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Have you seen the movie Moneyball?  It is one of my favourite movies. Analytics was used to disrupt the business of baseball and create a brand-new way of running a very traditional organization. Moneyball is a data-driven approach to creating and managing a baseball team – where ‘gut’ decisions are not encouraged and there are a lot…

In our first post, my colleague Liz laid out the foundation of exploring how AI tools and technology can benefit your organization.  Your policy and overall approach will be your guide rails for usage and are important to have before you jump into the world of using AI consistently. Now you are at the stage…

I joked with a friend recently that I was as excited to read the new M+R Benchmarks report this year as I was eager to catch Dune 2. That probably tells you everything you need to know about my interests and priorities in life! The M+R Benchmarks report is the cream of the crop. NextAfter…

You want to use AI… Now what? Exploring artificial intelligence for fundraisers I’m excited to be part of ST’s AI (artificial intelligence) team. When I was asked to give an update on our team’s behalf, I struggled with what content to pinpoint that would still be relevant by the time this is published. After all,…

April is an exciting time for fundraisers like us, because we know it’s when industry reports come out and showcase trends and results from the prior calendar year. We either celebrate or commiserate. So far, I’ve seen several reports focusing on fundraising trends. Canada Helps, The Giving Report 2024 is one of my favourites. This…

Over the past few years, the team at ST have been hyper-focused on helping our clients with the acceleration of their digital fundraising. That’s why I am so thrilled to share our exciting news. As you may have heard, ST has recently acquired the digital division of Deloitte’s fundraising services group, marking a significant milestone…

Fundraising may be a well-oiled machine, bringing millions to Canadian non-profits year after year – and helping millions of people in the process – but acquiring new and younger donors remains a persistent challenge. It’s a question that keeps us up at night at ST, fueling passionate discussions like the one at our recent mid-winter…

As I prepare for 2024 with optimism, I’ve been reflecting on this past year. In 2023 we saw the end of the pandemic. However, the effects still linger, and many of us may find ourselves feeling apprehensive about the state of the economy. It’s costing many non-profit organizations more to fulfil their missions. Meanwhile, the…

For many not-for-profit fundraisers, new donor acquisition has been the primary focus of their monthly donor program. As most of us in the space know, it takes a lot of money to land a new donor, especially one that’s going to give on a regular basis. But new evidence from our JAM Collective first cohort…

As we head into the holidays, we can all agree on one thing: this year has been tough for fundraisers. With commercial companies tightening their belts, and inflation and higher living costs for the average North American, you may be feeling like it’s harder than ever to raise more money to achieve your mission. Industry…

As we continue to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of technology, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on a recent AI Summit we had with ST leadership and share some insights on the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in our work for our clients. AI, at its core, is software that mimics human activity.…

Monthly — aka Sustainer — giving programs are becoming increasingly vital for non-profit organizations to build a predictable revenue stream. In fact, CanadaHelps, whose fundraising platform supports more than 26,000 Canadian charities, reports that the number of monthly gifts is increasing and now represents 22% of total donations. That reality, as well as the popularity…

Some of my most memorable experiences as a donor have come from grassroots organizations who tend to be smaller in size but just as passionate in delivering their mission as larger, more established ones. Perhaps it’s the fact that their more limited resources inspire more creative thinking. Whatever the inspiration, these organizations prove time and…

The fundraising environment is tough these days. Talks of recession, rising costs, production delays and the almost constant pressure to meet financial goals is taking its toll on all of us. And the result? Stress, discontent and staff turnover rates increasing in our sector. I read an article recently on Givebutter that stated the average turnover…

Disponible en français Here’s what that means to you and why you should get in while the gettin’s good. JAM Collective is an effort to create more thought leadership and benchmarking data for the monthly and sustainer donor fundraising community. (We use monthly and sustainer interchangeably. In Canada, we call them monthly, in the US…

In October, AFP released their Fundraising Effectiveness Project (FEP)* report on second quarter fundraising in the US. The report compares second quarter results this year with last and reported that the total number of donors between April and June 2022 had decreased by 7%. This can be attributed to declines in small (<$500 donor segments)…

To navigate a complex media environment, reach younger donors, and stand out in a crowded marketplace, it’s become a fact that today’s fundraisers need to enhance their skill sets. In our highly interactive webinar, Philip King and I demonstrated the value of Google Analytics to fundraising. You might be surprised to discover how the data…

Saying recent years have been “turbulent” is an understatement. Between the pandemic, supply chain issues, social change, rising costs and declining donors, non-profits are facing challenges unlike any we’ve seen before. And we are all worried about the current state of fundraising. So, how can fundraisers go forward, keeping our edge in these uncertain times,…

After the pandemic hit, it was no surprise that our clients’ traditional fundraising efforts took a hit. Yours probably did, too. You couldn’t host events. Or meet in person with donors. Face-to-Face fundraising stopped, as did Door-to-Door. Mail and digital became really the only viable options for fundraising and, lo and behold, in spite of…

As much as we’d all prefer to be finding our way out of the pandemic, we are still navigating through it. This further heightens the need for charities and non-profits facing decreased donations to improve the quality of the digital experiences they deliver – for today and for whatever shape the next normal takes. Today…

Our president, Paula Attfield took an in-depth look at various fundraising stats and studies, as well as what’s happening with our clients, and identified 7 fundraising trends she thought not-for-profits might be interested in. Enjoy exploring the trends!