The Social Capital Fundraising Model

The Social Capital Fundraising Model (SCFM) applies research about the impact of social capital on donor behavior to fundraising practice. This approach to fundraising retains donors over the long term, and it has been shown to increase giving. Trainings and talks break down the science behind the model and demonstrate ways to apply it in your fundraising efforts. Attendees will leave the workshop with a customized strategy for their organization to apply the SCFM.

Aligning Your Nonprofit Mission with Community Well-Being

If we didn’t think that our mission was critical to our community, we wouldn’t be so passionate about it. But are we sure that our community realizes how we can be a part of the solutions to community needs and challenges? This workshop does some digging into the priorities of community members and leaders through some good old fashioned research. Once we have a sense of the issues that are getting the most attention, we work together to reimagine the work of your organization within those contexts. This isn’t about changing a mission, it’s about aligning the way we talk about it and make our cases-for-support.

Ethical Fundraising and Nonprofit Management Models

Ethical fundraising is way more than being transparent and telling the truth. This training introduces some of the most common ethical dilemmas that fundraisers and nonprofit leaders face related to personal and institutional integrity, conflicts of interest, diversity and inclusion, and the nonprofit workplace.

A topic that gets a lot of attention relates to the many models for fundraising that tell us that a certain number of visits or calls is going to result in so-and-so dollars. Does this sound like the kind of approach for dealing with human beings? Are we really expected to make fifty calls a day, still, when unsolicited calls on a cell phone is no longer the norm, anyway? Predicting human behavior through data analysis is cool, and we are big fans of leveraging properly analyzed data to set the stage, sometimes, for doing this work. However, the projection piece is built upon a quantitative fallacy. In this scenario, only measurable activity is valued because unmeasurable activity (like building a strong relationship with a donor, for example) is, well… unmeasurable. So it doesn’t count. This course offers a new approach to donor engagement that is authentic, aligns giving with funding we actually need, and has been proven effective.

Philanthropy for Libraries

Libraries hold a special place in our hearts. We happen to think that their mission to provide a level playing field for all people to gain knowledge is critical to issues we really care about like education, social justice, and personal well-being. And based on many national surveys, we know that our love for the library is shared by many. However, giving to libraries is in decline, and that has us worried. We work with public and academic libraries to build cases-for-giving that resonate with donors. We also have training designed specifically for libraries on donor engagement, and our team of experts can work together to build a fundraising strategy from scratch. We have a special rate for public libraries. For any publics out there in an emergency situation, please reach out so we can help and/or get you connected to our network of advocates.