Nonprofit Answers: Nonprofit Fundraising, Marketing, Monthly Giving

In this episode of Nonprofit Answers, listeners will learn about creative approaches to monthly giving for nonprofits, including storytelling, gamification, and peer-to-peer fundraising. The podcast covers various topics, such as how to encourage supporters to become monthly donors, how to thank and recognize monthly donors, how nonprofits can leverage technology to enhance their monthly giving pr...

In this episode of Nonprofit Answers, we explore strategies for retaining monthly donors, including effective communication, personalized engagement, and creative recognition. We discuss the benefits of having a monthly giving program for both the nonprofit and the donor, and provide practical tips for making the process of becoming a monthly donor as easy and streamlined as possible. We also disc...

In this episode, we discuss the importance of monthly giving for nonprofit fundraising, and provide practical guidance on how to start a successful monthly giving program. We cover topics such as determining the appropriate ask amount, best practices for creating and promoting the program, common obstacles to starting and growing a monthly giving program, and challenges that smaller nonprofits mig...

An email service provider (ESP) is a company that enables organizations to send out mass emails.  If you've ever signed up for a newsletter or clicked "subscribe" to receive updates from a website, chances are you've used an ESP. In the fundraising world, ESPs are commonly used to send out donor communications, like appeals and stewardship reports.  There are a lot of ESPs on the market, which can...

We’ve talked at great length about the principles of good fundraising, from timing your appeal right to telling great fundraising stories. This advice will have a significant impact on your fundraising. Unfortunately, we often overlook one sentence in your appeal or on your landing page: your call-to-action. In this episode, Jeremy Reis explores how to write an effective call to action in your app...

The holidays are on their way, and it's time to start thinking about the year end fundraising. Whether you want to increase your donations, get new donors involved or create some buzz around your organization with a campaign that will last until the end of the year, there are plenty of ideas that will work for you. Here are five great ones! In this episode of Nonprofit Answers, Jeremy Reis shares...

For many nonprofits, the last two months of the year are the most vital time for fundraising. In this episode, Jeremy provides ten tips to make your year end fundraising a huge success! Learn everything from planning to follow up in this episode. Learn how to get a major donor to create a matching challenge fund. Learn a suggested amount of email appeals at year end. If you want to excel with your...

As we work through this time of crisis, it's vital to be in constant communication with major and mid-level donors. But what do you communicate? Do you ask for money? How to build relationship? How do you work with major donors when you can't visit them in person? In this episode of the Nonprofit Answers podcast, Jeremy Reis is joined by Tim Smith and Mike Meyers. Both have decades of fundraising...

A key to success for your fundraising efforts is to decrease donor attrition - the percentage of people who give and then stop giving - and get multiple gifts after you acquire a new donor. You need to build relationships with donors, have them feel valued and appreciated for their donations, and demonstrate impact. You can accomplish these things with a new donor email welcome series. In this epi...

The election season is upon us in the US. How will this impact fundraising?  There are a couple of factors to consider during the election season. First, donors will be distracted. There will be uncertainty and likely half the population will be upset about whoever is elected. There will be debates and rallies that will draw the donor's attention away from what we're doing. Second, there is a lot...

Digital marketing has been a boon for many nonprofits. Digital communications offers many benefits: easy to communicate with people, reach a massive (and potentially new) audience, testing, quick access to results. There can also be some lack of clarity about the best uses for digital and whether or not you should abandon other channels and move certain communications to digital-only. Learn about...

Your nonprofit organization’s strategy determines the direction of where your organization is headed and the scope of what you’ll do. It is the thing that determines what your limited resources will accomplish for your beneficiaries, donors, and other stakeholders. A simple definition of strategy is “defining how we’re going to win in the period ahead.” In this episode, Kevin asks about how to set...

Demonstrating gratitude to your donors may be your most important job as a fundraiser. Why? A happy donor gives a second, third, and fourth time. A well thanked donor tells their friends. A donor that feels appreciated happily continues to support your organization, your cause, and the people you serve. If nothing else, say thanks because without your donor, your nonprofit ceases to exist.  Donor...

At Food for the Hungry, we acquire tens of thousands of monthly donors each year from events. In this episode, you'll learn how we structure a sponsored event for the best possible outcome: a new monthly donor. Learn the format for the event, how to do an effective fundraising, and how to integrate volunteers. If you're looking to increase event fundraising at your nonprofit, this is the episode f...

What do you do if the affinity the donor has isn't for your organization but for a staff member? In this really intriguing question, Karen has a long-time staff member who is connected to donors and she'd like to explore ways to move the donors from connecting to the employee to the nonprofit. This can happen with major donor reps, or even a donor connecting to a beneficiary and not to your organi...

You need healthy donor acquisition to maintain or grow your nonprofit's revenue. In this episode of Nonprofit Answers, Jeremy teaches how to turn social media followers into donors through the A+B+C+D formula for new donor acquisition. You'll learn how to define an audience, develop your lead generation asset (the bribe), capture a lead, and develop the lead into a donor.

The annual fundraising gala. For many nonprofits, this special event is a crucial part of their fundraising plan. If you do fundraising events, you know part of the struggle is getting the right people to show up. In this episode, Jeremy answers a question from a new Christian high school fundraiser. He is worried because only about the half the normal number of people have RSVPed to their annual...

2019 may be the most impactful year yet for the fundraising industry. Many nonprofits haven't fully embraced technology and marketing techniques that are commonplace in corporate marketing - but that will change in 2019. In this episode, you'll learn 19 predictions Jeremy has for fundraising and nonprofit innovation in 2019.

Julia asks for tips on creating a more engaging annual report. In this episode, Jeremy explains how to create a great nonprofit annual report. You'll learn who the target audience is for the annual report, 5 goals for your annual report, and how to create an annual report your donors will love. Set yourself apart from other charities by creating an engaging annual report.

In this episode of Nonprofit Answers, you will learn how to write a great fundraising appeal. Though there isn't a perfect formula for a charity fundraising appeal, Jeremy walks through a proven formula that will get you results. Writing great fundraising direct marketing is part science and part art, but with this step by step process, you'll be writing fundraising letters that will raise more mo...

In this fifth episode of a special podcast series teaching the fundamentals of fundraising, you'll learn how to build and maintain donor relationships. Building and maintaining donor relationships is the lifeblood of any nonprofit organization. This is a crucial point to understand and to communicate into your organization. You will learn why building relationships with donors is important, how yo...

In this fourth episode of a special podcast series teaching the fundamentals of fundraising, you'll learn how to pursue nonprofit startup funding. Whether you're at a brand new nonprofit, are revamping a fundraising program, or need creative ideas for fundraising for a new campaign or project, this episode will give you actionable fundraising ideas. My teenage daughter is interested in nonprofit f...

In this second part of a two part series on donor psychology, you will learn the reasons why people give. Jeremy has identified 15 different psychological triggers that moves someone to donate to your nonprofit. In this episode, Jeremy explains the second 7 motivations, or donor psychological triggers, that help someone make a decision to give to your nonprofit. This is a fascinating look at why p...

In this second episode of a special series of fundraising education, you will learn donor psychology and the reasons why people give. Jeremy has identified 15 different psychological triggers that moves someone to donate to your nonprofit. In this episode, Jeremy explains the first 8 motivations, or donor psychological triggers, that help someone make a decision to give to your nonprofit. This is...

Recently, my 15 year old daughter Emily has shown interest in nonprofit marketing and fundraising. In this special series of Nonprofit Answers episodes, you'll learn all aspects of the fundraising process. In this episode, you will learn donor motivations and how your nonprofit presents an appeal or campaign to specific types of donors. You'll start learning the foundations of donor psychology and...