Articles
Fundraising Strategy Videos
GiveSmart Fundraise Academy Classes provide you with actionable strategies on various topics. Learn best practices for everything from Ticketing design to Giving Thanks to Days of Giving with experts from our Digital Marketing Services team and th...
Virtual Events
This Virtual Events page gives you links to build your activities for your virtual event and downloads to enhance your fundraising event's potential. This page has everything from blog posts to strategy guides for download, links to page designs...
#GivingTuesday Kit
#GivingTuesday is November 28, 2023 Need help with your #GivingTuesday campaign? The GiveSmart Fundraise #GivingTuesday Kit provides information to plan and develop your campaign. Download the Workbook to get you started. Watch the classes fo...
Year-End Giving Toolkit
Need help with your Year-End Giving campaign? The GiveSmart Fundraise Year End Giving Toolkit provides information to plan and develop your campaign. Download documents, watch the classes for inspiration and examples of the strategies in action. Gra...
The Best Fundraisers of 2021
The New Year is on its way, and if 2021 has taught nonprofits anything, it’s how to stay flexible, creative, and innovative in order to continue reaching and inspiring donors. Let’s take a look back to learn how you can build impact goin...
Storytelling Strategies to Maximize Your Year-End Fundraising
Is your organization’s storytelling - the reason donors should support your cause(s) - optimized to stand out and inspire donors during the busiest, most competitive, and most crucial giving season for your nonprofit? In this recording,...
5 Weeks to a Successful #GivingTuesday
#GivingTuesday is right around the corner, but don’t stress! We’ve created a 5 week (plus one) plan to help you run a powerhouse campaign that increases reach and giving. In the video, we’ll guide you through a simple, easy-...
How To Maximize Your Silent Auctions
Want to add silent auctions to your fundraising event? You already have, but it wasn't as great as you expected? Whether it is an add-on to your existing event or even its own thing. Silent Auctions are a fun and exciting way to boost your reven...
10 Common Mistakes to Avoid for Your Next Fundraising Event
Planning and hosting a fundraising event is a busy time–there are things that can easily be overlooked or mistakes you can make that will greatly impact your fundraising results. In this recording, 10 Common Mistakes to Avoid for Your Next Fu...
How to Determine Your Next Best Fundraising Event: In-Person, Virtual or Hybrid?
During the How to Determine Your Next Best Fundraising Event: In-Person, Virtual or Hybrid? training, we’ll discuss lessons from the past year of fundraising, what each type of event has to offer and how you can choose what will be most...
How to Safely Host an In-Person Fundraising Event
Hosting an upcoming fundraising event? Restrictions have lifted, but watch our session to ensure your donors feel confident attending in-person events. You’ll learn ways to safely host a fundraiser that is both successful and comfortably enjoy...
Creative Peer-to-Peer Campaigns That Attract and Engage Donors
Looking to host a fun and engaging peer-to-peer campaign that moves away from your run/walk and day of giving and energizes both your volunteers and fundraising results? Watch our special GiveSmart Fundraise Academy Training where you’ll hear ...
5 Steps to a Successful Day of Giving
Running a standalone day of giving campaign is a fantastic way to create dedicated focus to generate both buzz and fundraising revenue for your organization. A day of giving is also a great way to rally your entire team and support network to boost ...
How to Host a Virtual Fundraising Event
With the right strategies and tools, virtual fundraisers have proven to rival even the best in-person fundraising events in terms of revenue, reach and donor engagement. Whether a virtual gala, run/walk, golf tournament, interactive contest or other...
Create Your 2021 Fundraising Plan - 5 Revenue Strategies
Are you ready to jumpstart 2021 with actionable strategies that will drive revenue to ensure your organization’s success year-round, no matter what the year has in store? Then Create Your 2021 Fundraising Plan: 5 Revenue Strategies is for you....
Cultivate Donor Loyalty with the Perfect Thank You
Four out of five first-time donors will not give to your organization again. Why? They did not receive a timely acknowledgment for their gift. Find out how you can craft unforgettable thank you letters that will increase donor retention and encourag...
Create Recurring Donors from Year-End Giving Campaigns
Year-End Giving campaigns typically generate 31% of a nonprofit’s annual revenue. Yet without a deep, long-standing connection to your cause, you’re likely to lose those new donors. In this presentation, you’ll learn inventive and ...
How to Stream Your Virtual Fundraising Event: Tech Tools & Tips
Virtual fundraisers may have a lot of components, but that doesn’t mean streaming your event needs to be complicated or overwhelming. Knowing the right tech tools and how to leverage them to stream your virtual event means less trial and error...
Level Up Your Virtual Fundraiser: Strategies to Reach Your Annual Event Goals
In this presentation we share how nonprofits, like you, planned, hosted and promoted a virtual event that raised just as much (if not more!) than their previous years’ in-person fundraisers. Download the slides from the class, by click...
Creating Virtual Fundraisers that Entertain and Engage Donors
In this presentation we share what other nonprofits have done to create successful fun and entertaining virtual fundraising events. We’ll take an in-depth look at how to execute unique ideas, like cooking lessons, talent shows, scavenger hunts...
Repurpose Your Content for Social Media
You hear all the marketing and fundraising experts tell you to “repurpose your content” and that you “don’t need to create more to post more.” But what exactly does that mean? And how do you do it? If you find yourself...
Fundraising through COVID-19
In just a few short days and weeks, the ways in which nonprofits reach and connect with donors has dramatically changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This page provides specific suggestions and ideas to help your organization through this uniq...
Deep Dive into Crowdfunding and Peer-to-Peer Campaign Setup
GiveSmart Fundraise’s crowdfunding and P2P capabilities are truly powerful. We have many customers using the platform for many types of campaigns and love the way it looks and works. There are some great tools included there that many of our c...
Year End Giving Strategy
Make sure your year-end appeal campaign planning is in full gear. Whether you have your fundraising campaign underway or are looking for ways to engage new donors during this season of giving, it’s not too late to amplify your year-end fundrai...
Thank, Acknowledge and Cultivate Donors (2019)
Watch our webinar and download the slides to help you with your strategy for thanking your donors. Download the slides and notes from the class, by clicking here . ...
Interactive Calendar Builder for Scheduling Fundraising and Communication Campaigns
Download the Interactive Calendar Builder and open it with Adobe Acrobat Reader so you can save your notes to the PDF document. Scheduling your fundraising campaigns and events is a vital part of an effective fundraising strategy, but getting t...
Keyword Strategies
The keyword you choose when you set up a new GiveSmart Fundraise form can have a vital impact on the overall success of your campaign. This document will cover keyword best practices, common mistakes, and help you determine the extent to which you...
Personalized Communication
When it comes to donor communications, are you treating all supporters the same? If this is a mistake you are making, this fundraising strategy training will help. We share how to tailor your messages, and the communication channels you use to deli...
Best Practice Examples
Below are examples that drive maximum participation for online giving and text to give, event fundraising, peer to peer campaigns, sign ups and advocacy, and mobile messaging. Online Giving and Text to Donate Fundraising Events Peer to Peer Fu...
Integrating Texting into Your Fundraising Strategies
Are you thinking you could be doing a better job of incorporating text messaging and text-to-donate into your fundraising campaigns, but not sure how to do it? You’re in luck. This fundraising strategy training dedicated to texting! Watch our...
Email Strategies
Learn key email marketing tips from this excerpt from a GiveSmart Fundraise webinar. For more information about the GiveSmart Fundraise Design Studio to apply these strategies, click here . ...
Storytelling and Influencers
When nonprofits provide their influencers with strong storytelling and promotional tools they can help them more deeply connect with and inspire a wider audience. Why? Because really great stories stay with us. Watch our session and download the s...
Summer Fundraising Ideas
Who's ready for BBQ's, the beach and some much-needed sunshine? Don't miss out on planning an awesome fundraising event that gets supporters activated and engaged during those long summer days. Watch our session and download the slides...
Recruit and Support Volunteer Fundraisers to Boost Giving
Watch our webinar and download the slides to help you with your strategy for thanking your donors. Download the slides and notes from the class, by clicking here . ...
Runs, Walks, Swims, Rides and Tournaments
Watch our webinar and download the slides to help you with your strategy for thanking your donors. Download the slides and notes from the class, by clicking here . ...
How to add a lower-third to a YouTube video
If you have a home-made video that you would like to post on YouTube -- maybe a simple video you shot on your smartphone -- you want to make sure to promote your keyword throughout the video! And you don't need to be a professional video editor ...
Create Your Own Day of Giving
Watch our webinar and download the slides to help you with your strategy for thanking your donors. Download the slides and notes from the class, by clicking here . ...
Thanking, Acknowledging & Cultivating Donors
Four out of five first time donors will not give again to your organization. Watch this recording of the GiveSmart Fundraise Academy training and learn how to create repeat donors by thanking, acknowledging, and cultivating your donor database. Lear...
#GivingTuesday & Year-End Giving Strategy Plan
Watch our webinar and download our guides to help you with your strategy for your #GivingTuesday and Year-End Giving campaigns. Ideas and planning to help you create compelling and integrated #GivingTuesday and Year-End Giving campaigns. You'll...
Growing Your Donor Database
Looking for ways to boost the number of potential donors? GiveSmart Fundraise Academy's strategy training showcases creative ways to bring new contacts into your database. Download the handouts here . ...
Creative Uses of Text Messaging
GiveSmart Fundraise Academy’s training spotlight's creative text campaigns. See firsthand, ways GiveSmart Fundraise customers are using text to raise awareness and gather new subscribers. From trivia and choose your own adventures to word ...
Compelling Storytelling To Engage Donors And Boost Gifts
Having trouble standing out from the crowd of nonprofits? Finding it difficult to connect with your donor base? Feeling like the story of your organization falls a little flat? Watch our special GiveSmart Fundraise Academy training for Compelling St...
Creative Fundraising Campaigns Using Crowdfunding Templates
GiveSmart Fundraise Academy’s monthly training spotlights unique fundraising campaigns using our crowdfunding solution. See firsthand creative ways GiveSmart Fundraise customers are using the platform to raise money outside of traditional peer...
Thanking and Acknowledging Your Donors (2018)
Watch our webinar and download the slides to help you with your strategy for thanking your donors. Download the slides and notes from the class, by clicking here . ...
Health Awareness Campaigns
Watch our training session on Health Awareness Campaigns: Slides from presentation here . Links and notes to help personalize your campaign: How to Set Up a Crowdfunding and Peer to Peer Campaign Use the Crowdfunding Activity to build ...
Beyond the Basics: Taking GiveSmart Fundraise to the Next Level
Is your nonprofit using its GiveSmart Fundraise account to its full potential? Maybe you’ve set up an Event Page for a virtual fundraiser, managed a peer-to-peer campaign, and sent text messages with program updates, but are ready to elevate y...