NonProfit News That Matters

Welcome to our NonProfit News That Matters Blog.  Here at Goettler Associates, we are continuously watching developments in the philanthropic marketplace, reviewing new research studies, reading trade publications, and scouring industry blogs. The quantity of available information is a little overwhelming at times, so we though we’d help our friends and colleagues along by sharing the NonProfit News That Matters most.

Let us know what you think, join the conversation.


Recent Articles

A Compendium of Blog Posts

Category: News & Information
Navigating the Road Ahead ... through the elements of fundraising success Compendium-Navigating-the-Road-Ahead-Blog-Sereies-2Download

The Road Ahead with a realistic and well-executed plan of campaign.

Category: News & Information
Everyone wants to raise more money for their organizations, but to do so your organization needs a plan.  A realistic plan will incorporate the various elements of successful fundraising, as well as the Campaign Principle.  At the very least your plan of campaign will target a specific amount of money,  define the specific purpose f...

Navigating the Road Ahead through Pacesetting Leadership Gifts

Category: News & Information
People still give to people, but do they still make gifts in consideration of the size of gifts made by others?  In other words, after a donor decides to support an organization, how do they determine how much they will give?  This is where our next element of fundraising success comes in to play.  Successful fundraisers work to inf...

Navigating the Road Ahead with Committed Volunteer Leaders

Category: News & Information
Our nation’s history of philanthropic accomplishment relies heavily on one-to-one human linkages and accountability.  This is especially true in the area of major gift fundraising.  Of all the elements of successful fundraising, the most important is the need for actively involved, qualified and committed volunteer leaders. Phil...

Navigating the Road Ahead with Sufficient Financial Resources

Category: News & Information
Fundraising professionals are an optimistic bunch, but at some point we must acknowledge that attaining a specific dollar goal is dependent upon the cultivation of a constituency with sufficient financial resources.  Fundraisers must be more strategic in their work than simply believing that the money is out there.  It is incumbent upon ...

Navigating the Road Ahead with a Compelling Case for Support

Category: News & Information
Now that we have examined the first two essential elements of successful fundraising (#1: A solid organization; and, #2: A worthwhile project) we are ready to explore the development of a compelling case for support.  Anyone affiliated with a nonprofit organization either as a staff professional or as a volunteer leader understands that a str...

Navigating the Road Ahead Inspired by a Big Idea

Category: News & Information
Last week we stressed the importance of defining a worthwhile project as a key part of your major gift fundraising strategy, but identifying your organization’s Big Idea may be more challenging in our shifting social and economic climate. It seems that forecasting and strategic planning has become more difficult in recent years ...

Navigating the Road Ahead with a Worthwhile Project

Category: News & Information
If you want to attract and secure major gifts or launch a capital campaign, you will need a Big Idea - a good story, and a worthwhile project for donors to invest in. If you want to change the future, your nonprofit organization will need to focus on identifying, securing, and retaining major gifts.  Estimates of total dollars donated  to cha...

Navigating the Road Ahead: Solid Organizations know their donors

Category: News & Information
Last week, we began exploring how solid organizations are navigating the road ahead and distinguishing themselves in the philanthropic marketplace.  This week we want to explore if the donor is changing their definition of what matters.  Have donors changed how they look at solid organizations?  Are donors now looking at their giving decisions ...

Navigating the Road Ahead as a Solid Organization

Category: News & Information
The first element of fundraising success begins with defining your nonprofit as a solid organization.  Is this still valid today?  Even before the momentous events of 2020, the world-wide pandemic, and last summer’s civic disruptions there have been a growing number of voices that are challenging the status quo of accepted best ...

Navigating the Road Ahead…

Category: News & Information
Navigating the Road Ahead through the elements of fundraising success As the dust settles from Covid-19, we are discovering that the Road Ahead is fraught with concerns and challenges similar to the shutdown itself.  There is also a growing chorus of voices that are challenging the status quo of today’s best practices and social construc...

Giving Makes People Happy

Category: Fund Raising
Professional fundraisers need to remember that Giving Makes People Happy. This is an informative and well researched post from Bloomerang that reminds us of how to best approach our work. Helping our colleagues, co-workers and board volunteers to adopt this philosophy will help them to share in the joy of successful fundraising done well. Non...

50 Things You Can Still Do Before Year-End

Category: Fund Raising
50 Things You Can (Still) Do Before Year-End In a FONK (Fear of Not Knowing) about your Covid-19 year-end fundraising? Here is a check list of 50 things you can still do before year-end (actually, it's more than 70) to make your year-end fundraising appeals more successful. Lori Overmyer, Executive VP of GoettlerAssociates has developed a f...

Reported Uptick in Giving Shows Resilience of US Donors Despite Impact of Covid-19

Category: News & Information
And now for some good news. The Fundraising Effectiveness Project’s (FEP) 2nd Quarter 2020 report shows an uptick in giving and the resilience of givers in the US. As with previous economic downturns and cataclysms, we can see that the philanthropic spirit of the American public has endured through the second quarter of 2020. Fundraising ...

Covid-19 Impacts Giving in 1st Quarter

Category: News & Information
The Fundraising Effectiveness Project's (FEP) 1st Quarter 2020 report indicates a decrease in total current giving to nonprofits through March, 2020. Giving USA's recent webinars heralding an increase in total giving in 2019 may be less instructive than the FEP's more timely reporting and there may be disturbing trends developing for total giving...