Annual Campaigns

Fundraising is by no means an easy task! Charities of all sizes constantly strive to increase the amount of annual donations and raise awareness about their causes. And now, peer-to-peer fundraising is helping nonprofits toward both of these goals like never before. But can we stimulate this fundraising channel even more? And how can we…

The Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri raised a record amount from its “Dessert First” event, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. The organization raised more than $350,000 from roughly 500 guests. On top of that, it has received a higher number of requests from out-of-state residents to purchase cookies. So why the sudden uptick in funds? It might have something to do with St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson's letter, asking parishes in the area to seek alternatives to Girl Scouts...

Penn State's THON 2016 ended Sunday afternoon with its fundraising total revealed amid the signature cheers and exhausted exaltation among too-tired-for-words students fresh from a weekend of nonstop dancing and a year of persistent fundraising—all in the name of helping children with cancer. But make no mistake, things were different this year. Very different. THON…

With THON less than a month away, one can only wonder how the cancellation of several canning weekends will impact the bottom line. For years, Penn State students have traveled throughout the East Coast, holding cans and soliciting donations for THON, the world's largest student-run philanthropy. THON, of course, benefits cancer patients and research. This year,…

From late January until early April, nearly every potential legacy donor is using some portion of their time to pull together all of the documents required for tax filings with a financial planner. This is the time when those individuals already are thinking about estate planning and the benefits of charitable giving. Here are four…

Have you ever wondered, after the fact, why you donated to a particular cause or organization? You hadn’t planned on it. It wasn’t something that had been on your radar. So why did you give? The answer, in a lot of cases, is because it made you feel good. That’s how most of us feel…

For several years now, Jan. 1 not only has meant the beginning of the new year, but also an opportunity to look at trends in year-end fundraising emails from nonprofit organizations. Back in 2011, I started collecting all the emails that nonprofits sent me during the month of December and reviewed what was in my inbox.…

With the new year comes a sense of looking forward and leaving the past behind. You’ve just finished the year-end appeal and will now gear up for the next fundraising project. But not so fast—sorry to say, your year-end fund drive is not over. It’s actually never over. Let’s talk about some of the reasons…

It’s a busy time of year—for you and your donors. To get the most out of the effort you’re putting in to your campaigns, it’s important to focus in on the key elements that will move supporters to act and give before the ball drops on New Year’s Eve. Your mission: to stand out, inspire,…

The Pittsburgh Foundation raised more than $1 million to fight homelessness Tuesday in record time—four hours. This week marks the foundation's third Critical Needs Alert fundraising campaign. The focus is on solutions to addressing homelessness and housing insecurity. The online donation portal PittsburghGives.org opened at 8 a.m. By noon, more than 1,200 individual donors had…