5 Effective Tips to Increase Fundraising Event Attendance

Your events are among the highlights of your fundraising campaigns. You and your team spend months developing the programming, finding the perfect venue, and planning what to do with the proceeds. Because of your dedication, your events get better every year. But no matter how well-planned your events are, they are only successful if they are attended. You have to revisit your attendance strategy year after year just like you improve the other elements of your events. Whether you’re organizing a multi-platform day of giving1 or a capital campaign kickoff gala, these five tips will help you bring more donors to…

Donor Cultivation: 6 Easy Steps to Engage & Retain your Donors

All fundraising initiatives have participation goals: net new donors, employee giving, alumni engagement, or even recurring gifts. While goals change from season to season, the overall mission remains the same for many institutions: increase donor retention. As more and more organizations turn to digital giving, some of the tactics and channels for reaching and stewarding donors have shifted. Learn about the ways in which you can utilize new trends in giving to retain your donors.   #1 | Motivate Begin by motivating donors! Use the mission and goals of a campaign to align with the affinities of your supporters. The…

Day in the Life of an Annual Giving Fundraiser (GIFs)

    When advancement services pulls the wrong list.   [iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/ylMF2SwbAotLa" width="480" height="270"]  When you accidentally include the board of trustees in your solicitation email.   [iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/jeCoOrrbhDgRO" width="360" height="480"]  When it’s 11:59 on June 29th   [iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/NAn839YizXYXK" width="480" height="320"]  When it’s 12:01 on July 1st   [iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/rumR5iFBxFjdC" width="480" height="185"]  When your goal is set by throwing darts, spinning a wheel, etc.   [iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/26AHzFnyzk7xia8a4" width="480" height="270"]  When the Chancellor recognizes you and knows your name!   [iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/qTUxBRlcZjBgk" width="480" height="264"]  When alumni relations complains about phone solicitations to alumni.   [iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/vLhYqCSE2YVXi" width="480" height="294"]  When marketing…

Mobile Fundraising and Text-to-Give: How Nonprofits Can Maximize Their Efforts

As a nonprofit professional, you’re probably well-versed in fundraising best practices. But how much do you know about mobile fundraising? It’s a broad and pretty all-encompassing term that spans from text-to-give to mobile email and beyond. And, luckily, it can easily be incorporated into your nonprofit’s existing donation efforts, such as crowdfunding campaigns and giving days. How, you ask? That’s where this article comes in! You’ll learn how to ramp up your mobile fundraising efforts to maximize donations in the following ways: Get your text-to-give game on point.   Optimize your emails for mobile.   Turn your online donation form…

The Evolution of Philanthropy & the Fall of the Fundraising Pyramid

For a long time, philanthropy has been defined as “the giving of money to nonprofit organizations.” However, this definition is quickly becoming obsolete. It's evolving towards a meaning that is more appropriate to today’s giving paradigm and less industry-driven: that philanthropy is “the action of transforming the social wellbeing of others through generosity.” This implies that there are many more philanthropists in the world than our antiquated definition acknowledges. More importantly, this new way of looking at philanthropy forces nonprofit organizations to reconsider not only why they do what they do but how they do it at a systemic level. This…

Katie Haystead

Katie Haystead

Senior Vice President, Partnerships

With over a decade of experience working with K12 schools and higher education institutions’ fundraising efforts, Katie Haystead now oversees the partnerships team at Community Funded. Her passion for partner success and satisfaction aligns with Community Funded’s priorities and Katie’s unique background is well suited to manage the day to day operations of our partnerships team as well as new market acquisition.

Prior to joining the team at Community Funded, Katie served many roles within the Fundraising Division at Ruffalo Noel Levitz. Her experience ranges from working onsite and remotely with clients executing phonathon programs, developing annual giving strategies, onsite consultations and also developing multichannel strategies allowing for strong synergy between annual giving channels and creating strong major and planned gift pipelines.

Katie is based in Metro Detroit and is a graduate of Central Michigan University, where she worked for the phonathon for 3 years while working towards her History Major.

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Kim Jennings

Kim Jennings

Senior Generosity Strategist, Generis

Kim Jennings, CFRE is a skilled fundraising leader who believes in the power of Christian education to raise up thoughtful, strong, committed leaders who can make our world a better place for all.

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Kim Jennings

Todd Turner

Director of Digital Strategies, Generis

In addition to his 11 years overseeing Chuck Swindoll’s Insight Living Ministries communications department, Todd Turner has worked as a digital strategist for faith based organizations across the globe..

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Kim Jennings

Jennifer Perrow

Senior Generosity Strategist, Generis

Jennifer is a skilled fundraising and communications professional who helps ministries articulate vision, communicate mission, and raise abundant funds to advance Kingdom priorities.

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