Events

Monthly giving is the lifeblood of many nonprofit organizations, but it’s no easy task to pile up sustainers. It’s even tougher when you’re championing a less-than-sexy cause—say, drug policy. But that didn’t stop Drug Policy Alliance and Sanky Communications Inc. from combining for a remarkable monthly giving campaign...

The numbers listed for this multichannel effort reflect only the final calendar mailing, and they are certainly solid—especially the 6.39 percent response rate. But it was the way the interactive campaign engaged both online and offline audiences that made it the clear winner in this category...

When Farm Sanctuary learned about horrific conditions on a rural New York farm, the animal protection organization knew it had to act fast. And it knew it would need a huge influx of funding to rescue and care for 120 mistreated animals. Mere days before the rescue, Farm Sanctuary turned to Avalon Consulting Group to get the job done...

It’s that magical time when we get to recognize the best, most memorable, most innovative fundraising campaigns. It’s a big responsibility, and choosing the winners is no easy task. All of these entries are just so good—our judges had their hands full. But boy is it rewarding seeing the work of all you fundraisers out there, and the massive impact you help nonprofits achieve. Here are the winners of the 2016 Gold Awards for Fundraising Excellence, presented by Turnkey...

This membership effort faced two significant challenges and met each well. First, 
it found commonality between two artists—Leonardo da Vinci and M.C. Escher—and was able to communicate how the works of both provide glimpses into their extraordinary minds. Second, it repeated the benefits of membership throughout every element of the package...

This package, although simple, accomplishes several tasks well. First, it makes the reader care. On the front of the #10 outer, a large black-and-white photograph of a dog in a decaying box is heartbreaking. It takes up almost half of the face of the envelope...

The scope of this multichannel campaign—consisting of 
an email series, social media posts, landing pages, SEM ads, 
catalogs, inserts, brochures and more—is staggering. But it 
was the consistency across channels that really wowed our judges...

Success in P2P requires more than simply hosting a cool event and telling participants to go fundraise. It’s an art, as or more nuanced than traditional fundraising methods and perhaps even less understood. So, we’ve called in some help. Here, straight from the experts—the people on the front lines of P2P—are 12 ideas to take your peer-to-peer fundraising to the next level...

The first time I understood that I did not sell stuff was when a client said, “I need to buy some X,” and I asked “why?” She stopped with her hand in the air. She stayed there a bit. Finally, she said, “I can’t answer that.” For any decision you make, ask yourself why you made that decision, and whether anybody needed to make that decision. Rinse and repeat until you get to your true purpose...

What is it about nonprofit boards, leaders and staff who so easily catch events fever and lose their way on thinking objectively about this topic? If that sounds familiar—if hardly any argument or reasoning will dissuade your leaders from organizing an event—then make the best of it by doing the following...