|
White Papers These informative guides, or "white papers," cover a variety of nonprofit-specific topics. Learn how to start your own prospect research campaign, take your fundraising online, raise more money with a matching gift program and more!
White Papers by focus:
| Fundraising and Nonprofit Marketing White Papers |
|
The Top 10 Ways Technology Can Help Your Organization
Technology has the potential to improve every aspect of your operations. But where do you start? What is most important? How do you know where should you invest the majority of your resources — time and money alike? Where should you rely on technology the most? This guide will help you answer these questions and many more.
Download the white paper (PDF 165K) |
|
Taking Control of Your Annual Fund
New donors traditionally start out by giving to an organization’s annual fund. As a result, annual funds offer a unique opportunityto begin the process of building donor loyalty. But dozens of repeat solicitations each year will not do the trick; rather, nonprofits need to measure their efforts and target their appeals with the right message and the right approach. Done poorly, eachlost opportunity can cost a charity thousands of dollars over a person’s lifetime. Done correctly, you can improve your annualfundraising results, create loyal donors, and identify those people who are most likely to become your best planned giving andmajor gift prospects. Simply put, your annual fund is the cornerstone of a successful fundraising program
Download the white paper (PDF 267K) |
|
Maximizing Marketing to Advance Your School's Mission
With ever-increasing pressure to grow the new student prospect pool, schools must pay more attention than ever before to marketing concerns. This white paper oulines how integrating departmental functions and fostering internal collaborations can help advance your school's mission.
Download the white paper (PDF 114K) |
|
RFM: A Formula for Greater Direct Mail Success
By ranking the recency, frequency, and monetary returns your solicitations bring, you can increase your gifts while reducing your costs.
Download the white paper (PDF 165K) |
|
Jump-Start Your Matching Gift Program
How to acquire the data, the systems, and the donor cooperation you need to generate more gifts.
Download the white paper (PDF 52K) |
|
Embracing Technology for Moves Management® Success
Every nonprofit wants to turn prospects into donors — some are better at it than others. What makes the difference? Moves Management.
Download the white paper (PDF 260K) |
|
How To Launch a Direct Mail Program
Most nonprofit organizations run a successful major giving program, but direct marketing can be challenging for the organization. This white paper explores how to conduct a feasibility study for an organization’s viability for a direct marketing program,launch a successful direct marketing program, and avoid competing with the major gifts program.
Download the white paper (PDF 77K) |
|
All About Lists
With more than 20,000 lists available to a nonprofit organization, how do you identify the best lists for your direct marketing program? This white paper will explore how to identify the best lists for your program, the process for securing list owner approvals, working with a list broker, common list terms (such as rental, exchange, test, re-test, continuation, and re-use), and usage and a merge/purge report can open new doors.
Download the white paper (PDF 80K) |
|
Ask Your Patients for Money? You Bet!
Annual giving is the foundation for all giving. It is rare that a constituent becomes a donor at the major giving level, so more often than not, the annual fund is the entrance point for a donor’s lifelong giving. Every nonprofit organization should invest in building its donor file, and healthcare organizations are no exception because the principal source of new donors for any healthcare organization is its patient database. The development of your donor or house file is an investment that will pay multiple dividends over the lifecycle of your program.
Download the white paper (PDF 83K) |
|
Ask Your Employees for Money? You Bet!
Donors and prospects want to give to organizations whose employees and volunteers are also donors. As a matter-of-fact, some corporations and foundations will only give to organizations whose employees and volunteers are asked to make an annual contribution, and only as long as a set percentage of those employees and volunteers make an annual gift. Employee donor engagement is just as important as volunteer donor engagement because employees are often your organization’s best ambassadors — and their enthusiastic support helps foster the support of prospects and donors.
Download the white paper (PDF 80K) |
| Internet Fundraising and ePhilanthropy White Papers |
|
Online Gift Donor Profile
Blackbaud Analytics launched the study of online donor behavior in order to compile a representative profile of an “online charitable gift donor,” to find interesting trends in donor behavior, and to help the nonprofit industry understand who the best prospects for online giving are. This report outlines their conclusions and suggests several hypotheses about forces driving prospects or current donors to become online donors.
Download the research results (PDF 639K) |
|
Benefits of Using Payment Cards to Accept Donations
This article, which was featured in the DMA Journal of the Non-Profit Federation, outlines the benefits of establishing credit card payment options for donors. For more ideas on how to best use card payment options at your organization, please read the "Implementing a Recurring Gift Program" executive briefing.
Download the white paper (PDF 39K) |
|
Implementing a Recurring Gift Program
A successful recurring gift program can expand your donor pool and reduce donor attrition. Learn how to implement this cost-effective fundraising strategy for a new and more predictable stream of funding.
Download the white paper (PDF 181K) |
|
Ephilanthropy Strategy for Nonprofits
This document highlights ways to enhance success by integrating the Internet into your organization's fundraising and communications plan.
Download the white paper (PDF 104K) |
|
Effective Email Communications
This resource describes using email, building an address book, crafting messages and measuring campaign success. Equip your organization to respond to donor preferences for more cost-effective communications.
Download the white paper (PDF 77K) |
| Financial Management White Papers |
|
Accountability Matters
This document explores financial and regulatory compliance, stewardship, and donor trust within the nonprofit sector, as well as steps to achieve a high level of accountability.
Download the white paper (PDF 170K) |
|
Financial Management for Not-for-Profit Organizations
This document describes considerations for budgeting, reporting, cash flows, endowment management and fund accounting.
Download the white paper (PDF 97K) |
|
|
|
Budgeting for Technology
This resource describes the seven key components of a successful technology plan.
Download the white paper (PDF 60K) |
| Prospect Research White Papers |
|
Private Company Valuation and the Prospect Researcher
What is a private company worth? And why would anybody want to know? Valuing a company could have a major impact on whom a development officer decides to solicit for a gift. A prospect’s ownership of a company is a strong indication of wealth, and, in extension, his or her capacity to give. But valuing a private company makes even the most experienced development officers and prospect researchers balk. However, with the right techniques and resources, it can and should be done.
Download the white paper (PDF 222K) |
|
Are You Ready to Start a Planned Gift Program?
Taking the time to choose which kinds of planned gifts your organization should promote is a wise undertaking because it ultimately gives your staff members more confidence when they ask constituents for those gifts. A simple bequest marketing program is the most common way to get started. Whether you believe it or not, you already know about 90 percent of what you need to begin immediately. Assessing your readiness will confirm your ability to compete for legacy gifts in today’s charitable market and alert you to those areas in which you need to prepare before accepting your first gift. You might also be ready to promote other gift vehicles such as gifts of securities, real estate, or charitable gift annuities. Strong planned giving programs build over time, but if your organization is ready, there’s no time like the present to begin.
Download the white paper (PDF 183K) |
|
Taking Control of Your Annual Fund
An annual fund can be the cornerstone of a successful fundraising program. This white paper outlines how, if developed correctly, your annual fund solicitations can improve your annual fundraising results, create donor loyalty, and help to identify those who are most likely to become your best planned giving and major gift prospects.
Download the white paper (PDF 206K) |
|
Privacy and the Prospect Researcher
In his latest white paper, prospect research expert David Lamb separates fact from fiction and highlights the right way for nonprofits to reel in major gifts, including a discussion of legal and ethical boundaries, working with ethical boundaries, working with outside vendors, and the importance of a well-crafted and highly conspicuous privacy policy.
Download the white paper (PDF 112K) |
|
Making Planned Giving Work for You
Developing a successful planned giving program can be a complex undertaking. But it is one that is well worth the trouble. Equipped with solid information and the right marketing strategy, your organization can build a successful planned giving program.
Download the white paper (PDF 204K) |
|
Identifying Grateful Patients as Prospects
It would seem obvious for healthcare organizations that patients represent a natural constituency for giving. In reality, though, a very small percentage of patients truly represent good prospects for giving. However, that small percentage can be very meaningful to your organization (hospital), bearing a large level of support — the key is to find means to identify those who exhibit both capacity and likelihood to give.
Download the white paper (PDF 162K) |
|
How To Talk with Donors about Planned Gifts
Planned gifts have often been thought of as the private purview of credentialed development, legal, and financial professionals. With terms like “present value methodology,” “four-tier system of taxation,” and “current IRS-mandated discount rate,” it’s no wonder why many of us feel this way and hesitate to enter into discussions about planned gifts. Studies and talks with donors, however, remind us that the tax benefits of making planned gifts are not the primary reason they are made. Donors want to make a difference in the world they live in, both now and in the future. Successful planned giving programs start with simple messaging and evolve into life-long relationships with constituents. Start your planned giving program today by throwing out the law school admissions form on your desk and learn to talk with donors about their dreams and wishes for your organization!
Download the white paper (PDF 182K) |
|
How the Right Marketing Strategies Can Enhance Your Planned Giving Program
Many organizations, particularly small to medium-sized nonprofits, have the potential to raise as much or even more money through planned giving as through major giving. The absence of a planned giving program — or perhaps more importantly, a comprehensive ultimate giving operation — places extraordinary emphasis on current cash support to the detriment of deferred money. Only the right marketing strategy can promote the growth of planned giving and facilitate an integrated ultimate giving effort, allowing your organization to be truly donor-centric while you boost fundraising results.
Download the white paper (PDF 332K) |
|
Using Statistical Modeling to Increase Donations
Nonprofits are increasingly relying on statistical modeling to help them target their best prospects and strengthen their fundraising programs. Learn how custom modeling provides fundraisers with information about a prospect’s likelihood not only to give, but also to give to the organizations they represent.
Download the white paper (PDF 216K) |
| Business Intelligence White Papers |
|
Business Intelligence for Nonprofits
Nonprofit Intelligence™ delivers the sophisticated analysis and insight nonprofit professionals need to make sound business decisions and, ultimately, demonstrate the value of their services to donors, funders and the community.
Download the white paper (PDF 216K) |
| Nonprofit Management White Papers |
|
Bring Out the Best in Your Board
Too many trustees bog down in trivial pursuits. Here’s how to cure micromanagement and encourage strategic thinking.
Download the white paper (PDF 61K) |
|
Selecting Software for Your Nonprofit
This document provides an overview of how to conduct an effective search for administrative tools best suited to your organization.
Download the white paper (PDF 118K)) |
|
|
