Promoting Matching Gifts FAQ: Strategies to Drive Workplace Giving Revenue

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The biggest obstacle standing between nonprofits and increased revenue is rarely donor unwillingness. Instead, it is often a simple lack of awareness regarding matching gift eligibility. If your supporters do not know these programs exist, they cannot participate, leaving significant funding unclaimed.

In this guide, we will outline an omnichannel marketing approach designed to close this gap. From optimizing your website to launching targeted email campaigns, we will demonstrate how to leverage fundraising software and donor stewardship to turn passive donors into active workplace giving participants.

1. How can my nonprofit promote matching gifts to donors?

You can promote matching gifts through an omnichannel marketing strategy. This involves the following:

  • Email outreach is a vital component of online fundraising, with multiple ways to engage supporters. Your nonprofit can send digital newsletters, thank-you emails, and dedicated match emails or follow-ups. These follow-up emails can include information targeted for each donor, providing company-specific details regarding the next steps and submission forms. This can help nudge eligible donors to submit matching gift requests to their employer and double their donation’s impact.
  • Your nonprofit’s website is the centralized hub for all information regarding your cause and how to get involved. Create a dedicated matching gift page to give donors a centralized resource to learn about matching gifts. Incorporate matching gift statistics or annual matching gift figures. Embed a matching gift database to make it easier for donors to check their eligibility.
  • Social media platforms are powerful tools for fundraising pushes and engagement opportunities⁠. Incorporate eye-catching graphics with short and sweet captions, hashtags, and more. Then, link to the dedicated matching gift page on your site from these posts so donors can learn more.
  • Market matching gifts directly within your donation process. Contextualize your request for employer data as a means of determining match eligibility status. Then, highlight matching gift eligibility on your donation confirmation screen. Using a matching gift tool to provide automated insights based on the employer a donor selected on the previous page streamlines this process. With a dedicated tool, you can give donors access to company specific insights, like minimum and maximum donation amounts, match ratios, qualifying nonprofits, employee types, and direct links to online submission forms.

2. Where should nonprofits place matching gift information on their website?

Key placements include donation forms, pop-ups, thank-you screens, dedicated matching gift pages, and your donation process. Embedding a fundraising search tool like Double the Donation can help you improve the visibility of matching gift information. By integrating effective automation software and providing step-by-step instructions, you can encourage donor submissions and maximize workplace giving revenue.

3. How can my nonprofit use email campaigns to boost matching gift submissions?

To boost matching gift submissions, your nonprofit can:

  • Send automated emails and matching gift promotions to donors immediately after they make their donation. Ensure that your outreach includes instructions and a link to search for eligibility via a fundraising tool like Double the Donation.
  • Follow up with reminders for donors who haven’t submitted.
  • Segment campaigns for high-value donors or company-specific matches.

This allows you to re-engage supporters while their donation is fresh and giving momentum remains high.

 

How your nonprofit can use email campaigns to boost matching gift submissions

How your nonprofit can use email campaigns to boost matching gift submissions

 

4. How can my nonprofit combine matching gifts with volunteer programs?

The most effective way to combine these programs is to treat a donor’s employment information as a “multi-purpose key.” Many corporations bundle their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, meaning a company that offers matching gifts is highly likely to also offer corporate volunteer grants or paid volunteer time off (PVTO).

Therefore, the strategy begins with data collection. When a supporter provides their employer’s name (whether during a donation checkout or a volunteer registration) you should not limit your screening to just one type of opportunity. Instead, you should ensure that you check for every available program that the company offers.

Here is how to turn that data into a cohesive strategy:

  • Comprehensive screening: When you capture a company name (e.g., “Microsoft”), use your fundraising software to query the database for all workplace giving programs. You will often find that the same company offering a 1:1 donation match also offers a monetary grant (e.g., $25 per hour) for time spent volunteering.
  • Cross-pollinated outreach: Once you know a supporter works for a company with a volunteer grant program, you can target your subsequent outreach specifically to them. instead of sending a generic “Come Volunteer” email, you can send a targeted message: “Did you know [Company Name] will donate to us if you volunteer 10 hours this month?”
  • Unified promotion: Specialized fundraising tools, like Double the Donation, allow you to promote these opportunities simultaneously. After a donor makes a gift, the automated follow-up can highlight their matching gift eligibility and inform them about available volunteer grants, effectively doubling the potential engagement points from a single interaction.

By validating all available programs upfront, you ensure that you are maximizing the revenue potential of every corporate partnership in your database.

5. How can my nonprofit use storytelling to increase matching gift submissions?

Effective storytelling bridges the gap between a corporate policy and a human impact. To drive submissions, you must move beyond the technical definition of a match and illustrate the tangible outcome of that extra revenue.

Here are three storytelling strategies to increase participation:

  • Visualize the multiplier effect: Start by highlighting the difference a match makes in program impact and share examples. Instead of saying “Your gift will be matched,” say “Your $50 provides one semester of supplies. With a match, that same contribution supports two students for the entire term.”
  • Leverage social proof: Feature testimonials from supporters who have successfully submitted a match. A short quote or video from a peer saying, “It only took me five minutes to log into my portal and double my donation,” is often more convincing than a set of instructions from your staff.
  • Celebrate the hidden heroes: In your newsletters and impact reports, explicitly recognize “corporate matched donors” as a distinct category of supporter. By publicly celebrating these individuals, you create a social incentive for others to check their eligibility and join that group.

6. How can staff and volunteers support matching gift programs?

Your staff can mention matching gift programs during donor calls, events, or volunteer orientation:

  • In regular communications such as email newsletters, internal meetings and social media channels, consistently remind staff and volunteers about available programs.
  • On your website, create a dedicated matching gift page with easy-to-follow, step-by-step guides on how to submit a matching gift request through their employer’s platform. Provide links to corporate portals or databases that list eligible companies and their specific guidelines.

Training your nonprofit team on effective fundraising tools can help your team guide supporters effectively and ensure consistent messaging across outreach.

7. How can nonprofits measure the success of matching gift campaigns?

To measure the success of your matching gift campaigns, your nonprofit should:

  • Track conversion rates, submission numbers, and total matched revenue
  • Monitor company-specific trends and monthly remittance reports to identify new match-eligible donors
  • Check email engagement rates to help refine communication strategies
  • Compare year-over-year match capture rates to refine strategies

By integrating a fundraising tool like Double the Donation, you can get access to these insights and analytics to inform outreach timing, messaging, and targeting.

Promoting Matching Gifts to Increase Donor Participation

Effective promotion of a matching gift program requires consistency across every touchpoint in the donor journey. By weaving these opportunities into your storytelling and digital presence, you not only secure immediate funds but also open the door to broader corporate volunteering and payroll giving conversations.

We encourage you to audit your automated donation receipts this week. Ensure they contain a clear call to action for matching gifts, as this single adjustment is often the highest-leverage step toward increasing your fundraising results.

To learn more about promoting matching gifts and other forms of workplace giving, explore more resources from Double the Donation and implement best practices, streamline processes, and capture more matching gifts today.

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Launch a Peer-to-Peer Campaign in 30 Days & Avoid Burnout

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Peer-to-peer fundraising not only allows you to raise funds for your cause, but it also empowers you to strengthen relationships with current supporters and build new bonds as well. It’s a way to expand your reach and spread your cause far and wide—all while giving your community members agency to lead.

However, launching a peer-to-peer campaign can be intimidating, as it requires coordinating a group of fundraisers, preparing them to take charge, and constantly communicating with both fundraisers and donors. This guide will help you get up and running with your campaign quickly while also avoiding burnout along the way.

Week 1: Hone Your Strategy

The first week of your campaign preparation is about setting the foundation. By the end of this week, your fundraising team should:

  • Define your campaign goal. Rally your community around a SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) goal. Instead of a vague goal like “raise $50,000,” your goal should provide context so fundraisers know exactly what they’re raising money for and donors understand what they’re contributing to. For example, your goal may be to “raise $50,000 to provide 200,000 meals to our community through our food bank.”
  • Choose your technology. Select a peer-to-peer fundraising software that allows you to set up team and individual fundraising pages, gamify your campaign, track fundraising progress, and easily share campaign pages. Test it ahead of time by setting up a sample fundraising page and making a small donation.
  • Build a toolkit. Developing a fundraising toolkit will equip your fundraisers with the resources they need and save time that your team would otherwise spend answering questions throughout the campaign. This toolkit should contain a document summarizing the story behind your campaign and why it matters, as well as photos they can share, email templates, sample social media posts, and a how-to guide explaining how to set up their campaign pages.

While creating your fundraising toolkit will help avoid burnout by preventing your team from constantly answering fundraiser questions, take it a step further by developing a peer-to-peer fundraiser hub. Whether you use a web page, shareable Google Drive folder, Slack channel, or something else entirely, keeping all resources in the same place will further streamline the process.

Week 2: Recruit Fundraisers

Next, assemble your team of fundraisers. To avoid burnout and keep your campaign focused, start small. Instead of sending a mass email and trying to recruit as many fundraisers as possible, identify 10-15 people who are passionate about your cause and will likely participate. Look at the following supporter segments to find this group:

  • Board members
  • Volunteers
  • Loyal donors
  • Past peer-to-peer participants

Once you have this group, host one kick-off call in which you introduce the campaign, review the fundraising toolkit, and answer any questions. Instead of onboarding fundraisers as they sign up, you can record this call and add the link to your welcome email, further preventing burnout and saving your team time.

Week 3: Launch Your Campaign

You’ve made it to campaign week! Before officially kicking off, set up your campaign website. Bloomerang Fundraising’s peer-to-peer fundraising guide recommends creating an FAQ page to answer common participant, donor, and volunteer questions, using cohesive branding to match your organization, and including a fundraising thermometer to visualize progress.

Then, do the following to maintain momentum and keep your campaign running smoothly:

  • Automate coaching emails. Create an automated drip campaign that encourages your fundraisers to continue engaging and sets them up for success without requiring manual reminders. For example, you may send them a reminder about the fundraising toolkit on the first day of the campaign, give them a tip for how to make their communications resonate on the third day, and update them on the campaign’s progress on the fifth day.
  • Schedule social media posts. Use a social media scheduling platform to plan your social media posts. That way, you don’t have to worry about what you’ll post each day of the campaign as it’s happening. Create a variety of posts that share beneficiary stories and impact statistics, reminding participants and donors what they’re contributing to.

Additionally, consider reaching out to different businesses to see if they’d be willing to support your campaign through a matching challenge. For example, a food bank might enlist a snack company to match every dollar raised during a certain hour or day of the campaign. A matching challenge can maximize the funds you raise and increase momentum in the middle of your campaign.

Week 4: Wrap Things Up

Can you believe it’s already time for your peer-to-peer campaign to come to a close? Finish strong and avoid late-stage burnout by:

  • Publicly recognizing standout participants. Instead of sending individual check-in emails, celebrate small wins publicly. This approach not only saves your team time but also motivates the rest of your fundraisers. For example, you may send a text blast to your fundraisers saying something like, “Happy Day 5 of the campaign! Congrats to Emma, who has already surpassed her fundraising goal of $2,000. Let’s keep the momentum going in these last couple of days!”
  • Automating reports. Once your campaign ends, run reports in your nonprofit CRM to determine the total amount raised and identify the top fundraisers who contributed the most. Then, send a quick wrap-up email to everyone involved that summarizes the results, and follow up with additional impact communications once you’ve used the funds raised.
  • Having fundraisers thank their donors. Chances are, you had tons of supporters contribute to your campaign, and it would be difficult to thank them all personally. Avoid burning out your team by assigning this responsibility to your fundraisers. Provide them with the email addresses of everyone who donated through their personal fundraising pages and a thank-you template to make the process seamless.

When you follow up with participants and donors through your wrap-up email, take the opportunity to offer additional engagement opportunities. While you shouldn’t ask for another donation right away, you likely acquired new donors through the campaign who may be interested in expanding their involvement through volunteering, advocacy, or events.

To continually improve your peer-to-peer fundraising approach, collect feedback from staff, participants, and donors. While staff can help you further streamline the process and prevent burnout, participants can offer suggestions for better training and motivating future fundraisers, and donors can provide valuable tips for engaging supporters and attracting them to your cause.

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4 Effective Places To Share Your Nonprofit’s Impact Stories

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Every story your nonprofit tells has the power to inspire generosity, build trust, and deepen relationships with supporters. But your impact stories can only do their job if people actually see them. Strategic placement matters just as much as the storytelling itself.

Impact stories bring your mission to life, transforming statistics into lived experiences and abstract goals into tangible outcomes. They connect donors to the people and communities their support touches. As a vital part of your nonprofit marketing plan, deciding where to share your stories is almost as important as the stories themselves.

Here are four of the most effective places to showcase your nonprofit impact stories and inspire ongoing donor engagement.

1. Your Nonprofit’s Website

Your website is your nonprofit’s digital home base and the most reliable place to showcase your impact stories. Unlike social media, where algorithms control visibility, your site offers full control over how stories appear and how long they’re accessible. A strong web presence helps users understand your mission at a glance, while also helping you measure and communicate nonprofit impact more effectively, showing donors what you do and the difference it makes.

Using your nonprofit site builder, you can build space for storytelling directly into your site’s structure.

Tips For Publishing Stories on Your Website

  • Create a dedicated “Stories” or “Impact” section. This makes it easy for visitors to find your collection of narratives that clearly link your work to tangible outcomes.
  • Embed videos and photos. Visuals make stories more compelling and relatable. Be sure to include image alt text and closed captions on videos for optimal accessibility.
  • Include a call-to-action (CTA). Place a clear next step—like “Donate,” “Volunteer,” or “Share this story”—at the end of each story.
  • Tag and categorize stories. Organize by program, theme, or audience so visitors can easily browse what’s most relevant to them.
  • Feature standout stories on your homepage. Rotating highlights draw readers deeper into your site and can also promote your current priorities.

For example, the Lymphoma Research Foundation highlights its Stories of Hope program with prominently featured impact stories and a filter that lets visitors browse by topic to meet diverse audience needs. The program encourages supporters to both submit and read stories, fostering connection and support, while also showcasing the direct outcomes of LRF’s work.

The Lymphoma Research Foundation’s website includes a Stories of Hope page to highlight impact stories.

2. Your Annual Report

Annual and impact reports aren’t just for financials! They’re a chance to show donors the real-world results of their generosity. Stories paired with data are especially effective in demonstrating progress across the donor lifecycle, showing how contributions translate into long-term change.

According to DonorSearch’s guide to nonprofit annual reports, organizations should balance quantitative results with qualitative storytelling. DonorSearch emphasizes that stories can bring numbers to life and help supporters emotionally connect with achievements.

How To Write Story-Driven Annual Reports

  • Lead with a testimonial. Start each section with a quote from a donor, volunteer, or beneficiary.
  • Show multiple perspectives. Feature stories from the people you serve, donors who make it possible, and volunteers who give their time.
  • Tie stories to your goals. Align narratives with campaign themes or strategic priorities for clarity and cohesion, and use data to back your narrative.
  • Use a narrative arc. Highlight a challenge, describe your nonprofit’s action, and showcase the outcome to drive the point home.

These stories transform your report into more than a compliance document. They turn it into a marketing and stewardship tool too.

3. Email Campaigns

Email is one of the most direct ways to connect with supporters—and one of the best vehicles for impact stories. In fact, email marketing drives about 28% of all online nonprofit revenue, making it an essential part of your communications strategy. The right story in the right format can strengthen appeals, especially when supported by proven email templates that increase donations.

Impact stories in emails help humanize your appeals and keep readers engaged over time. They also provide opportunities to link back to full stories on your site, increasing traffic and visibility.

Types of Emails That Benefit from Stories

  • Monthly newsletters. Include a “story of the month” to keep supporters emotionally connected.
  • Fundraising appeals. Show the real impact of past donations to encourage future gifts.
  • Event invitations. Feature beneficiary or volunteer stories to highlight why participation matters.
  • Thank-you emails. Share a recent win or testimonial to reinforce donors’ role in your success.

Cornershop Creative’s nonprofit email marketing guide highlights that email campaigns work best when tailored to audience needs. For example, segmented email lists ensure that stories resonate with the right supporters—major donors, new volunteers, or recurring givers.

4. Social Media

Social media platforms thrive on storytelling. With the right approach, they allow your nonprofit to amplify impact stories far beyond your immediate circle. Since posts can be reshared by staff, volunteers, and supporters, one strategic story can ripple across networks and attract new audiences.

How To Create Story-Fueled Social Posts

  • Customize for each platform. Instagram works best for visual snippets, while Facebook and LinkedIn allow longer, more detailed storytelling.
  • Encourage shares. Ask your board, staff, or volunteers to engage with content to expand reach.
  • Diversify your stories. Share behind-the-scenes looks, spotlight donor contributions, highlight volunteers, or feature direct quotes from beneficiaries.
  • Use images and videos. Visual content grabs attention and boosts engagement rates across platforms.

By turning your impact stories into engaging posts, you not only update existing supporters but also position your nonprofit for discovery by entirely new audiences. This strategy is especially powerful when tied to a fundraising goal. For example, pairing stories with event promotion—like highlighting beneficiary voices leading up to a fundraiser—can increase reach and drive registrations.

Final Thoughts

Nonprofit impact stories are more than feel-good narratives—they are powerful tools for building donor trust, deepening loyalty, and inspiring new gifts. By sharing them strategically on your website, in annual reports, through email, and across social media, you ensure that the right people see them in the right places.

Start small: choose one channel and begin sharing stories regularly. Over time, expand your efforts across platforms so supporters encounter consistent reminders of your mission’s success. When done well, your storytelling will inspire generosity and fuel long-term donor relationships.

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Understanding Donor Fatigue: Signs, Causes, and Solutions

Imagine this: You open your monthly report and notice some abnormal trends. Mid-level giving has dipped. A donor who reliably gives at year-end has been silent. A loyal monthly donor’s contributions have become infrequent. You know your mission is still worthy, so why has their behavior changed?

It’s donor fatigue. And that’s not just a trendy catchphrase or theoretical concept; it’s actually a practical threat to the sustainable revenue you need to plan programs, grow impact, and keep the lights on.

The kicker is that donor fatigue is a symptom of a faltering engagement strategy. However, that means you can take steps now to keep donors engaged or even bring back those who are drifting away.

In this article, we’ll explore why donor fatigue occurs and provide tactical, immediate solutions to keep your donors engaged.

Uncover the Causes of Donor Fatigue

Donor fatigue happens when supporters feel overwhelmed, undervalued, or disconnected from your mission and unsure about the impact of their support.

To identify the specific causes of fatigue affecting your supporters, leverage your donor management software. As CharityEngine explains, this software tracks all donor information and interactions to give you a complete picture of where your supporters stand.

However, there are a few general pitfalls that fuel donor fatigue across organizations:

  • The over-solicitation trap: Too many asks, period. If every donor touchpoint costs them money, they’ll start avoiding your communications. Supporters want various ways to engage beyond monetary contributions.
  • The generic ask: Donors don’t want to feel like a line item on a spreadsheet or like you’ve crafted emails using copy and paste. Personalization makes donors feel seen and appreciated as true partners in your nonprofit’s mission.
  • Impact amnesia: If you don’t close the loop by explaining how a donation helped your mission, donors may feel like they poured money into a bottomless pit. Connect the act of donating with the feel-good results, and donors will feel invested in your cause.

While staying aware of these common pitfalls is important, only you know your donors, and you’ll recognize the unique signals that something’s amiss! The sooner you act, the quicker you’ll reengage your supporters.

How to Prevent (and Address) Donor Fatigue

1. Identify Red Flags and Intervene Early

Donors won’t get fatigued overnight. If you pay attention, you can see subtle shifts that indicate your engagement strategies need refinement.

Here are five red flags and some suggestions on how to act on them:

  • Decline in gift frequency: Regular giving followed by a sudden pause in contributions for an extended period of time is an early warning sign of donor fatigue.
    • Use your fundraising software to run a report highlighting those with declining giving frequency. Send a personalized note to each individual, just checking in rather than asking for a donation.
  • Smaller average gifts: Similar to a decrease in gift frequency, reduced gift size may signal the early stages of disengagement.
    • Pick up the phone! Call to thank donors for their most recent gifts and share specific stories about how their contributions impacted your mission.
  • Missing events: If your nonprofit plans an event, and a supporter who usually attends fails to show up, they may also start to disengage with your organization in other ways.
    • Send a personal note expressing your gratitude for their support and letting them know you missed seeing them.
  • Email disengagement: Declining email open and click-through rates, among other metrics, show that fewer supporters are interacting with your communications.
    • Test new subject lines or calls to action (CTAs), and create email templates that follow best practices to boost engagement. You can even switch to a different channel for outreach (like phone calls, direct mail, or SMS) if necessary.
  • Sustainer churn: A recurring donor who cancels their gift is likely experiencing fatigue. Once they stop contributing regularly to your cause, they’ll begin disconnecting in other ways, as well.
    • Reach out with gratitude for past support, and then offer some alternatives. Donors may consider participating in your advocacy campaign, instead. Or, perhaps long-term volunteers want to make a monetary donation for a short period.

Share common red flags across the team so everyone is aware of signs that forewarn donor fatigue.

2. Sharpen Your Ask With Personalization

Instead of feeling like another name on your nonprofit’s long list of supporters, each donor should feel individually recognized, appreciated, and needed by your organization. Tailor messages to recipients’ unique interests and motivations.

Segment recipients into groups based on shared characteristics. Here are some segmentation criteria you can consider:

  • Interests: Focus on projects, programs, and activities that supporters have historically shown interest in. For instance, consider which fundraising causes or projects donors contributed to. Also, track volunteer data to identify which projects and events appeal most to those who donate their time.
  • Last gift: Your outreach should be appropriate according to the recipients’ existing levels of involvement. For example, you don’t want to ask someone who donated three days ago for another gift or send another “urgent” message to someone who hasn’t given in 18 months. For recent donors, send gratitude messages and impact information. For long-lapsed donors, reintroduce them to your mission before requesting a donation.
  • Prospects: If you’ve conducted prospect research and identified a group of potential supporters (or existing donors who might be willing to upgrade their gifts), that’s great! However, set them aside in a group that needs cultivation, so you know not to reach out to these individuals with donation requests just yet.
  • Off-limits: Some people just aren’t ready to hear from your organization yet, and that’s okay. Hitting the brakes on reaching out to certain contacts shows donors you respect them.

Try applying these segments to your next campaign. Even adjusting one appeal with tailored messaging can instantly and dramatically reduce donor fatigue.

3. Automate Donor Retention Through Recurring Giving

Recurring giving is the gold standard for avoiding donor fatigue: donors give consistently without constant requests, and nonprofits can focus on showing gratitude and reporting their impact. This type of program keeps them engaged with your mission.

Here are some quick tips to fortify your recurring giving program:

  1. Optimize your donation form. Make the recurring option the default or most visible choice. Keep fields to a minimum so signing up is frictionless.
  2. Invest in payment recovery. Expired credit cards are a leading cause of sustainer churn. Use automated card updater tools or soft retries to prevent donors from having to re-enter details.
  3. Track relevant metrics. Don’t just watch total recurring revenue. Track retention rates, average gift size, and churn reasons to help you spot trends and take action quickly.

It can be helpful to craft a donor journey for recurring givers. They don’t need heavy solicitation, but you should remind them often that their ongoing commitment fuels growing impact.

Donor fatigue poses a significant challenge for nonprofits. But once you realize it’s not that donors are losing interest, you can take a close look at your engagement strategies and see what you need to tweak.

When your team is attuned to early warning signs and can avoid common pitfalls, you can quickly develop strategies around personalization and recurring giving. The result? You’re protecting revenue and strengthening donor relationships.

At the end of the day, donors don’t want to feel like a nameless cash machine. They want to feel like partners in your mission. When you treat them that way, you’ll banish donor fatigue and win long-term support.

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4 Best Strategies to Boost Funding for Your Nonprofit

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Nonprofits face constant pressure to raise funds to power their mission—a pressure that has only grown as the federal government slashes funding for these organizations. To stay afloat, mission-driven organizations must sharpen their existing fundraising strategies and introduce creative new ideas.

Your fundraising strategy should evolve as your nonprofit’s needs and abilities change. In this guide, we’ll discuss four innovative and effective strategies for boosting funding now and in the long term.

1. Diversify with Mission-Aligned Earned Income

The key to long-term sustainability for nonprofits is diversified revenue streams. You may decide to accept stock, gifts from donor-advised funds (DAFs), or crypto donations, but many nonprofits find the most success by launching mission-aligned business ventures that create revenue and community value.

Like businesses, nonprofits usually offer services or products to earn extra income.

Services

Depending on your nonprofit’s mission, exploring service-based ideas like educational workshops might make sense. Selling services can increase supporters’ awareness of your brand and cement your organization as a part of your local community. You can get creative with these events and connect them to your cause.

For example, Trees Atlanta is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and expanding Atlanta’s tree canopy. It charges a fee for private walking tours with guides who can point out native wildlife and share the area’s history. These events educate the public about Trees Atlanta’s mission, provide something of value for the community, and generate additional revenue for the organization.

Products

Most commonly, nonprofits sell branded merchandise for extra income and to aid their marketing efforts. Apparel merch is particularly popular, as it allows supporters to wear their passion for your mission on their sleeve (literally!). Look for eco-friendly products to show that your organization seeks to do good at every level of its operations.

Your organization doesn’t have to stop at selling branded merchandise. An increasingly popular sustainable revenue option is a mission-aligned thrift store, which generates steady income while engaging your community in new ways. Host a capital campaign to get the necessary funding to open your storefront (whether digital or physical) and invest in important tools like a point of sale (POS) system. A dedicated thrift store POS system is the best option, as these solutions have features to meet specific thrift store needs.

For example, Lost-n-Found Youth is a nonprofit with a mission to support LGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness. In addition to its traditional fundraising efforts, Lost-n-Found operates a nonprofit thrift store, the proceeds of which go towards the Lost-n-Found mission.

Regardless of which option you choose, focus on mission alignment and select an idea that matches your audience’s needs and interests. Share with supporters how this new venture will help your cause and ask them what offerings they want to see from your organization.

2. Launch a Recurring Giving Program

A strong recurring donor base provides monthly financial stability and deepens donor relationships. Even small monthly gifts add up—CharityEngine reports that recurring donors give more annually, and donors who give regularly tend to stick around for longer.

Here are some tips to create and sustain a recurring gift program:

  • Identify prospects. Donors who already make frequent gifts, longtime donors, and supporters who engage in multiple ways are your best bet for recurring donors. Comb through your donor database to identify donors who fall into these categories. Then, send these donors personalized fundraising letters to invite them to become a larger part of your mission.
  • Brand your program. Name your recurring gift program to show these donors that you see their commitment and foster a sense of community. For example, charity:water calls their monthly donors “The Spring” and asks web visitors to join their program using community-focused language and impact statements: “Join the global community serving 37,413 people every month.”
  • Make recurring giving easy. Many donors may be attracted to the idea of convenient, impactful giving, but they won’t always seek out your recurring giving program on their own. To make joining more convenient, allow donors to toggle between one-time and recurring gifts on the donation page. You can also add impact labels to your monthly giving levels; charity:water, for example, writes that a $20/monthly donation provides six people with clean water every year.

By creating and promoting a recurring gift program, you reduce your reliance on one-time gifts and secure consistent revenue for your nonprofit. Send consistent reminders to your donors to update their payment information as necessary, as an expired card can mean a lapsed donor.

3. Partner with Local Businesses

Strategic collaborations with local businesses are mutually beneficial; while your organization gains access to unprecedented funding, resources, and new supporters, local businesses generate goodwill and receive free advertising. Because of these benefits, there is potential to create long-term relationships that bolster your nonprofit’s stability.

Secure meaningful partnerships by:

  • Emphasizing alignment: The businesses you partner with should have ethics that match your own, but your mission must also speak to their goals and values. Look at a potential partner’s website to research their values and the language they use to describe their business, then formulate an outreach message that shows how a partnership will benefit you both.
  • Engaging on multiple levels: Your partnership doesn’t have to stop at sponsorships. Talk to your partners about hosting employee volunteer days to gain additional hands-on assistance. You also might seek in-kind donations for a charity raffle or auction. Or, if you have a nonprofit thrift store, you can accept in-kind donations to sell. ThriftCart lists dead stock as one of the best ways for a thrift store to add valuable items to its inventory while helping businesses get rid of items they no longer want.

Start by proposing a small project to test the fit of your two organizations. Then, keep the relationship going by showing your appreciation and how the partnership impacted both your organizations. You can even feature business donors in your newsletters or social media to show your gratitude.

4. Hone Your Grantseeking Strategy

It’s no secret that grants can be a powerful source of funding. The 2024 State of Grantseeking Report found that 91% of nonprofits surveyed submitted at least one grant application in the past year. To compete against all the other nonprofits throwing their hats in the ring, your nonprofit must approach grantseeking with focus and intention. Refine your approach to maximize your chances of winning funding and avoid wasting time on dead-end applications:

  • Start with values alignment. Go beyond the funder’s basic eligibility criteria by researching their past grantees, strategic goals, and published reports to gauge how your mission fits into their broader vision. For example, if you’re seeking funding to launch a nonprofit thrift store that supports workforce development, focus on funders prioritizing economic mobility and community-based sustainability.
  • Use a “modular” grant writing system. Build a bank of pre-written, mission-aligned content that you can mix and match across applications—such as your mission statement, key impact stats, or bios of program staff. This saves time while ensuring every proposal still feels personalized and high-quality.
  • Track outcomes. Keep tabs on which proposals received funding, which were declined, and what feedback (if any) you received. Over time, patterns will emerge around which funders resonate with your work, what narratives land best, and how to evolve your approach.

With a focused grant-seeking strategy, you can do more than cross your fingers while waiting for a response and see real change in the outcomes of your grant applications.

Nonprofits cannot afford to become complacent; you must always innovate and reimagine to continue advancing your mission. These funding strategies allow you to make the most of limited resources to create stability for your organization and bring your community of supporters closer together. Experiment with what strategies work best for your nonprofit’s resources, goals, and audience, and follow the most promising path forward.

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A Beginner’s Guide to Nonprofit Revenue Management

Nonprofit revenue is rarely predictable. Donor behavior shifts, variable funding cycles, and economic pressures can make accurate planning feel impossible. But with the right revenue management strategies, your team can take control of your nonprofit’s resources and make more informed decisions.

In this guide, we’ll break down what nonprofit revenue management is, what its benefits are, and how your organization can implement successful strategies.

What is nonprofit revenue management (and why does it matter)?

Nonprofit revenue management is the process of actively monitoring, planning, and optimizing income to support both short- and long-term goals. Effective revenue management tracks not only how much money comes in, but also when cash flows occur and what types of revenue your nonprofit receives.

Revenue management aims to optimize your nonprofit’s income sources and timing to ensure financial sustainability and alignment with your goals, even if you face complex situations or challenges. Understanding when and how revenue will be available allows you to make informed decisions about launching new programs, hiring staff, or scaling operations, which in turn fosters greater trust with stakeholders and empowers your team to proactively manage challenges.

Top Revenue Management Tips

Understand and categorize your current revenue streams

Before you can manage revenue effectively, you need to understand where it comes from. Tracking your current revenue streams lays the groundwork for more accurate forecasting and budgeting, helping you allocate resources effectively.

  • Identify all current sources of income: individual donations, grants, investment returns, corporate sponsorships, and earned income (e.g., membership fees or product sales).
  • Categorize each by type, timing (recurring or one-time), and restrictions (unrestricted vs. restricted).
  • Develop a reporting process that allows you to monitor revenue trends and understand how different streams perform over time.

There are a range of tools you can use to power your reporting process. Jitasa’s guide to nonprofit accounting explains that “while many organizations start out managing their finances in a spreadsheet, a specialized accounting platform will become necessary as your nonprofit grows.”

Remember to work with your finance team to ensure that revenue is classified accurately in your accounting system. Accurate categorization is essential not only for producing reliable financial reports but also for passing audits and maintaining transparency with your board and donors.

Diversify revenue for financial stability

After categorizing your organization’s revenue streams, you’ll be able to see what sources you’re relying on the most and what areas offer potential for growth. Use this information to take steps to create a more sustainable funding model through revenue diversification.

Try implementing one or more of the following programs to braid a new tactic into your revenue streams:

  • Create a monthly giving program. These programs encourage donors to commit to a recurring gift each month. This revenue is predictable, typically unrestricted, and useful for long-term planning. Leverage it by identifying and reaching out to your most loyal supporters about joining, as well as offering easy sign-up options with suggested donation tiers.
  • Tap into workplace giving opportunities. Employee matching gifts, volunteer grants, and charitable giving stipends are all examples of common corporate programs that encourage employees to give to nonprofits like yours. 360MatchPro’s guide to workplace giving strategies suggests you make the most of workplace giving opportunities by familiarizing yourself with businesses that have existing programs and building relationships with these companies by showing how your missions are aligned.
  • Explore nontraditional donation types. Cash and credit aren’t your only options for accepting donations—many donors today appreciate the option to donate stock, donor-advised fund grants, or even cryptocurrency. Nonprofits that accept both asset and cash donations can increase individual contributions by 55%, so it’s worth it to set up a brokerage account or invest in a donation platform that makes these transfers easy.

Diversification reinforces your revenue management efforts by smoothing out cash flow and increasing resilience, ultimately allowing your team to plan with greater confidence and flexibility.

Implement a revenue forecasting process.

Forecasting helps you make informed decisions with greater agility, particularly when managing multiple, fluctuating revenue streams. It’s dynamic and relies on real-time data to project cash flow trends.

Here are some tips to get started with forecasting:

  • Analyze your historical revenue patterns, including seasonality in donations and the timing of grant disbursements. Use this information to establish baselines for future expectations.
  • Segment your forecasts by source to gain insight into how reliable and consistent each revenue stream may be. Factor in donor behavior such as giving frequency, average gift size, and retention rates to more accurately anticipate how your revenue streams will perform over time.
  • Use technology like your CRM and accounting software to automate data collection and streamline forecasting. These tools can track pledges, recurring gifts, funding restrictions, and real-time donation activity, helping you adjust projections as new trends emerge.

A consistent forecasting process helps your team identify revenue gaps before they impact programs, optimize campaign timing, and build a more agile, resilient fundraising strategy.

Align fundraising and finance

Breaking down barriers between finance and fundraising aids with strategic decision-making and overall revenue management. These two functions may speak different “languages,” but their goals are the same: ensuring your organization has the funds it needs, when it needs them, to achieve its mission.

Ensure these areas work together by:

  • Holding regular meetings between departments to review forecasts, budgets, and revenue reports.
  • Working together to understand nonprofit revenue recognition, especially for large gifts, grants, or pledges.
  • Using financial reports to inform campaign strategies—for example, if financial professionals anticipate a dip in available unrestricted funds mid-year, your fundraising team can plan a targeted donor appeal to bridge the gap.
  • Encouraging fundraisers to use revenue insights to segment donors, pitch appropriate gift levels, and identify growth opportunities.

Collaborations between finance and fundraising teams help you use your revenue data to take strategic action. This ensures that budgets are grounded in real fundraising potential, that forecasts reflect operational needs, and that your revenue management strategy is accurate and adaptable.

Effective revenue management is essential for your nonprofit to be sustainable and impactful. When your team understands the full picture of where revenue comes from and how to make decisions that maximize your funding, you can plan for the future with more precision and purpose.

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The Donor Lifecycle: What It Means for Your Nonprofit

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Imagine you’re a brand-new nonprofit donor. You’re intrigued, curious, and excited about the prospect of making a difference through your involvement. But after receiving one thank-you email and a generic event invitation, you don’t hear anything else from the organization. It may slip your mind completely, ending a relationship that had only just begun.

As a nonprofit, you can avoid this situation by prioritizing the donor lifecycle. Approaching every supporter as a potential long-term relationship helps you connect with them more easily, improve communications, and ultimately build a thriving donor community.

In this beginner’s guide, we’ll explore the donor lifecycle and how you can leverage it to build stronger, long-lasting relationships with supporters.

What is the donor lifecycle?

The donor lifecycle is a framework used to understand and facilitate a supporter’s journey from prospect to long-term donor for your nonprofit. It encompasses the full length of a donor’s relationship with your organization, no matter how long they stay involved.

Since every supporter has a unique relationship with your nonprofit, individuals’ donor lifecycles will vary. One person may be a one-time donor who lapses after a year before getting re-engaged down the line, while another moves swiftly from prospect to donor to loyal peer-to-peer fundraiser. Regardless, understanding and optimizing your communications based on the donor lifecycle will help you improve relationships.

Stages of the donor lifecycle

You can break down a donor’s lifecycle in several different ways, but we’ll start with the most basic version. Typically, you can follow a supporter’s relationship with your nonprofit through these four stages:

  • Identification: Your team identifies the individual as a prospective donor. You might use research to find a major giving prospect or simply note that a member of your target audience visited your website or followed your organization on social media.
  • Cultivation: In the cultivation stage, the supporter learns more about your nonprofit as you start building a relationship with them. This may involve targeted, personalized outreach or general invitations to learn more about your cause and get involved.
  • Solicitation: This is when an individual makes a gift and becomes a donor. They might do this on their own or in response to a personalized fundraising appeal.
  • Stewardship: After donating, your nonprofit must keep the donor engaged by following up regularly, showing appreciation, demonstrating impact, and providing new opportunities to get involved.

The length of these stages can vary considerably, and a donor can move through the cycle multiple times. For instance, one person might learn about your nonprofit and donate within a few hours, while a planned giving prospect spends months getting to know your organization in the cultivation stage before making a commitment.

Depending on a supporter’s giving potential, you can also expand the donor lifecycle to include other steps like research and upgrades. If you want to upgrade a mid-level donor to the next giving tier, for example, you could move them back through the cycle or create a dedicated upgrade campaign after stewardship.

Why the donor lifecycle matters

Once you understand the importance of the donor lifecycle, you can learn how to deepen relationships and build a strong base of support. We’ve compiled three core takeaways you can act on today.

1. It’s vital to track donor relationships.

To improve any donor relationship, you first need to understand where they are in their lifecycle—and you can’t do this without thoroughly tracking donor data.

Use a constituent relationship management (CRM) system or other fundraising platform to organize and analyze data easily. According to OneCause, using holistic fundraising software with analytics capabilities helps you strengthen donor relationships and improve retention rates. To leverage the full potential of your software, track information like:

  • Giving history: Donors’ giving amounts, methods, frequencies, and habits
  • Communication preferences: How each supporter wants to be contacted, such as via email, text, phone call, or direct mail
  • Engagement history: The types of events, volunteer opportunities, and online interactions a donor has participated in and when
  • Notes from conversations: Any information you learn about a donor’s giving motivations, cause interests, or concerns
  • Personal details: Contact information, relevant relationships, personal interests, and other information that helps you better understand each supporter
  • Prospect research findings: Wealth data, other philanthropic activity, and verified charitable interests
  • Feedback: Any opinions they shared in surveys or conversations

This data will not only help you determine where donors are in the lifecycle but also how you can move them to the next stage. Use tracked information to inform your cultivation and stewardship efforts and personalize outreach.

2. You need an ongoing stewardship plan.

Relationships don’t spring up—and grow—out of nowhere. If the donor lifecycle teaches you anything, it should be that your nonprofit must work intentionally to engage, steward, and retain donors long-term.

To do so efficiently, you need a detailed plan. Develop a stewardship plan for ongoing engagement based on what appeals most to your unique donor base. Include several interactions and touchpoints you want to make with donors after they give, such as sending:

  • Welcome letters and emails for first-time donors
  • Prompt, personalized thank-you messages
  • Invitations to get more involved by attending events, volunteering, or taking a tour
  • Program, campaign, and impact updates
  • Annual reports
  • Requests for feedback

Ideally, your stewardship efforts should look different based on donors’ giving levels and individual preferences, but having a basic stewardship plan is an important first step. You can adjust this plan as needed, tailoring it to be more appropriate for certain donors. For example, you might manually individualize plans for each of your major donors while using your CRM to automate outreach for new supporters.

3. Give every relationship the attention it deserves.

The donor lifecycle proves that any supporter can become an impactful, long-term donor. This means you should engage every donor with the goal of building a genuine, lasting relationship with them.

The lifecycle isn’t just for major donors and prospects—even first-time event guests who bid on auction items or enter a raffle should be entered into your stewardship cadence. In fact, one study found that “auction donors are very likely to become long-term donors, with 83% reporting likelihood to become an annual donor.” Giving these supporters attention means:

  • Getting to know them personally
  • Sharing relevant information about your cause
  • Inviting them to get more involved
  • Genuinely appreciating their support

For instance, say you learn that a charity auction guest named Maria prefers text-to-give and has a special interest in your advocacy work. After sending her a thank-you message, you might text her a link to a blog post about your latest advocacy success. Then, invite her to sign a petition or take another action to make a greater impact.

To ensure your efforts remain sustainable, the level of individualized attention you give to donors should vary based on their gift size, giving potential, and engagement level, but every supporter should receive something.

Navigating the donor lifecycle

As you get to know your donors better and record that data in your fundraising solutions, you can adjust the type of information you track and how you plan to engage them over time. Keep the donor journey in mind when making decisions, and you’ll inspire deeper, longer-lasting relationships that help your organization thrive.

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5 Must-Haves for Managing Your Nonprofit Event Checklist

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Planning fundraising events that bring your community together is exciting, but the many moving pieces you have to manage can quickly become overwhelming. That’s where an event planning checklist comes in. By creating a basic, reusable resource tailored to your nonprofit’s needs, you can streamline the planning process for any future event.

To make your checklist effective, there are a few key components you need to incorporate. We’ve put together a brief guide to event planning checklists that breaks down the must-haves. Use our template and the tips below to plan your best fundraising event yet. 

Event planning tips to keep in mind

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to planning a successful nonprofit event. Your organization’s needs, budget, mission, and preferences all play a role in shaping the event experience. There are, however, some best practices that every event planner should follow: 

  • Use the right tools: The tools you need will vary depending on the type of event  you want to host. Think about the functionality your team will need, and then weigh the options available to you before making any decisions. For example, if you’re hosting an auction, you’ll need auction software that offers features for bidding, donations, and event ticketing.
  • Set a budget at the beginning: Determining a realistic budget for your event before you start talking to vendors will help your team make smarter decisions without painful trade-offs down the line.
  • Spread the word early: Once you’ve locked in your venue and date, spread the word! The sooner your audience hears about your event, the more time your marketing team has to build excitement and answer any questions guests have. Don’t forget to track responses and touchpoints with each of your supporters using your fundraising software. This will help show you who is engaged with your event and who might need another reminder.
  • Follow up afterward: Once the event is over, it’s time to think long-term about continued engagement for your supporters. This is easiest to do when you use an all-in-one fundraising solution, like the OneCause fundraising platform, that easily integrates with your donor management tool.

With these tips in mind, let’s dive into the five must-haves of any event planning checklist.

Basic checklist graphic for nonprofit event planning

1. Event Mission Statement and Goal

Your nonprofit’s event planning checklist should be more than just a task tracker – it will be your team’s source of truth throughout the planning process. Whether it’s a spreadsheet, a printed-out piece of paper in your office, or a whiteboard in a central location, it should have enough room to cover all the tasks and information your team needs to stay on track. 

Start by stating your event’s goal and mission statement. List your fundraising revenue goal and other strategic priorities at the top of your checklist to keep them front and center as you continue to plan. This will naturally keep your team laser-focused on your desired outcomes through every step of the journey to your event. 

Need to choose between two vendors? Unsure whether to splurge on that add-on? Refer back to your primary goal. It will guide you toward the right choice.

2. Person Responsible

We’ve all been in this situation before: a highly productive meeting comes to a close, and the action items are listed… but they never get done. Why? Because no one knew who was actually responsible!

As you add steps and tasks to your nonprofit event planning checklist, include the name of the person who is responsible for each task’s completion. That person knows that they have to do it, and everyone else has someone to go to if they have questions about a specific action item.

Delegating tasks publicly also helps your team balance their workloads more easily. If your auction chair is responsible for 90% of the tasks on the list, for example, it may be time to check in with her and see if anything can be delegated to anyone else. 

If your nonprofit involves volunteers in the event planning process, this helps ensure they know who to ask if they have any questions. Be sure to include clear contact information for the person responsible, so your volunteers can easily reach them if they need assistance. 

3. Due Dates for Each Task

Every task on your fundraising event checklist should have a due date. Events are time-bound, and certain things—like venue reservations, booking catering, or sending save-the-dates—have to happen weeks or months in advance. 

Your nonprofit’s event won’t be the only project going on during this time, so setting due dates allows staff to balance their event work with the other programs that they’re working on. Consider using a project management tool that allows them to see all of their tasks in one place and helps them prioritize by urgency and importance.

4. Notes and Details

The small details make a big difference! Leave space for detailed notes next to each task to save your team a lot of hassle. Including important details on the checklist itself prevents communication breakdowns and makes sure everyone is able to access the information they need in one place. 

Your notes and details section can include things like: 

  • Points of contact for vendors
  • Shipping timelines
  • Purchase confirmation numbers
  • Reminders about sub-tasks (like asking your caterer about vegetarian or gluten-free options)
  • Links to potential virtual event platforms

Adding notes to your central checklist supports transparency and open communication. It also means that if someone goes on vacation or takes a sick day, the event planning train doesn’t come to a total halt. Someone else can provide the confirmation number for the t-shirt purchase, for example, and things can keep moving on schedule. 

5. Task Status

The last must-have you need on your nonprofit event planning checklist is a spot to indicate the status of the task. Has the task been started? Is it in progress? Or is it done?

This way, everyone knows how far along in the process different tasks are. If someone is waiting for the venue to be secured before they finalize the invitation, it helps them to know that securing the venue is halfway done. This is also helpful for management—they’re able to see what people are working on, without micromanaging their staffers. 

Final Thoughts

Nonprofit event planning may seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Remember to set goals, communicate expectations and needs clearly, and build healthy rapport with your team, and the process will run smoothly from start to finish.

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How to Measure and Communicate Your Nonprofit’s Impact

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In today’s highly competitive nonprofit sector, measuring and communicating your organization’s impact is more important than ever. Donors, funders, and community partners are increasingly savvy and expect evidence that their contributions make a real difference. Transparency and data-driven storytelling are no longer optional—they are essential for building trust, securing grants, and ensuring long-term mission success.

The link between transparency, strategic fundraising, and mission achievement is undeniable. When nonprofits can clearly demonstrate their impact, they not only boost donor confidence but also improve their eligibility for grants and other funding opportunities. Data-backed storytelling is a powerful tool in this regard, allowing organizations to showcase real-world results and inspire continued support.

What Does “Impact” Really Mean for Nonprofits?

Impact is a term often used in the nonprofit sector, but it can be misunderstood or conflated with related concepts like outputs and outcomes. To communicate your impact effectively, it’s important to distinguish between these terms and use them accurately.

  • Outputs: These are the direct results of your activities. 
  • Outcomes: These are the short- or medium-term effects of your outputs.
  • Impact: This refers to the broader, long-term changes that result from your work.

Let’s consider a hypothetical grant that funds an after-school tutoring program as an example:

  • Output: 200 students attended tutoring sessions.
  • Outcome: 90% of students improved their reading scores.
  • Impact: The local high school graduation rate increased by 10% over five years.

According to UpMetrics, impact measurement should be treated as an ongoing process, not a one-time event. Regularly revisiting your definitions and outcomes ensures your organization stays aligned with its mission and adapts to changing community needs. 

How to Measure Your Nonprofit’s Impact

Measuring impact requires a thoughtful, systematic approach. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get started:

  • Define clear objectives: First, align your goals with your theory of change or logic model. Set measurable targets that reflect your strategic plan and mission. For example, if your mission is to reduce homelessness, a clear objective might be “Reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness in our city by 20% over three years.”
  • Identify key metrics: Use both quantitative and qualitative data to capture the full picture of your impact. Quantitative metrics might include the number of people served, dollars saved, or improvements in test scores. Qualitative data can include client testimonials, interviews, and shifts in community perception.
  • Select tools and methods: CRM systems, surveys, impact dashboards, and grant databases are all valuable resources. 
  • Collect and analyze data: Establish a baseline to measure progress, track changes over time, and segment results by program or demographic group. Always prioritize ethical data handling and obtain community consent.

To ensure your measurement process is robust, consider engaging external evaluators or partnering with local universities for independent assessments. This not only adds credibility to your findings but also provides valuable insights for continuous improvement.

How to Communicate Impact to Stakeholders

Once you’ve measured your impact, the next step is to share your story with stakeholders in a compelling and accessible way.

  • Tailor the message: Different audiences require different approaches, such as:
    • Donors: Focus on return on investment (ROI) and tangible results, such as “Your $50 donation provides clean water for a family for a month.”
    • Board members: Emphasize strategic alignment, financial sustainability, and long-term growth.
    • Grant funders: Highlight mission alignment, measurable outcomes, and the scalability of your programs.
  • Pick the right communication channels for your audience. For instance, annual reports, donor letters, email campaigns, and impact microsites are all excellent options. 
  • Combine real stories with statistics to create an engaging narrative. For example, you might say, “Thanks to your support, youth homelessness in our community decreased by 27% this year.” 

Consider creating a dedicated impact section on your website, where stakeholders can explore your results in detail. A website allows you to easily share interactive dashboards, infographics, and video testimonials, which can make your impact data more engaging and accessible. 

Best Practices and Common Pitfalls

Best Practices

  • Be transparent: Don’t just share the wins—talk openly about setbacks and what you’re doing to address them. Transparency builds credibility with donors, funders, and your community. When you acknowledge challenges, stakeholders are more likely to see your organization as resilient and responsible.
  • Report regularly: Instead of waiting for your year-end report, keep your stakeholders in the loop throughout the year with quarterly updates, email newsletters, or social media recaps. Regular updates help build momentum, improve donor retention, and keep your mission top of mind.
  • Build internal capacity for evaluation: Invest in staff training and tools that make tracking and reporting impact easier. Designate someone responsible for data collection and ensure systems are in place to make the process efficient and sustainable.

Pitfalls to Avoid

  • Focusing on vanity metrics: Don’t lean too heavily on metrics like social media likes, website traffic, or email open rates unless they directly tie to your mission. These numbers can look impressive, but often don’t reflect meaningful change. Instead, prioritize outcome-driven metrics that align with your goals.
  • Ignoring donor and funder feedback: If you’re not actively listening to the people who support your mission, you may miss out on opportunities for growth and engagement. Collect useful donor data by completing donor surveys, reviewing funder feedback, and incorporating their suggestions into your communications and strategy.
  • Neglecting staff capacity: Measuring impact takes time, training, and the right tools. If your team is stretched thin, even the best metrics won’t be tracked or used effectively. Make sure evaluation is seen as a shared responsibility and provide the necessary support to do it well.

Wrapping Up

Measuring and communicating your nonprofit’s impact is a mission-critical task that builds trust, improves fundraising, and ensures your organization is truly making a difference. By adopting a data-driven approach and sharing your story transparently, you can inspire confidence in donors, funders, and the broader community.

Take these next steps to get started:

  • Begin with one program or project, and build consistent systems for measuring and communicating impact over time.
  • Invest in the tools and training your staff need to track results and communicate them confidently.
  • Involve board members, volunteers, and community partners in your impact measurement efforts to foster a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
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Understanding Nonprofit Financial Statements for Boards

Your board is the glue that holds your nonprofit together. Composed of members passionate about your cause, your board provides the strategic direction and governance your organization needs to continue pursuing its mission.

One of the most important aspects of the job is financial management. Board members must work alongside your leadership team, finance committee, and accounting staff to keep your organization financially healthy.

Doing so requires board members to understand your nonprofit’s current financial standing, which starts with interpreting financial statements. We’ll start with the board’s role in the overall nonprofit financial management process and then cover the basics of nonprofit financial statements.

Role of Board Members in Nonprofit Financial Management

As a board member, you help your organization comply with financial regulations and steward funds responsibly by:

  • Creating financial policies. The financial policies, procedures, and controls your board instates govern how your organization uses its funds. Typical nonprofit financial policies include gift acceptance, conflict of interest, and expense reimbursement policies. You may also include budgeting, financial reporting, cash management, and grant management guidelines.
  • Approving the annual budget. Your board, leadership team, finance committee, and accounting staff each have a hand in the budgeting process; it’s the board’s responsibility to approve the final version, ensuring it aligns with your current overarching strategy.
  • Monitoring financial performance. Throughout the year, board members assess how well your nonprofit sticks to the budget and analyze overall financial performance. They also track key performance indicators (KPIs), such as donor retention rate, program services ratio, and months of cash on hand, to evaluate your financial health.
  • Helping with strategic planning. A strategic plan is a document that outlines your nonprofit’s priorities for the next several years. Your board plays a role here by creating financial goals, identifying financial priorities, and noting any relevant financial risks and opportunities.

Through these activities, the board provides financial oversight and applies members’ knowledge of your nonprofit’s priorities to its financial planning.

4 Main Nonprofit Financial Statements

As YPTC explains, the four main types of nonprofit financial statements are:

  • Statement of Financial Position
  • Statement of Activities
  • Statement of Cash Flows
  • Statement of Functional Expenses

Let’s explore each of these documents and what board members should know about them.

Table showing the purpose, main categories, and nonprofit-specific categories of each nonprofit financial statement.

Nonprofit Statement of Financial Position

The nonprofit Statement of Financial Position aims to convey your organization’s financial health through its assets and liabilities. This information allows you to assess your nonprofit’s liquidity and financial flexibility.

The three main categories of this statement are:

  • Assets. Assets are resources your nonprofit owns or controls, which may be current or noncurrent. For example, current assets may include cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, prepaid expenses, and inventory. Noncurrent assets may include land, buildings, and equipment.
  • Liabilities. You also have liabilities—financial debts or obligations. Current liabilities may include accounts payable, accrued expenses, and deferred revenue; noncurrent liabilities may include mortgages or long-term lease obligations.
  • Net Assets. Calculate your net assets by subtracting liabilities from assets. The difference represents your organization’s current financial position, with positive assets indicating your nonprofit is in a healthy spot and negative assets prompting you to adjust your resource allocation.

This document also has some nonprofit-specific categories, one of which is directly related to board members. Board-designated net assets are unrestricted funds that your board sets aside for a specific purpose. For example, board members may earmark funds for a future program or investment.

Nonprofit Statement of Activities

The nonprofit Statement of Activities summarizes your revenue and expenses for a monthly, quarterly, or annual period. It demonstrates how well your organization manages its resources and allows you to share this information with internal and external stakeholders.

This document includes the following categories:

  • Revenues and Support. Your nonprofit generates revenue and garners support from various sources. For instance, you may bring in funds from program fees, fundraising events, and rental income, which you would report under the Revenues and Support category.
  • Expenses. Your organization also incurs expenses, which are costs associated with program, management and general, and fundraising activities.
  • Change in Net Assets. To calculate your change in net assets, find the difference between your revenues and expenses. This figure shows how your financial resources have changed over the designated period.

The nonprofit-specific line items in this statement include contributions (monetary donations with or without donor restrictions), in-kind contributions (nonfinancial donations of goods or services), and net assets released from restrictions.

Nonprofit Statement of Cash Flows

Cash goes in and out of your organization on a regular basis. The nonprofit Statement of Cash Flows demonstrates how this cash moves through your nonprofit and whether it comes from investing, financing, or operating activities.

As such, this statement’s categories include:

  • Cash Flows from Operating Activities. Cash inflows from operating activities include cash generated from donations, program fees, grants, and membership dues. Cash outflows from operating activities include cash used for staff salaries and wages, utilities, supplies, and rent.
  • Cash Flows from Investing Activities. Any proceeds your organization receives from investment sales or maturities are cash inflows from investing activities. Cash outflows in this category include investments and property or equipment purchases.
  • Cash Flows from Financing Activities. Your cash inflows from financing activities include lines of credit and loan proceeds, and your cash outflows from financing activities include payments of debts like your mortgage.
  • Changes in Cash, Cash Equivalents, and Restricted Cash. Noting your cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at the beginning and end of the period allows you to evaluate changes in your cash flows over time.

You may also report on cash flows associated with donor-restricted funds to show which resources donors have designated for a specific purpose.

Nonprofit Statement of Functional Expenses

The IRS requires nonprofits to report on the nature and function of their expenses. While they can do so on the face of the Statement of Activities or as a schedule in the notes attached to the full set of documents, most choose to create a separate financial statement to keep this information organized: the nonprofit Statement of Functional Expenses.

The categories of this document include:

  • Program expenses. Program expenses are costs directly related to your services. For example, a soup kitchen purchasing kitchen supplies would incur a program expense.
  • Supporting activities. All other expenses fall under one of the three main types of supporting activities:
    • Management and general expenses, which are general operating costs.
    • Fundraising expenses, such as costs associated with soliciting donations and securing grant revenue.
    • Membership development expenses, including costs related to new member solicitation, membership dues collection, and member stewardship.

You’ll list each expense by its natural classification, such as personnel costs, professional services, office expenses, occupancy, utilities, and depreciation. Ultimately, the total expenses on your Statement of Functional Expenses should match those on your Statement of Activities.

When you understand each of these financial reports and their intended purposes, you’ll be better equipped to fulfill the financial management aspect of your role. If you run into questions or obstacles, don’t be afraid to consult other team members, especially your accounting staff, who are responsible for compiling these statements.

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