Thought Leadership

BWF is a recognized and respected thought leader in the philanthropic sector. We are constantly assessing the fundraising landscape and providing timely guidance and insights.

BWF is a recognized and respected thought leader in the philanthropic sector. We are constantly assessing the fundraising landscape and providing timely guidance and insights.

AI Fundraising Use Cases: Ways to Propel Your Giving Efforts

Ready to start using AI for fundraising? This guide explores common AI fundraising use cases and strategies to make the most of your innovative solutions.

Read More

Harnessing the Momentum of Your Public Launch to Propel the Campaign Forward

Fundraising and communicating throughout an entire campaign can be challenging, especially given the length of some campaigns today. Planning at every stage is essential for staying focused, being strategic, and driving results. Here are five ways to seize the moment and build on the momentum to keep your campaign moving forward to the finish line.

Read More

More With What You Have: The “New Math” of Advancement in Higher Ed

University presidents are making tough financial trade-offs and increasingly looking to advancement to do more than just fundraise. They’re expecting advancement to bridge the gap and help solve the institution’s broader financial challenges. Here’s the hard truth: You can’t meet tomorrow’s goals with yesterday’s structure, especially when budget growth and new hires are not realistic options. This article takes you through steps to automate the routine so your staff can level up.

Read More

The Donors We’ve Been Expecting are Here: Now What?

Giving USA, now in its 70th year, continues to be one of the most comprehensive, influential, and informative annual assessments of fundraising in the U.S. The 2025 report lays out the most current themes and trends in giving across all sectors, and many of those are shaped by donors aged 45 and younger. Here’s a look at how this research can and should shape healthcare fundraising in the coming year and beyond.

Read More

Communicating for Impact: Trends Reshaping How We Communicate with Donors

It’s a brand-new world in many ways. Today, we quickly go from the novel to the mundane (remember hashtags?) and ubiquitous (think AI, digital wallets). And communicating effectively with donors now requires an updated toolkit and both a different mindset and a new skillset. In this white paper, we’ll examine these trends and identify ways for you to embrace them.

Read More

Salesforce ISVs in Motion: What the Affinaquest and Kindsight Merger Means for Your CRM Strategy 

Over the past five years, Salesforce has made nearly two dozen acquisitions to expand its capabilities and enrich the AppExchange ecosystem. In parallel, independent software vendors (ISVs) within the Salesforce marketplace have pursued their own growth strategies—sometimes through mergers that promise to fast-track innovation and improve functionality for nonprofit and higher education clients. The merger of Affinaquest and Kindsight is one such example. So what does that mean for you?

Read More

Grateful Patient Programs: A Strategic Fundraising Guide

Transform your hospital’s fundraising with dynamic grateful patient programs. This guide offers impactful tips to elevate your efforts and boost generosity.

Read More

Using Video to Drive Donor Engagement

In the evolving landscape of nonprofit fundraising, it’s never been more important to build deeper connections with your donors. Today, many organizations are turning to omnichannel strategies for communicating with and connecting with donors to capture attention and inspire action. This article dives into the benefits of an engagement-first strategy, what “omnichannel fundraising” is, and how it differs from the multichannel approach. 

Read More

Leading Through Continued Uncertainty: Mid-Year Reflections on an Evolving Nonprofit Sector

As nonprofits continue to seek clarity about what lies ahead, the Giving USA Foundation published its annual report on philanthropy, which reported growth in giving in 2024. It’s easy to feel as though the trends and analysis of 2024 giving are detached from the current state of nonprofits, but the Giving USA data provides an anchor for nonprofits making decisions about how to navigate the rest of 2025 and the years ahead. This article helps fundraising leaders navigate their organization in uncertain moments.

Read More

Giving USA 2025 Report Insights

BWF is pleased to share key findings and analysis from Giving USA 2025: The Annual Report on Philanthropy. Presented by the research team at the Indiana University Lilly School of Philanthropy and fundraising professionals at Giving USA Foundation, the Giving USA report is the longest-running, most extensive report on philanthropy in the United States. BWF is proud to be a member of The Giving Institute.

Read More