First, imagine what key words a person might use to locate your organization, and do a search yourself. Does your website come up? How far into the text on your home page do those key words appear? What other possible key words might a person employ?
Read MoreYou might wonder how this founder of an organization that builds sustainable farms in developing countries and executive director of a breast health education nonprofit came to be such good friends. Their relationship was cemented on a trip to Kigali, Rwanda when they were stranded in a Montreal airport.
Read MoreAs of November 2018, there are 23,000 nonprofits in Houston alone – what unlikely relationships can you imagine? What can you do to drive up the number of your Fans and Followers to make your organization more attractive to potential partners?
Read MoreThe very best professional development program in existence began in California in 1924. Currently, 270,000 people in 116 countries avail themselves of this training at a cost of roughly $100/year per person. What’s more, the sponsoring organization is a nonprofit! Can you guess what it is?
Read MoreHave you ever said “We are the best-kept secret in (insert your field)”? It’s a common theme in the nonprofit world, where there is great reluctance to spend funds on marketing and public relations (P.R.) that could otherwise go towards supporting the organization’s mission.
Read MoreAs nonprofit fundraisers, we are constantly asked about the number of volunteer hours contributed by board members, their financial gifts, and whether the board fund reflects “100% participation” – in short, what have the board members done for the organization? Instead, let’s turn this question on its head.
Read MoreNo successful organization, for-profit or nonprofit, balks at the idea of spending long hours hammering out a multi-year strategic plan. Although the process can be painful, it gives leadership a chance to be heard.
Read MoreWhat percentage of the organization’s development time and resources are currently being dedicated to managing website content, and is it enough? Is website maintenance a line item in the operating budget? If not, should it be?
Read MoreFriendraising events are most successful when heavily supported by content on the Internet, which means the largest cost will likely be in man-hours expended. However, by hosting a non-fundraising event, you lower the threshold to new “friends” who are potential volunteers, if not future financial donors.
Read MoreYes, we believe that there is value in these online philanthropic campaigns, although not for much longer. Like most things, it’s best if you get in the game early. If you don’t, others will have figured out loopholes or ways to stack the deck, despite all efforts to prevent them from doing so, and winning will become virtually impossible (pun intended).
Read MoreWhat is your nonprofit’s Creation Story? Was there a pivotal incident or person(s) whose vision and leadership provided the template for what you do today? Do you celebrate/commemorate these events or people in any way? Is this information posted prominently on your website? Could your staff and volunteers tell a potential donor how and why your nonprofit was born?
Read MoreWhat makes these two programs successful is that they both offer a variety of options for volunteers to fulfill and, more importantly, volunteers are able to connect with the clients. When you personally deliver gifts to a refugee family, or serve breakfast to a homeless person, you come to understand the significance of the contribution that you are making, and the fact that the person receiving it really isn’t so different from you. Philanthropy depends as much upon volunteering, as it does on monetary donations.
Read MoreThe take-away from Archway’s example is that collaborations can be highly successful – but all parties must have the same core values. Make sure to allow adequate time for extensive research first. The benefits will be worth it.
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