Your nonprofit carefully plans its finances, considering every variable. You account for seasonal fundraising dips, operational costs, and program expenses months in advance. But even the most meticulously planned financial strategies can be derailed by sudden economic shifts, unforeseen internal challenges, a major donor pulling out, or a community crisis. When disaster strikes, revising your budget is necessary to protect your long-term sustainability and ensure your community impact never skips a beat. In this article, we'll provide a clear framework for identifying when a financial pivot is necessary and outline actionable steps to adapt your existing financial plan effectively. 
We're back with a recap of NPSP Day Seattle! On May 14, the Pacific Northwest nonprofit Salesforce community gathered at the Panoramic Center for a full day of collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and hands-on problem solving. Around 40 folks joined us for the day, and the energy in the room was everything we love about NPSP Days: a genuine willingness to share what's working, be honest about what isn't, and help each other build better systems. A huge thank you to Greg Scully and the team at 501 Commons for welcoming us into such a wonderful space. Enormous thanks as well to our sponsors for helping make the day possible: Presenting Sponsor Idlewild Partners and Community Sponsor Data Geeks Lab. 
The annual gala is one of the most important nights of the year for a YMCA, JCC, or community center. You've spent months on venue, catering, program, and the ask. Your board has filled tables. The room is ready. What happens in the thirty minutes after the speaker sits down will determine whether you hit your goal. That window, between the emotional close of the program and the moment the room begins to thin, is where community centers either build momentum or lose it. A live fundraising display turns that window into something the room can respond to together. 
Every four years, something shifts. Supporters who respond to donation appeals with mild interest suddenly have opinions, energy, and a heightened sense that what they do right now matters. Election years are unusual in this way: the ambient pressure to act creates an opening that doesn't exist in quieter political moments. Most nonprofits don't take advantage of it. Either they assume engagement means advocacy, and advocacy means political risk, or they don't have the tools to do anything quickly enough to matter. Both problems are solvable. This post covers what's actually available to nonprofits that want to mobilize their supporters right now, without building a full advocacy program, and without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status. 
We're back with another NPSP Day recap, this time from sunny Oakland! On April 30, the Salesforce nonprofit community gathered at Preservation Park for a full day of collaboration, learning, and community connection. This was our first time bringing NPSP Day to Oakland, and it could not have gone better! We had a fantastic turnout of 35 attendees with 100% attendance, an enthusiastic and welcoming room, and absolutely gorgeous weather all day long. The beautiful courtyard at Preservation Park made for the perfect lunch spot, with attendees gathering outside to continue conversations, swap ideas, and connect with peers between sessions. 
Most nonprofits that run petitions treat the signature count as the outcome. They set a goal, collect signatures, deliver them to a decision-maker, and move on. That's a legitimate use of a petition, but it's also the least valuable thing a petition can do for your organization. Especially right now. If your organization is thinking about how to engage supporters beyond donations in an election year, a petition is one of the lowest-friction ways to start. But only if you treat it as a beginning, not a deliverable. A well-designed petition is a list-building tool, a constituent qualification mechanism, and a warm pipeline for future donation and engagement asks. Every signer is a person who raised their hand on a specific issue connected to your mission. That's something you can act on for years. 
We're back with a recap of NPSP Day Boston! On April 23, the Salesforce nonprofit community gathered at The Boston Foundation for a full day of collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and hands-on problem solving. This was our first time back in Boston since 2020, and wow did it feel good to be back! The nonprofit community in Boston is so generous and enthusiastic, and gathering with them was a powerful reminder of why we do the work we do (as nonprofits and the tech companies that support them!). It was wonderful to see some old friends as well as some fresh faces, and we're already plotting our return for 2027. From the opening sessions through afternoon breakouts, the energy in the room reflected what makes NPSP Day so special: a willingness to share openly, dig into challenges, and learn from one another across roles and experience levels. An enormous thank you to our friends at Idlewild Partners for sponsoring the day and helping make it all possible! 
Picture the room ten minutes in: guests settled, the speaker closing, the ask about to land. Tonight’s goal glows on the screen behind them, $100,000. The first gift comes in and the thermometer begins to climb, a name appearing as someone at table six leans over to whisper to a friend. Another gift follows, then another, momentum building in real time. What started as anticipation has turned into action. Today we're announcing Soapbox Engage Live Displays, a real-time fundraising display built to create exactly that kind of moment. Project your live thermometer, donor feed, and leaderboards on any screen in the room. There's no app to install, no software to configure, and no advance coordination needed with your A/V vendor. If you run galas, walk-a-thons, peer-to-peer campaigns, or any live fundraising event, Live Displays gives your donors something to watch, something to respond to, and something to celebrate together. 
Most charity auctions leave money on the table, not because the items weren't good or the crowd wasn't generous, but because the bidding experience got in the way. Guests who can't find the catalog, items that open too high to attract a first bid, and a silent auction that closes without anyone noticing: these are all avoidable problems. The tactics below are grounded in what actually moves bid counts and final prices at nonprofit auctions. Some are structural decisions made weeks before the event. Others are real-time moves your team can make on the floor. 
The moment your fundraising event ends, the next one begins. Not in the logistical sense, but in the relationship sense. What you do in the 48 hours after an event is one of the strongest predictors of whether a donor gives again next year. Most organizations send a thank you email. Fewer send the right thank you to the right person at the right time. This playbook covers the full post-event follow-up sequence: who to thank, when, how, and what to say at each stage.
Issue 298 Happy Tuesday, fundraisers! This week’s roundup is all about strengthening the relationships that power your fundraising. From building a more donor-centered monthly giving program to making the right moves that inspire a second gift, these pieces focus on what keeps supporters coming back. You’ll also find ideas for engaging younger donors through peer-to-peer fundraising, choosing the right tools for your campaigns, and stewarding supporters more thoughtfully, including those giving through DAFs. Quick reminder: we’re hosting our live webinar on the new Soapbox Engage Auctions app tomorrow, April 15. If you haven’t registered yet, there’s still time to join us and see it in action! You can receive the Fundraising Weekly newsletter each Tuesday by subscribing today! 
A successful nonprofit gala doesn't come together on event night. It's built over months of deliberate planning, and the organizations that consistently raise the most money are the ones that treat their gala like a production, not just a party. This checklist covers everything your team needs to execute a gala from first committee meeting to post-event thank you notes. Use it as a master planning document, adapt it to your event size, and delegate sections across your team with clear ownership. 
The fund-a-need is typically the highest-revenue moment of a nonprofit gala. In the span of 10 to 15 minutes, a well-run appeal can raise more than the entire silent auction. A poorly run one can stall mid-room, leave your auctioneer filling silence, and end with a number far below what the crowd was capable of giving. The difference is rarely about the generosity in the room. It's about how the appeal is designed, timed, and executed. This guide covers everything your team needs to run a fund-a-need that performs: cause selection, giving level structure, timing, auctioneer mechanics, live display strategy, and the most common mistakes to avoid.
Issue 297 Happy Tuesday, fundraisers! We’re thrilled to share that at the start of this month, we officially launched the Soapbox Engage Auctions app. If auctions are part of your fundraising strategy (or you’ve been thinking about adding them), this new tool is built to streamline every step of the auction experience and help you drive stronger results. We’ll be officially unveiling the app during a live webinar on April 15, and you can register here to join us! Beyond that, this week’s roundup leans into practical ways to strengthen your fundraising foundation, from building a monthly giving program and optimizing for DAF donations to refreshing your strategy with a bit of spring cleaning. You’ll also find insights on leadership, donor behavior, and the small but meaningful ways we show appreciation to the people who support our work. Enjoy! You can receive the Fundraising Weekly newsletter each Tuesday by subscribing today! 
We've been building toward this for a while, and today we're excited to share it: Soapbox Engage Auctions is officially available. It's a modern auction platform designed specifically for nonprofit fundraising, with a clean bidding experience for your supporters and real-time integration with your Salesforce CRM. Whether you're running a gala, a hybrid event, or an online-only fundraiser, Soapbox Engage Auctions is built to help your team run a smoother event and give your supporters a better experience from first browse to final checkout.
Issue 296 Happy Tuesday, fundraisers! As March wraps up, this week’s roundup is a bit of a nudge, in a good way. From the donor conversations we keep postponing to the reminder that there’s never a “perfect” time to fundraise, these pieces are all about moving forward anyway. You’ll find takeaways from our recent NPSP Fundraising Day, along with thoughtful insights on listening to donors, ethical storytelling, and building stronger foundations— from your board to your website. It’s a mix of practical tips and gentle pushes to help you keep momentum as we head into April. Enjoy! You can receive the Fundraising Weekly newsletter each Tuesday by subscribing today! 
Published March 2026. Updated regularly. Event management software has become one of the more crowded corners of the nonprofit technology market, and with good reason. Events drive a meaningful share of nonprofit revenue, and the tools you use directly shape the attendee experience, the quality of your data, and how much time your staff spends on logistics. This guide reviews the leading nonprofit event management platforms in 2026, covering their strengths, limitations, and which types of organizations they serve best. We include a feature comparison table at the end to help you shortlist quickly. 
Photo: Gloria M. Chang Last week, the New York nonprofit Salesforce community gathered at Building Skills NY in the General Electric Building for a full day dedicated to one of the most critical and complex areas of nonprofit work: fundraising. This special edition NPSP Day brought together nonprofit professionals, Salesforce users, and partners to dig into the real mechanics behind fundraising operations, from data hygiene and automations to donor communications, pledges, and the ever-growing ecosystem of tools that support it all.
Issue 295 Happy Tuesday, fundraisers! If you’ve ever second-guessed an ask, overthought a donor message, or wondered if your “engagement” is actually… engaging, this week’s roundup is for you. A lot of these pieces get back to the core of fundraising: clear communication, real connection, and a bit more confidence in the value you’re offering. Below, you’ll find ideas for strengthening major gifts programs, improving donor engagement, and reaching new supporters through social media. Enjoy! You can receive the Fundraising Weekly newsletter each Tuesday by subscribing today! 
In-kind donations, or contributions of goods or services, can present many benefits for your nonprofit organization. They allow you to reallocate the funds you'd typically spend on these donated offerings to other areas of your budget while still obtaining the resources your nonprofit needs to grow and execute its mission. This form of giving also provides donors who may not be able to contribute monetarily with another way to support your cause. Plus, with in-kind gifts, you can easily report on their impact to build trust with supporters. This guide will help you apply the principles of proper nonprofit financial management to maximize your use of in-kind donations. |
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