Picture this: You’re the leader of a new nonprofit and are in charge of building the organization from the ground up. Items on your immediate to-do list might be spreading awareness of your mission, acquiring donors and volunteers, and applying for grants to cover initial overhead costs.

A Compliance Notice from the 501 Commons Human Resources Program

Fundraising is key to furthering your nonprofit’s mission and amplifying your impact. Since the communication channels you use greatly affect the way donors engage with your organization, it’s essential to focus on the channels they use frequently—such as text messaging.

All nonprofit marketers tackle this question daily. Marketing campaigns can vary greatly between nonprofits based on their specific donor base, but the common thread tying them all together? Bridging the emotional gap between your audience and your mission, which requires deep emotional intelligence (EQ).

Written by Vonnita Jones

Starting a new job triggers feelings of excitement but also some level of anxiety. Haphazard or nonexistent onboarding can be detrimental. It may portray the organization negatively (as not caring about its employees) or just being lackadaisical in all its operations. However, an official onboarding plan can alleviate feelings of discomfort and point new employees in the right direction as they begin their association with you.

Most leaders will agree that the engines moving them forward are their people. So, making smart hiring decisions is critical. Although all businesses have recruitment challenges (especially in the current turnover environment), nonprofits often have unique staffing issues that make it more difficult for them to find and retain exceptional talent.

A lasting legacy of the pandemic has been the rise of virtual galas and other types of online fundraisers as a viable way to raise dollars. As one of the newer opportunities in the nonprofit world, online events generally have the most potential for improvement.

It is now time to plan your GivingTuesday campaign!

As we move to address the various challenges brought upon by the pandemic and related economic burdens, let's take this as an opportunity to rethink how we run our organizations from the top to the bottom.

Of the 87,142 foundations operating in the United States, 1,329 are in Washington State, and they awarded more than $3.9 billion to nonprofits in 2013. While individual gifts are an important avenue of generating revenue, the importance of grants and applying for grants cannot be ignored. We provide helpful grant writing resources and referrals that can help you raise the funds you need to support your mission.

Nonprofits are resourceful, but sometimes you need an extra hand with more in-depth expertise to help you find new donors or work out kinks in your strategy. If your organization needs a fundraising boost but isn’t sure how to get there, hiring a fundraising consultant could be the answer.

Nonprofits have led the charge on many of the major movements that have changed our country. Whether it’s child labor laws, food regulations, women’s right to vote, racial and LGBTQ equality laws, or employee rights – the nonprofit sector played a substantial role in giving these movements life at the grassroots level.

A donation page is a powerful tool for nonprofits. From expanding your reach to attracting new donors, your nonprofit needs a strong online presence—and this includes a well-designed donation page. However, simply bringing new donors to your page isn’t enough. You also want supporters to stick around for the long term and become recurring donors.

With the development of so many incredible technologies available to us today, the best choices for nonprofits should keep accessibility in mind. Simply said: "When websites and web tools are properly designed and coded, people with disabilities can use them."