News and Resources
Stewarding Donors with Dementia
Dementia currently affects more than 5.5 million people in the U.S., and this number is expected to double to approximately 16 million people in 30 years. This intersection between a growing population and donor demographic greatly emphasizes why all nonprofit...
BWF Client Advisory: Year-End Goal-Setting Done Right
Fiscal year-end is right around the corner for many of us. This is often a busy time, and year-end planning & goal-setting for the coming year is on everyone’s to-do lists. Regardless of whether the goal you’re setting is financial or based on activities, or whether it applies to your whole organization or only a small team, here are some practical techniques that can help make your goal-setting more proactive, efficient, and accurate.
“Ain’t Misbehaving”: Understanding Behavioral Economics to Strengthen Fundraising Potential
Behavioral economics provides a framework to understanding philanthropic behavior. March's BWF Live Fundraising show, hosted by Alex Oftelie, provided a summary of how to more accurately understand your constituents motivation, and how it becomes expressed through...
Women Give 2019: Generosity Links Women Across Race and Ethnicity
Women Give is an annual report from the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at Indiana University. This year’s study, Women Give 2019: Gender and Giving Across Communities of Color, examines the intersection of race, gender and giving, and asks how we can attend to this intersection in order to better serve our communities and shared futures. Read more for BWF’s recommendations on how to apply the report’s insights to your organization.
Strategic Fiscal Year-End Investments
BWF offers strategic fundraising services for nonprofits to invest their fiscal year-end dollars.
BWF Client Advisory: Five Important Findings for Community Hospital Fundraising
For a growing number of hospitals, particularly nonprofit community hospitals, philanthropy is considered a necessity. Philanthropy is no longer seen as only supporting added extras—it's now a source of revenue that supports the overall care of patients. In many...
BWF Client Advisory: Leveraging Internal Resources for Board Candidate Prospecting
What strategies do you use to identify, track, and vet potential board candidates? Board members are your top donors, your most vocal cheerleaders, and are fiduciarily responsible for your organization. Your organization needs sound practices in place to ensure you...
BWF Client Advisory-VSE Survey Results
Higher Education Raises $46.73 Billion in 2018 According to the recently released 2018 Voluntary Support of Education (VSE) Survey, charitable support of colleges and universities reached $46.73 billion in 2018, up from $43.6 billion in 2017, a 4.6 percent increase...
BWF Client Advisory: Small Shop Volunteer Engagement
Volunteers, especially in smaller nonprofit organizations, are an invaluable resource. Many of these small organizations are often run entirely by volunteers. According to Independent Sector, as of April 2018, “The updated value of a volunteer hour is the equivalent...
BWF Client Advisory: The Role of Social Norms
The newest report from the Women’s Philanthropy Institute, Encouraging Giving to Women’s & Girls’ Causes: The Role of Social Norms, explores the intersection of social norms, gender, and charitable giving. This study analyzes how current giving behavior of others,...
The Popped Kernel: Grateful Patient Dynamic Scoring
Healthcare fundraising presents unique challenges, particularly relating to the prospect pipeline. Unlike educational institutions with naturally engaged alumni populations, most healthcare organizations and foundations have only a kernel of highly engaged and...
Fundraising in 2018: Looking Back to Move Forward
As 2019 begins, we can look back on 2018 and explore important trends that have shaped philanthropy and consider how they will affect the year ahead. The world of giving has been shaped by at least five trends: 1. Volatile markets impact giving. December 2017 was a...
Three strategies to get personal with donors
As the holiday memories fade and we start the new year, now is the perfect time to reflect on the past year and develop an action plan. It is time to go beyond just thanking donors and start engaging donors. There are many ways you can go beyond the standard...
BWF Client Advisory: The Ticking Time Bomb in Stewardship
We often talk about how today’s major gift donor is more sophisticated than ever, and thus more demanding. This is a good thing, because it makes those of us who are professional fundraisers more accountable and responsive to the needs of the donor. For example, a...
Hosting Acquisition Events: Increase Your Leadership Annual Fund Donors
Every annual fund needs new donors and more dollars to grow and succeed (and meet increased expectations and budget goals). While that’s nothing new, what about trying a different and exciting way to acquire leadership annual fund donors? Hosting an acquisition event...