...]

Most nonprofits and community benefit organizations have one annual signature event or host several events throughout the year. While they are an important part of their fundraising plan for both revenue and awareness, a big fundraising event should not be an end in and of itself.   Why Not?   Events hold the potential to significantly expand an organization’s traditional fundraising pipelines, and a carefully planned strategic approach can convert event donors into annual fund, major, and even planned gift donors.   The Upside of Events   We all know successful events can bring in much-needed money and support a nonprofit’s [...]

The age of mobile internet is here. The pendulum has swung, and more people now browse the internet using a mobile device than ever before, outweighing the use of desktops and laptops. This fact has a direct impact on your donors' online giving experience: This means that people are more likely to view your website, read your content, and donate to your org on a mobile device. people are more likely to view your website, read your content, and donate to your org on a mobile device   Is your website ready for that?   We would guess not, based on [...]

If you’ve overlooked donor-advised funds as a means of revenue in the past, consider this: This very second, over $70.7 billion in donor-advised funds are currently available in 240,000 donor accounts. Your nonprofit should take full advantage of that source of funds! What is a Donor-Advised Fund? A donor-advised fund is a philanthropic giving vehicle administered by a charitable sponsor. A charitable sponsor is a 501(c) (3) organization that has legal control over the donor advised fund and is responsible for operating and maintaining it. Charitable sponsors include public charities, community foundations, and charitable funds that are associated with an investment [...]