We’ve shared a lot of our own advice with you over the past several months. Data-driven communications for nonprofits and fundraisers are our expertise. But we’ve also branched out to cover a wide variety of topics that can help nonprofits think differently about their approach.
However, like in fundraising itself, there is no one-size fits all approach. While we can talk about nonprofit communications endlessly, we know that some variety can provide a breath of fresh air in any communications strategy. No two donors are the same. The same is true of our loyal audience members! This week, we wanted to share some insights from elsewhere in the fundraising world and give you a fresh perspective by recommending some of the blogs and websites our team reads on a regular basis.
Here is a list of 10 websites that we love (in no particular order), as well as a brief description of the site and a link to one of their recent posts that we particularly enjoyed:
GuideStar Blog
GuideStar is to nonprofits what Yelp is to restaurants. Their mission is to “revolutionize philanthropy by providing information that advances transparency, enables users to make better decisions, and encourages charitable giving.” Their platform helps donors learn some details about an organization before they commit to giving. Their blog offers insights into fundraising and nonprofit leadership best practices.
Qgiv Blog
The team at Qgiv are experts in crowdfunding, peer-to-peer giving, and text-to-give campaigns. Their suite of tools make it easy for organizations large and small to launch a successful digital giving campaign. Their blog features an array of articles on the latest tips and trends in digital fundraising.
Amy Eisenstein Blog
Amy Eisenstein is an expert on major gifts and runs a blog that shares her knowledge with the world. She’s helped nonprofits, both large and small, raise millions with major gift and capital campaigns. She also specializes in board development, annual funds, direct mail, and planned giving. She served as the AFP New Jersey Chapter Board President in 2014 and 2015 and strives to make nonprofit development simple.
READ: 3 Practical Ways to Bring Equality and Justice to the Nonprofit Workplace
GoFundMe Blog
Everyone knows GoFundMe as one of the go-to’s for crowdfunding. Their platform makes it easy for nonprofits and individuals to raise money and support a cause. However, you might not have known that they also run an excellent blog, covering everything from fundraising promotion and strategy, to how-to articles on financial assistance.
READ: Crowdfunding for Teachers: Raise Funds for Your Classroom
Hands-On Fundraising (Mary Cahalane)
Mary Cahalane, the principal of Hands-On Fundraising, helps nonprofit organizations succeed through great communications, thoughtful planning and strong donor relationships. Mary’s blog, Hands-On Fundraising, was named as one of the Best Fundraising Blogs for 2019 by Future Fundraising Now and one of the Top 75 Fundraising Websites and Blogs to Follow in 2019 by Feedspot.
READ: Fundraisers: Why You Should Use Stories, Not Statistics
Fired Up Fundraising (Gail Perry)
I look forward Gail Perry’s weekly e-newsletter every week. It’s a great example of practicing what you preach! Her emails all feel personal and engaging. She will even ask you questions and encourage you to respond! Gail Perry is an international fundraising consultant, keynote speaker, trainer and philanthropy leader. Her Fired-Up Fundraising approach has helped organizations raise hundreds of millions in gifts.
READ: Opening the Door to a Major Gift Prospect: The Advice Visit
Double the Donation Blog
Double the Donation is a company that helps fundraisers integrate match-gift functionality into their platform. Their goal is to help organizations generate the funding that’s necessary to focus on their core missions of education, community enrichment, scientific research, or charitable giving. Their blog focuses on ways to secure match gifts, but also offers some tips on more general fundraising practices.
The Fundraising Authority
With a name like that, you’d better believe the team at The Fundraising Authority know a thing or two about raising money for a cause. The site was founded to offer professional tools and information to charitable organizations of all sizes and offers everything from in-depth guides on the basics of fundraising, to articles and webinars on more advanced topics.
READ: The Four Key Fundraising Roles of Your Board of Directors
The Storytelling Nonprofit (Vanessa Chase Lockshin)
Vanessa Chase Lockshin wrote the book on nonprofit storytelling. That’s not just a figure of speech! She’s the author of The Storytelling Nonprofit: A Practical Guide to Telling Stories that Raise Money and Awareness and runs The Storytelling Nonprofit blog. She is an expert in telling stories that engage donors and inspire them to give. Her blog focuses on, you guessed it, storytelling strategies for nonprofits.
The Grow Report (Pamela Grow)
Pamela Grow’s long running blog, The Grow Report, has been recognized as one of the Top 25 Must Read Nonprofit IT blogs by biztechmagazine.com. Pamela herself has been named as one of America’s Top 25 Fundraising experts by Philanthropy Media and the Michael Chatman Network. Her blog covers a wide array of fundraising related topics and has over 30,000 subscribers who receive a weekly newsletter.
READ: 5 Tips for Becoming a Foundation Grants Prospect Research Detective
We hope you enjoy these resources from some of our colleagues in the world of fundraising and nonprofit communications. Don’t worry, we will return to sharing our own insights in a new, original blog post next week!
