Soapbox Engage Blog

Issue 259

Happy Tuesday, Fundraisers!

We’re hosting a special webinar in a couple days to covers strategies and tools for effective online advocacy. Join us this Thursday as we share ways you can mobilize your community through calls to action, target elected officials and federal agencies with demands, and organize your supporters to amplify your collective voice. Find more details and the registration link here.

Keep scrolling for great fundraising content related to major gifts, peer-to-peer fundraising, and donor data!

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Great Fundraising Posts

Some of the Most Important Things in Fundraising Don’t Feel Like Fundraising

Simon Scrivner (The Better Fundraising Co.)

A good fundraiser knows that asking for money is actually only a small part of the job. The really important stuff is the things that happen before and after the asks. If you get really good at the “in-between” stuff, you start to see your asks get easier and your results get better. In this blog post, Simon identifies what the “in-between” stuff is and shares how to make time for it, in order to improve your fundraising.

Do You Want Your Donors to “Give” or to “Donate”?

Jeff Brooks (Future Fundraising Now)

When it comes to writing fundraising appeals, word choice matters. And sometimes you can get caught up on small distinctions—i.e. Should you ask your donors to “give” or to “donate?” In this blog post, Jeff talks about which words he recommends, as well as which words he avoids.

What We Learned About Major Gifts in 2025 – From Hundreds of Your Fellow Fundraisers

Gail Perry (Gail Perry Group)

In June, Gail Perry Group hosted a “Success in Major Gifts” webinar. Hundreds of nonprofit leaders and fundraisers joined to discuss the question: “How do you raise transformational gifts in today’s uncertain environment?” This blog post shared the learnings from the conversation to help you raise major gifts for your organization.

Reduce Your Nonprofit’s Workload and Get More Done With These Tips

Andrea Fleisher (NonProfitPro)

As a nonprofit professional, you’re probably always looking for ways to get more accomplished, faster. Working as efficiently as possible helps you (and/or your staff) to be more productive and ultimately have greater job satisfaction. When brainstorming how you and your team can work more efficiently, you might not always think about your software. But there are things you can do to put your current software to work to reduce your workload and even get more done. This blog post looks at some specific ways to use the tech you already have to work more efficiently.

4 Must-Have Tools for Your Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Campaign

FundraisingIP (FundraisingIP)

Imagine that you have a group of ten donors, and each donor has five close friends that share a similar passion for your cause. When these donors encourage their friends to get involved, your nonprofit receives support from 50 donors instead of just 10, multiplying your revenue exponentially! This is the power of peer-to-peer fundraising, but you need more than a passionate supporter base to maximize your reach—you need strong technology. This guide walks you through the essential tools that can help your peer-to-peer campaign thrive.

How to Leverage Your Donor Data for Higher ROI

Melanie Green (True Sense)

Fundraising campaigns succeed or fail based on how well you understand and use donor data. Simply having data is not enough: It must be analyzed and leveraged effectively to drive meaningful engagement and maximize return on investment (ROI). This allows organizations to personalize outreach, optimize donor engagement strategies, and ultimately achieve higher fundraising success. This post shares some key strategies to maximize ROI using donor data.

Why Traditional Major Gift (and Legacy Gift) Fundraising No Longer Works

Greg Warner (Market Smart)

Fundraising seems to be getting more difficult, and the problem is affecting the entire industry. A reliance on traditional fundraising methods at all levels will leave many organizations in serious trouble within the coming years and decades. In this blog post, Greg shares why the traditional fundraising model is no longer working, and offers tips to help you embrace a new approach.

Make it Easier for Your Nonprofit and Your Donors by Keeping Things Simple

Ann Green (Ann Green’s Nonprofit Blog)

In a time of uncertainty for nonprofit organizations as well as donors, it’s best to keep things simple. But with so many unknowns and so much on your plate, that can be easier said than done! In this blog post, Ann offers tips on how to simplify your donor communication for better results.

What Nonprofits Should Know About Process Automation

Carrie Watkins (The ENGAGE Blog)

Imagine you had an extra hour each day to do big-picture, meaningful work. What would you do? 62% of most workdays are spent on dull, repetitive tasks. Process automation can release you from some of that so you have more time for meaningful work. In this blog post, Carrie breaks down what automation can look like in your nonprofit organization.