Look for boozing, hooking and shanking aplenty in Parkersburg, W.V. this July: The United Way Alliance of the Mid-Ohio Valley will partner with the Parkersburg Rotary Club in sponsoring the 51st Annual Sour Mash Golf Tournament. The event kicks off with a performance from golf trick shot artist Josh Kelly, whose combination of acrobatics and tee skills will have participants wondering what, exactly, was in…

Fundraising approaches are not gender-blind. Research examining reactions to a series of hypothetical solicitation letters from a nonprofit makes a case for testing direct mail copy on the basis of which gender will be receiving the pitch.  Researchers observed differences in both positive response and fundraising levels to pitches that incorporated two distinct approaches. But an actual fundraising letter, which was used as a control,…

Public health, economic, social, and civic disruptions of 2020 showed that positive trends in fundraising are vulnerable to shocks, even when the trend for giving, in general, was moving upward. Even though 46% of organizations reported increases in donations during 2020, the share of organizations for which donations decreased grew threefold, to 37%, according to data from the Urban Institute and the Center on Charitable…

Teresa Vasilopoulos, EMBA, CFRE, executive director of The WoodGreen Foundation in Toronto, Ontario, was selected as the 2022 Outstanding Fundraising Professional by the Association of Fundraising Professionals Global (AFP). The Outstanding Fundraising Professional award is the highest honor that AFP bestows upon one of its members, recognizing effective, creative and stimulating fundraising, as well as the practice and promotion of the highest ethical standards and…

In September 2021, musician Lil Nas X welcomed his debut album, Montero, with a “baby registry” that provided links to donation pages for various nonprofits. In late March 2022, the Gilead Compass Initiative, which works with 13 of the 16 nonprofits listed, announced that Lil Nas X’s registry had raised nearly half a million dollars to date for the 13 nonprofits. “Donations from the Montero…

A fundraising direct mail package created by members of the community who would benefit from the proceeds generated a higher average gift amount, and more money overall, than a package created by fundraising professionals, according to a test campaign coordinated by two U.K.-based academics. The test was conducted on behalf of Amref Health Africa, a medical services organization based in Nairobi, Kenya. The “participant-created pack”…

Software producers and digital content platforms have started selling bundles of digital products, with the proceeds set aside for humanitarian nonprofits that benefit Ukraine as the country attempts to hold off a Russian military invasion. San Francisco-based Humble Bundle, which supports nonprofits through sales of expansive packages of games, books and software at low prices, has raised more than $11 million as of March 21…

The University of Texas at Austin has launched the public phase of a $6 billion campaign. The effort, the What Starts Here campaign, generated more than $3.3 billion from 240,000 donors during its quiet phase, which began Sept. 1, 2016. That total alone exceeded the amount generated by UT at Austin’s previous campaign, the 2006-2014 Campaign for Texas. As of March 4, the What Starts…

“Caring with Crypto,” a campaign to raise money for nonprofits on cryptocurrency fundraising platform The Giving Block, will include a $10 million match in crypto from the CEO of its new parent company. Shift4 CEO Jared Isaacman will personally match $10 million in crypto donations along with a separate matching pool to benefit all new nonprofits that join The Giving Block platform, according to an…

Donations of cryptocurrency have surged amid global efforts to help Ukraine. Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic reports that $63 million through more than 120,000 donations have been donated via cryptocurrency. Most funds have gone to the Ukrainian government, with some also going to Come Back Alive Foundation, a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Ukraine.  UkraineDAO auctioned a Nonfungible Token (NFT) of the Ukrainian flag for $6.5 million…

You need to differentiate your organization from others, which comes after establishing your position in the community. According to direct response pioneer and guru Richard Viguerie, you might need to become “a purple cow.”  This will lead you to a few questions: What does it mean that you need to become a purple cow? How does differentiation relate to positioning? Differentiation is visual, why? First,…