In this original blog, Ashley Gatewood, Communication and Marketing Director at CFRE International, explains the importance of investing in training. When employers need to trim a budget line item in leaner times, professional development frequently gets the first cut of the ax. It feels quite ironic, doesn’t it? If your organisation needs to succeed against … Continue reading You’re Worth the Investment: How to Advocate for Your Professional Development
How Accessible Data Can Make Nonprofits More Effective
Can you think of a time when a new strategy didn’t work, results changed unexpectedly, or a goal was missed? Through the power of hindsight, you may be able to see right away if it was due to a knowledge or skills gap. A recent study into these competencies showed that at least 59% of … Continue reading How Accessible Data Can Make Nonprofits More Effective
5 Ways to Make the Case for the Back Office in Fundraising
Why is it so hard to secure investment for non-frontline roles? Perhaps the easiest answer is to acknowledge that leadership rarely has a fundraising background. But leaders are more likely to interact with the frontline officers. Their experience with fundraising is seeing and perhaps participating only in the cultivation and asking process. Their line of … Continue reading 5 Ways to Make the Case for the Back Office in Fundraising
How to Develop Effective KPIs
Of course Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are important. But, when push comes to shove, KPIs are only really useful if you identify the right ones for your cause. They will only deliver mission-critical data if you use the KPIs and analyse what they tell you on a regular basis to inform your decision making. In … Continue reading How to Develop Effective KPIs
Nonprofits are the engines of change
Nonprofits operate in an increasingly volatile world -- and a rapidly evolving digital landscape. This was true before the pandemic and even more so now. According to a 2020 nonprofit trends report, the demand for more nonprofit programs and services is rising. So what can non-profits do now to be successful? Vala Afshar looks for … Continue reading Nonprofits are the engines of change
Five For-Profit Practices That Philanthropy Should Avoid
Judy Park, Kavya Shankar and a group of Stanford MBA students interviewed millennial donors from the Silicon Valley startup world and these conservations showed a pattern of overreliance on certain for-profit principles in the nonprofit realm, despite potential flaws. One young tech executive in San Francisco said she wanted to maximize return on investment. The … Continue reading Five For-Profit Practices That Philanthropy Should Avoid
Fundraising in 2021 – what might we expect?
Back in June 2020, Mark Phillips wrote a study on what fundraising in 2021 might look like? As we head towards an easing of lockdown 3, now seems like a good time to reflect on Mark's wise words to help us through the rest of the year. When Mark was writing thus, there obviously was … Continue reading Fundraising in 2021 – what might we expect?
Olive Cooke: Five Years On – How far have we come?
It has been five and a half years since the tragic death of Olive Cooke. Most fundraisers will remember the media furore that erupted in the months immediately following her death, when it was revealed she had been receiving close on 3000 mailings from charities in the course of a typical year. Family and friends … Continue reading Olive Cooke: Five Years On – How far have we come?
“If You Can’t Measure It, You Can’t Manage It” – Using Metrics to Strengthen Your Fundraising Program
It is common knowledge that to effectively manage donor relationships and see the greatest success in your fundraising program, you must build strong ties between your prospects and your organization’s mission. Relationships will always be the foundation of a fruitful fundraising program. But, you can’t build a relationship on metrics. While relationships have and will … Continue reading “If You Can’t Measure It, You Can’t Manage It” – Using Metrics to Strengthen Your Fundraising Program
How Do You Measure Project Performance – The KPIs That Really Matter
With any business initiative, there’s an expectation that performance is monitored and measured to gauge return on investment and to determine if goals were achieved; business projects are no exception. Since data drives many decisions today, you will likely be expected to measure project performance with data. Here, Bernard Marr shares some of the key … Continue reading How Do You Measure Project Performance – The KPIs That Really Matter
Propper Fundraising 