There's a saying, "If you've met one foundation, you've met one foundation." It's true. Funders have different priorities. They're different sizes. They all have different trustees and different sized staffs. They also have different ways of making decisions. Yet one thing that all funders have in common is this: there's usually a method to the madness when it comes to their decision-making. Understanding the process from a funders' perspective can help you in your overall grantseeking process. (read more)

How often do you fall into the "fact trap" when writing grant proposals? Do you even know when you're in it? Learn what the "fact trap" is and why you want to avoid it when writing grant proposals. (read more)

The start of a nonprofit's new (fiscal) year is always an exciting time, with new fundraising goals to meet or exceed. Yet far too many nonprofit leaders rely on the budget - the bottom line - to measure annual success. In fact, there are many ways (and reasons) to measure various components of your fundraising campaigns. This post explores 9 essential metrics and offers tools to help you calculate and track them - so your fundraising stays on track all year long. (read more)

Charitable giving in the U.S. reached an all-time high in 2017, crossing the $400 billion mark. (Yes, billion with a "b.") This is one of the findings from the most recent Giving USA report, which tracks annual giving trends. Here are five highlights from the Giving USA 2018 report and why these takeaways matter to you. (read more)

Your nonprofit relies on donations from individual donors. And, chances are, you're a donor to other nonprofits as well. Do you pay attention to how different organizations thank you when you make a donation? I sure do. Recently, I made modest, but equal, gifts to a dozen nonprofits. What happened next inspired this post. (read more)

For a lot of nonprofits, June 30 marks the end of the fiscal year. Most nonprofits use their bottom line as the primary measure of success. And many will use it as the only way to measure the success of their fundraising program. The thing is, meeting your budget numbers shouldn't be your only fundraising goal. (read more)