Author: Rinku Ramchandani

Nor West Cap is a nonprofit organization that has served low-income individuals and families in New Jersey for 56 years. While Nor West Cap receives government funding, private donations are critical to helping the organization fulfill its mission to create meaningful opportunities and lasting change in people’s lives.

Heather Thompson, chief development officer at Nor West Cap, explains that private donations allow the organization to support people who struggle but don’t qualify for government assistance.

“There are so many people who are not technically living below the poverty line, but they are living paycheck to paycheck. And all it takes is one unpaid sick leave to send that person spiraling into crisis. Private dollars allow us to serve those people and families, keeping them in their homes with food on the table,” she says.

Donations also give Nor West Cap the flexibility to start new programs and initiatives to better serve participants. For example, last year Nor West Cap created a new engagement program where staff work closely with participants to connect them to all the resources they need. The program helped thousands of participants achieve more of their goals by accessing multiple Nor West Cap services. “It was private donations that supported that new approach and initiative,” Thompson notes.

For nonprofit fundraisers, the message is clear: private donations change lives. At Nor West Cap, donations provide emergency assistance for families in crisis, help working families living on the edge build resilience, and enable innovative programs that connect people to opportunities. While government funding supports some critical services, private philanthropy fills gaps and powers new solutions.

Every contribution makes a difference in empowering people and strengthening communities. That is why people should give to Nor West Cap—to be part of creating hope, opportunity and lasting change in New Jersey. Donations have real impact, and together, givers and nonprofits can accomplish great things.

View the full recording of this session in our Resource Library.

For nonprofits, communication is key to spreading your mission and message. Developing an intentional communication strategy can help raise awareness, build community, and drive engagement.

Start by determining your audience.

Who are the communities you serve? Who are your donors and stakeholders? Identify where each group is most active, whether that’s on social media, reading print materials, or attending in-person events. Meet your audience where they are to have the biggest impact.

Create a manageable list of communication assets to engage your audience.

This could include social media profiles, a regularly updated blog, videos, webinars, newsletters, or conferences. Consider high-quality and visually compelling options like graphics, photos, and design to strengthen your brand. Keep your content fresh by following an editorial calendar to frequently release new information in a systematic way.

Share authentic stories to spread passion for your mission.

Profile individuals who have benefited from your nonprofit’s work. Explain their life experiences, challenges, and successes. Individual stories demonstrate real impact and help donors see the human side of your cause.

Promote your nonprofit as a hub of action and impact.

Highlight ways for people to get involved through contributing time, money, skills, and more. Action-oriented nonprofits where people feel they can make a difference will build a highly dedicated base of supporters.

A strategic communication plan takes consistent work but is vital for any nonprofit. By determining how to reach your audience, creating assets to spread your message, sharing stories of impact, and promoting opportunities for action, you can strengthen your brand, build community, and powerfully communicate your mission to spread meaningful change. Engaged supporters are passionate supporters, so make developing a comprehensive communication strategy a priority in advancing your nonprofit’s goals.

View the full recording of this session in our Resource Library.

Building a culture of philanthropy is a goal of many nonprofit boards and institutions, but how do organizations actually achieve it? According to the nonprofit fundraisers in a recent podcast, the path to creating a culture of philanthropy requires practical steps beyond catchphrases.

First, an organization must involve more people than just the development office.

This means educating faculty, students, administrators, and board members about fundraising. For example, one fundraiser described giving a scenario to faculty members showing how much potential donor funding was left untapped due to their lack of involvement. Although the faculty was initially frustrated, it demonstrated how their lack of understanding about development has real costs. With education, more groups will see development as a shared priority rather than solely the responsibility of fundraisers.

However, education is not enough. Stakeholders throughout the organization must take action to build donor relationships. As one fundraiser said, “It has to have actual, like, practical stuff, not a bunch of memes from Facebook.” For faculty and students, this could mean offering to give tours to donors or speaking about their work. For board members, this includes making introduction to their networks and personally meeting with key donors. Every stakeholder has a role to play to cultivate a culture of giving.

Finally, breaking down silos is key.

At larger institutions with more complex development operations, fundraisers noted the challenges of lack of collaboration across the organization. Different schools, units, and programs may operate in isolation, missing opportunities to make cross-departmental connections for donors. Building a culture of philanthropy requires a “one university” approach where the priorities of the whole institution come before territorial interests. Partnerships, communication, and lateral leadership are needed across bureaucratic divides.

While a culture of philanthropy begins with a vision from leadership, it only takes root through practical action. By educating stakeholders, mobilizing them to build donor relationships, and transcending organizational silos, nonprofits can transform a vague goal into a thriving fundraising culture. The path is challenging, but fundraisers agree the reward of more sustainable community support is worth the effort.

View the full recording of this session in our Resource Library.

For nonprofit fundraisers, stewarding donors and building strong relationships is key to success. As discussed by two nonprofit leaders, Ali Evans and Jane Smith, stewardship requires ongoing effort and communication to keep donors engaged with your mission.

Evans works for an agricultural research institute and has shifted her focus to stewarding existing donors due to the challenges of the pandemic.

She notes that “during the end of the year mailing or end of the year appeal, we’re all remote, we weren’t approved, because we’re at a 50 percent capacity is allowed in our building.”

To overcome this, Evans has implemented a personal letter writing campaign to her donors to stay in touch. She acknowledges that “it’s almost and it’s so like I said before, I come from this is my first gig as a full time fundraiser and we’ve always said, you’re donor centered.” For Evans, this means understanding that her older donors prefer direct mail and phone calls over digital communication.

Smith works for an organization serving people with disabilities and shares similar struggles in engaging donors during COVID-19. However, Smith has taken an innovative approach by helping her donors register for and schedule vaccine appointments.

She recognizes that “this would be going too far. I know in a normal world this would be going too far. But you have to help them because you want them to be safe. I mean, oh my gosh. I need their money. Yeah. But you want them to be alive. You know, we don’t want people to be sick.”

This act of goodwill helps cement her donors’ relationship to the organization.

In summary, stewarding donors requires time, care, and meeting them where they are—whether through letters, phone calls, helping schedule vaccines, or small acts of goodwill. While digital communications have their place, nonprofit fundraisers must remember that in-person connections and relationships are the foundation for building lasting donor support. With creative, donor-centered strategies, nonprofits can overcome the current challenges of fundraising and come out the other side with devoted supporters.

View the full recording of this session in our Resource Library.

A data-driven annual giving program relies on key metrics to track progress and optimize results. At the University of Tennessee, a custom dashboard provides a quick visual overview of annual giving key performance indicators (KPIs) which drive strategic decisions.

Eric William, Director of Annual Giving at UT, emphasizes focusing on metrics that directly correlate with donor giving.

For UT, six key metrics matter most: cash receipts, donor retention, new donors, average gift, direct cost ratio, and appeals ROI.

The annual giving dashboard projects how the program is tracking against yearly goals for each metric.

Cash receipts is the amount of actual money raised annually from annual giving channels like direct mail, phone, and online. Donor retention tracks the percentage of donors who give again within one year. New donors measures the number of first-time givers acquired. Average gift calculates the mean gift across all annual donors. The direct cost ratio compares annual expenses to the revenue raised. Finally, appeals ROI evaluates the return on investment from each annual giving solicitation campaign.

The metrics provide a high-level sense of annual giving health and performance. But the dashboard’s real value comes from analyzing trends over time and testing new strategies. UT reviews dashboard data monthly to determine what’s working, adjust course, and plan for the future. For example, noticing a drop in online giving response rates led UT to upgrade their website payment options to include PayPal and Venmo. After adding these options, 22% of donors gave via PayPal on their giving day.

Dashboards condense reams of data into a concise story about your program. But they must focus on the metrics most meaningful for your organization and fundraising goals. Track the numbers that influence revenue and relationships. Then monitor performance regularly and make data-driven decisions to strengthen your annual giving strategy. With a tailored dashboard and a commitment to continuous optimization, your annual giving program will thrive.

View the full recording of this session in our Resource Library.

Major gift fundraising is challenging work that requires more than just asking donors for money. According to Adam, a fundraising expert, a holistic approach focused on building internal relationships, strategic engagement, and long-term stewardship is key to success.

Adam emphasizes the importance of cultivating strong relationships within your organization. Meet regularly with faculty, staff, and leadership to understand their priorities and share how your team can help. Look for opportunities to collaborate, like engaging donors with their areas of interest or organizing joint events. Send updates on your work and wins to keep partners informed and build trust. When you do receive a gift, give public thanks and credit to everyone who helped. These relationships will lead to new prospects and bigger donations.

Strategic engagement at multiple levels is also crucial.

Develop targeted activities, like mentoring students, judging competitions, or joining advisory boards, based on your organization’s strengths and donors’ passions. Create a “tiered” system where donors become more deeply involved and connected over time through higher-level engagement. Paint a compelling picture of how donors’ support and participation will be stewardered to inspire their commitment and giving.

Stewardship should continue long after receiving a gift.

Send updates, videos and invitations to see the impact of donors’ generosity firsthand. Continue cultivating the relationship by finding new ways for them to engage and give at higher levels. A stewardship-first approach, built on meaningful engagement over many years, leads to donors who are so passionate about your mission that they are coming to you, asking how they can help and give more.

Major gift fundraising is difficult, but by focusing on relationships, engagement and stewardship—not just the ask—you will find more and bigger donors to support your important work. A holistic view of the fundraising journey and long-term partnership with donors and internal partners is the key to success.

View the full recording of this session in our Resource Library.

Nonprofit fundraisers can save time and personalize donor outreach using marketing automation. By connecting your donor data in a spreadsheet with your email service like Gmail, you can automatically send personalized emails to donors after they make a gift.

To get started, export your donor data from your CRM or database into a spreadsheet.

Include essential details like first name, last name, email, gift amount, and date. In Gmail, install the Zapier app which connects various software tools to automate workflows. Link your Gmail account and the spreadsheet.

In Zapier, set up the workflow to send an email whenever a new row is added to the spreadsheet.

You can choose to send the email immediately or save as a draft for review. For the “To” field, select the donor’s email address from your spreadsheet. Add your email address in the “From” and “Reply-To” fields and a friendly display name like “Donor Relations.”

In the email body, personalize the message using the donor’s first name.

For example, write “Dear [First Name], thank you for your generous gift of [Gift Amount] on [Gift Date].” Mention the impact of their gift and your organization’s mission. Choose a signature that pulls automatically from your Gmail account for a personalized sign-off.

Once the initial setup is complete in Zapier, this automated process will trigger each time you add a new donation record to your spreadsheet. The possibilities for further automation are endless. You can filter donors to send different emails, attach mailing addresses to print postcards, or use a mail merge file for more targeted outreach.

Automating your donor communications helps build better relationships through fast, personalized follow-up. Donors will appreciate your organization’s efficiency and your heartfelt gratitude for their support. With the right tools and workflows in place, you can focus less on administration and more on fundraising for your cause. Nonprofits of any size can benefit from marketing automation to express thanks and connect with donors.

View the full recording of this session in our Resource Library.

For nonprofit fundraisers, moving donors from casual followers to deeply engaged supporters requires viewing the relationship as an ongoing journey, not just a series of interactions. According to engagement expert Emily Taylor, fundraisers should think like “guitar teachers” who provide donors the right information and motivation at each stage to keep them progressing.

Taylor recommends fundraisers start by mapping their donors’ engagement journey. Identify how people first become aware of your work, then how they start following you, endorsing and promoting you, contributing time or money, taking ownership of your mission, and ultimately leading efforts to spread your impact. Look for gaps in the journey where donors tend to stall in their engagement.

Filling those gaps requires understanding donors’ unmet needs and motivations at each stage. Casual followers, for example, may be looking to connect with like-minded people or advance their careers. Meet these needs by facilitating social connections among donors and highlighting the professional networking benefits of deeper involvement. For donors ready to endorse or promote your work, make it easy by providing social media toolkits and asking them directly to share their experiences.

Donors who contribute want to feel they’re making a meaningful difference.

Spotlight the impact of their gifts and recognize them for their support. Those taking ownership are often motivated by leaving a lasting legacy. Offer naming opportunities or invite them into advisory roles.

The key is listening to understand what motivates your donors and tailoring your engagement strategy to guide them on a journey toward deeper fulfillment of those motivations. This requires collaboration across teams, because no single department is responsible for all touchpoints on a donor’s journey. According to Taylor, “The experience from the user’s perspective is holistic.” Viewing the journey through donors’ eyes and working as partners to facilitate progress is the path to greater engagement. With the right guidance, all donors can become advocates and champions for your cause.

View the full recording of this session in our Resource Library.

As nonprofit fundraisers evaluate new technologies to aid their efforts, it’s critical that end users are actively driving the selection process. Those who will operate the tools daily must define key needs, review options, and have a strong voice in the final choice.

Fundraising systems impact everything from data management to donor communications, so choosing wisely is important.

However, the people selecting the technology aren’t always the ones using it. Advancement services teams may lead the search but aren’t thinking about practical functionality. IT departments focus on integration and security but not user experience. Leadership cares about high-level metrics but not daily workflows.

End users know exactly what they need to do their jobs efficiently and build meaningful donor relationships.

They understand how new tools will impact their ability to handle gifts, send communications, conduct research, and more. While IT and leadership input is important, end users should shape final decisions to ensure maximum benefit.

A successful selection process gives end users opportunities to outline key needs, see demos of leading options, and weigh in on pros and cons. Their insights should directly inform selection criteria and final scoring. Don’t assume leadership or IT alone can choose effectively on users’ behalf.

Once a tool is selected, user buy-in is essential for successful adoption.

When end users feel heard in the process, they become champions who eagerly help introduce the technology to colleagues. But when decisions are made without their input, they may resist transitioning from legacy systems to new ones.

Fundraisers invest significant time and resources in new tools, so making the right choice matters. Technologies that look impressive in demos may prove cumbersome in reality. Don’t miss a chance for the perfect solution because those operating it daily weren’t truly consulted. Put end users in the driver’s seat to find fundraising technology that meets real needs and inspires adoption. Nonprofits will benefit as users gain efficiencies, build key skills, and better engage their donors.

View the full recording of this session in our Resource Library.

As a nonprofit fundraiser, you have a lot of information to keep track of—donors, events, volunteers, campaigns, and more. Managing all this data across spreadsheets, calendars, email, and other tools can be frustrating and lead to duplicate work or lost information.

Airtable is a cloud-based database platform that provides a centralized and customizable solution.

You can store all your nonprofit’s information in one place and view it in many ways. Airtable starts with a familiar spreadsheet-like interface, but each column has a “type” like text, date, checklist, or link. This ensures accurate data entry.

Airtable allows you to link records across tabs.

For example, you can have one tab for donors, one for events, and link a donor to the events they’ve attended. With Airtable’s calendar view, you can see this event information visually and subscribe to the calendar to get updates.

Airtable offers many useful features for nonprofits like forms, automations, and templates.

Forms allow people to submit information directly into your Airtable base. You can use forms to register event attendees, capture volunteer details, or let donors sign up for your mailing list.

Automations can automatically notify the right people when important information changes or a task is complete.

For example, an automation might alert your marketing team when an event sponsor form is submitted so they can start promotion.

There are also many free templates to help you get started, including donor database, event planning, and nonprofit project management templates. While the learning curve depends on how technical you want to get, Airtable is intuitive to pick up. With some experimenting, you’ll be up and running quickly.

For nonprofits and small teams, Airtable provides an easy yet powerful solution to organize your information in one place. Give Airtable a try—you have nothing to lose with their generous free plan. Manage your data, automate routine tasks, and gain valuable insights to strengthen your fundraising and operations.

View the full recording of this session in our Resource Library.