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As we turn the page on the calendar and step into a new year, nonprofit leaders everywhere are greeted with a world of opportunity. The new year is more than just a fresh start; it’s a chance to reflect, reimagine, and reignite our passion for the causes we serve.

Written By: Kali Righter and Sarah Breece 

With nearly 31% of annual donations coming in December, crafting a strong appeal is essential for your nonprofit organization.

1. Step one is identifying the right story and writing impactful copy.
2. Step two is determining who you will be soliciting and how they will be asked.

Here are strategies to maximize the use of your donor database and wealth screening tools for this process.

The time between Thanksgiving and year-end offers a prime window for fundraising, as people often feel a heightened sense of generosity and motivation to support causes they care about. This season can be a tremendous opportunity to engage donors, share your mission’s impact, and inspire end-of-year contributions. Here are some practical fundraising strategies and tactics to maximize your campaign success during this season:

Whether you’re looking to finish strong on an already successful year, or you’re looking to close a gap to goal, this story of a high school wrestling tournament offers four ways to help any team reach their goal in the face of adversity.

First, let me set the stage…

As our clients seek to finish the year strong, we are helping them navigate the changing landscape of grant writing with its new challenges and opportunities. Staying ahead of the curve is crucial for anyone looking to secure funding in a competitive environment. Here’s a look at the latest trends that we are seeing in grant writing. Consider using these strategies to refine your approach and increase your chances of success.

No spoilers…I promise! In both the book, The Martian, and the equally excellent movie by the same name, astronaut Mark Watney (played by Matt Damon) is left on Mars after an unexpected dust storm forces the rest of the crew to abandon the planet without him. With scarce food, an inability to communicate, a living environment built to last only a month, and only disco music, as “setbacks” go, this one is colossal.

If you’ve worked in a nonprofit (or probably just about anywhere), you know that not every project goes as planned. In fact, sometimes plan A turns into plan D or E or F. Often, the setbacks are minor – like you used the wrong mail permit number on a mass mailing – and easily fixed. Sometimes, they are more significant – like a lead gift in a capital campaign changes course and decides not to give at all – and mean you need to go back to reset and re-strategize.

Just as Watney (also, luckily, a trained botanist) figures out how to grow enough potatoes to keep himself alive for four years until another mission can return to save him, there is another setback and it’s a doozey!

What does he do? He “works the problem.”

Every nonprofit organization builds its success on well-defined strategies. But what happens when those strategies, once so promising, start to show cracks? Knowing when to adjust the strategies in your strategic plan and when to give your strategy time to play out can be a critical turning point for the leadership of your organization. How can you tell if something is amiss?

Simple or complex?  Basic or advanced?  Checkers or chess? Which approach best describes your fundraising?

What will the impact of AI be on your work? How can you use AI tools to streamline your donor communications? What even is ChatGPT? All of these are legitimate questions that nonprofit leaders are tackling. Consider this a primer to jumpstart your own usage of this technology.