Campaigns Undergirded by Best Practices Will Continue to Advance Philanthropy
Published June 23, 2025
By Jeff Jowdy, President & Founder, Lighthouse Counsel Capital campaigns have been a vital fundraising strategy in America for more than a century. Churches, hospitals, colleges and YMCAs were early pioneers of organized fundraising. They focused on volunteer-led efforts to build facilities or endow programs, typically through peer-to-peer […]
Goodbye Pyramid… Hello Trapezoid! What the changing shape of fundraising means for Rescue Missions
Published June 17, 2025
Over the past decade, I’ve watched with interest as the traditional donor pyramid has steadily morphed into a new shape. Traditionally, about 50% of a Rescue Mission’s revenue came from donors giving less than $1,000 per year. Today, our pyramid has become top heavy: Higher value donors are making up a disproportionate amount of fundraising revenue. […]
3 Strategic Planning Steps for Private Family Foundations
Published June 3, 2025
By Aly Sterling, Founder and President, Aly Sterling Philanthropy Foundations are one of the most powerful philanthropic vehicles for charitable families. From big names like the Ford Foundation to smaller scale grantmaking organizations you can find next door, family foundations all share one common goal: to use their resources, expertise and […]
Why unified tools are essential for modern fundraising
Published May 28, 2025
By Mary Whitrow, Content & Creative Marketing Manager, Kindsight The art of fundraising has undergone a seismic shift. Shrinking donor pools, rising nontraditional giving channels, and the vast amount of available donor data are redefining how fundraisers operate. The teams staring at long sets of outdated spreadsheets or cobbling together insights from […]
The Great Fundraising Disruptors
Published May 19, 2025
By Justine Morgan Senior Associate, Ruotolo Associates If recent history has shown us anything, there are virtually no guarantees regarding funding sources. We’re all living in a world of Fundraising Disruptors (FD). If you’re in the nonprofit sector, or even the community at large, you’ve likely seen one or more of the […]
Still Skeptical About Auction Fundraising? This New Data Might Change Your Mind
Published May 12, 2025
By Sarah Sebastian, Director of Corporate Communications at OneCause There’s always some chatter about whether event fundraising still has its place in today’s nonprofit world. The answer, according to the first-ever 2025 State of Nonprofit Auctions Report, is a resounding YES. Auction donors gave an average gift of $529, and 49% of […]
Generosity Is Evolving. Are We Paying Attention?
Published May 5, 2025
By Tim Sarrantonio, Director of Community Engagement, Neon One We’ve all seen the headlines: donor participation is declining, while overall giving remains steady. It’s a trend that paints an incomplete picture of what generosity really looks like today. So we decided to look closer. At Neon One, we analyzed how nearly […]
Generosity and the Power of Collaboration
Published April 28, 2025
By Laura Hutyra, CFRE, Vice President of M. Gale Last year, The Generosity Commission released its report on the shifting landscape of generosity and the extraordinary power of giving and volunteering. As a member firm of The Giving Institute, M. Gale launched a new education series this year to explore and […]
Beyond the Ballroom: Why Smart Event Fundraising is Crucial in an Era of Shrinking Budgets
Published April 21, 2025
By Leya Simmons, CEO and Co-founder, BetterUnite When I transitioned from my career as a fundraising professional to co-founding a technology platform focused on empowering nonprofits, I witnessed firsthand the rapid evolution and the growing urgency around fundraising events. Today, as organizations face reduced government funding, economic uncertainty, and shifting donor […]
