Trending in 2025: The Transformational Power of Philanthropy
Published February 24, 2025
By Richard Tollefson, Founder & President, The Phoenix Philanthropy Group According to GivingUSA, the definitive report on charitable giving in the U.S., philanthropy has been amazingly resilient over the past 60 years. With only four years of decline over that period, philanthropy continues to grow, achieving new levels of investment each year. Many in our […]
Prioritizing Mid-Level Donors for Long Term Success
Published February 17, 2025
By Kurt Worrell, SVP Donor Engagement and Non-Profit Strategies , Publishing Concepts The concept of the giving pyramid no longer exists. Why do I believe this? For one, the face of donor acquisition has changed completely. With the rising cost of postage, minuscule response rates, and a 13.8% retention rate (FEP 2024), what used to be […]
Navigating the Evolving Landscape of Philanthropy: Insights and Strategies for Fundraising Professionals
Published February 10, 2025
Scott R. Lange, President, Visionary Philanthropic Consulting The philanthropic landscape is undergoing significant transformations, presenting both challenges and opportunities for fundraising professionals and fundraising consultants. Recent data from the Giving USA 2024 Report indicates that while charitable giving in 2023 reached $557.16 billion, this figure represents a decline when adjusted for inflation. Notably, the […]
The Responsive Maturity Model: A Framework for Scaling Fundraising in a Changing World
Published February 3, 2025
By Gabe Cooper, CEO, Virtuous Software The world of fundraising has dramatically shifted in the past 15 years. Today’s donors are surrounded by 7000+ ad messages, personalized social feeds, and targeted content, all competing for their attention. Whether it’s our Netflix recommendations, or our personalized Apple News Feed, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for […]
Higher Education Headwinds Provide Challenges and Opportunities for Advancement
Published January 13, 2025
By Jeff Jowdy, President, Lighthouse Counsel By Victor Wilson, Senior Consultant, Lighthouse Counsel | Vice President of Student Affairs, Emeritus, University of Georgia Philanthropy has played an essential role in American higher education since John Harvard’s donation created Harvard University in 1636. Higher education has played a vital and leading role […]
The Revenge of the Everyday Donor
Published December 10, 2024
By Jessica Browning, Principal and Executive Vice President, Winkler Group For too long, we’ve been mesmerized by the one-stop-shopping lure of the megadonor and the power of the major donor. Who hasn’t been tempted by the idea of meeting a fundraising goal with fewer asks? This obsession—fueled by reduced tax incentives for giving, societal shifts, […]
Good at Planned Giving? Prove It. Start with These Tips and Metrics to Back You Up
Published December 2, 2024
By Nathan Stelter, President, The Stelter Company Ever feel like you could use a boost in your work? Something concrete to prove that your efforts are yielding a solid return on investment? We’ve discussed the efficacy of using data and metrics to guide your planned giving marketing strategies and determine ROI in previous posts on […]
Generative vs. Predictive AI: Why Your Nonprofit Needs Both
Published November 12, 2024
By Bill Tedesco, CEO & Managing Partner, DonorSearch Artificial intelligence (AI) is quickly becoming more prevalent in the nonprofit sector. As of September 2024, 58% of nonprofits leverage AI tools in their marketing efforts, and 68% use AI to analyze constituent data. This push for innovation exceeds for-profit implementation, as only 47% of business-to-consumer (B2C) […]
You Don’t Have to Be in a Campaign to Be in Campaign Mode
Published November 4, 2024
By Amanda Macdonald, Managing Partner, The Monument Group A couple of years ago my daughter’s soccer team was in the championship game of an end-of-season tournament. My daughter is a defensive player, and in that position, she will often go a whole season without scoring a goal. With just a minute left, she kicked the […]
