News and Resources
Client Advisory – Should "How America Gives" Change Your Strategy?
Originally published October 22, 2014 The Chronicle of Philanthropy recently released its annual “How America Gives” report, which outlines how U.S. philanthropy has changed from 2006 to 2012. Sourced from IRS data, the report highlights the continued impact of the...
Client Advisory – Every Donor Has a Story: Part II
BWF presents a glance at the healthcare sector’s $100 million+ donors since 2012.
HOW TO Manufacture Viral Fundraising Campaigns on Social Media
A few weeks back, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to record a podcast for Iris Creative. The subject? Using online ambassadors to bring about the viral spread of your organization’s message and fundraising asks. During the roughly 40-minute podcast we touch on a number of items, including: Why online ambassadors are so successful […]
Client Advisory – Every Donor Has a Story
Donations to higher education have increased almost 10% since 2012. Bolstering this increase were 12 gifts of $100 million and more, totaling $1.64 billion. The donors of these mega gifts are a mélange of characters including entrepreneurs, bankers, and developers. The only thing they all have in common is their extreme net worth. Inspired by this data, we’ve highlighted the $100 million+ donors to higher education.
Include “Trending Topics” in Your Facebook Posts for Bigger Audiences
A little while back, I blogged about the importance of meshing your social media content with pop culture and current events. As it turns out, that’s not just a communications strategy – it’s a technical approach to boosting your FNFO (Facebook Newsfeed optimization …patent pending on that acronym). Facebook now rewards posts with Newsfeed prominence … Continue reading →
Client Advisory – Effective Use of the Targeted Campaign
What size should your next campaign be? An alternative to a comprehensive campaign is a target campaign, which can help your institution fund an important or quickly emerging priority, help prepare for a larger campaign, or build the campaign base.
9 Steps to Your Smoothest December Yet
According to the results of a Bentz Whaley Flessner benchmarking survey, over 30 percent of gifts come in during the last few months of the year. While this significant increase is highly rewarding for institutions, the sheer volume causes complications for the hard-working operations teams in the back office who are responsible for entering and processing donors’ generous contributions. In this issue of Bentz Whaley Flessner’s Points of Practice, read how to prepare donors, fundraising staff members, and gift processing teams for the end-of-year rush.
Client Advisory – 4 Trends Impacting High-Net-Worth Donor Behavior and What It Means for Fundraising
Gaining a deeper understanding of donors who make mega gifts is increasingly important.This article discusses trends that may affect how high-net-worth individuals behave as donors and how these trends can impact the way donors should be stewarded.
Online = Big Donors: Why Your Major Gift Program Needs Social Media
Online donors… Have higher household incomes than offline (mail, primarily) donors. Give larger gifts than donors acquired via mail. Give more than twice as much over their lifetimes compared with donors acquired via mail. We know online fundraising is a strong tool for the annual fund. New donor acquisition, especially during ambasssador-led giving days, is … Continue reading →
Best Nonprofit Websites – Children’s National Health System
The Children’s National Health System website is one of the best I’ve seen. In any nonprofit vertical. The main homepage and Foundation homepage were redesigned last fall with a focus on simplicity and content. The design is clean and user-friendly, the content is fresh (thanks to being directly fed from institutional blogs), and the online … Continue reading →
Client Advisory – It's Never Too Early: Cultivating Student Donors
Client Advisory - August 13, 2014 The fall semester is gearing up, and so are your opportunities to cultivate the next generation of donors—your students. Turning students' attention to the importance of philanthropy can be challenging when they're focused on...
2 Keys to Giving Day Success – a Great Theme and a Major Donor
A lot goes into planning a giving day for higher education. There’s the online giving page, the ambassadors, communicating with colleagues across many different units and departments – all of it crucially important. Two specific tactics that have been attached to many of the success stories are based on big donors and big events: Connecting … Continue reading →
Client Advisory – CASE Campaign Report FY2013
Client Advisory - August 6, 2014 The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) released their 17th Analysis of Educational Fundraising Campaigns this week. We’ve compiled the highlights and summarized what we think they could mean for you: CASE Finding:...
Client Advisory – Maximizing the Return on Your Investment in Staff Development
Almost any development office can benefit from in-house training as part of a broader strategic talent management program to attract, grow, and retain a high-performing development team. Read about the seven advantages to an on-campus training series in this week’s Client Advisory.
Client Advisory – What Are You Doing Your Summer Months?
Client Advisory - July 16, 2014 Traditionally, this is a time when the office quiets down and the staff takes a breather before the busy fall begins. However, this time of year is also the perfect time for your institution’s fundraising services/operations services...