Nonprofit Fundraising & Finance Best Practices | The ENGAGE Blog by Blackbaud

artificial intelligence

How to Use AI for the Right Ask (Without Being Creepy)

We’ve all received cringe-worthy fundraising messages that just don’t feel quite human. They’re vague, don’t explain the impact of the [...]

October 30, 2024| 5 min Read

Donor Cultivation

Convert the Next Wave of Rage Donors into Lifelong Supporters

November 7, 2024| 5 min Read

Disaster Response

Preparing for the Inevitable: How Grantmakers Can Thrive Amid Climate Events

October 28, 2024| 4 min Read

Website Design

3 Quick Tips for a Better Nonprofit Website Aesthetic

October 24, 2024| 4 min Read

Change Management

Leading with Innovation: Becoming a Chief Future Officer

October 21, 2024| 4 min Read

Latest Posts

Fund Accounting

Building Resilient Funding Models: Essential Tips for Nonprofit Finance Professionals

Finance plays a crucial role in building a sustainable and scalable funding strategy. By actively bringing together different departments and [...]

November 20, 2024 | 5 min Read

Donor Cultivation

Retaining First Time Donors this GivingTuesday

GivingTuesday presents an invaluable opportunity for nonprofits to capture the generosity of first-time, spontaneous givers. These donors, who contribute without [...]

November 20, 2024 | 5 min Read

Planned Giving

Who to Target with Your Planned Giving Program & Why

As many nonprofits of all sizes now recognize, planned giving represents a significant opportunity to advance their missions. This form [...]

November 18, 2024 | 5 min Read

Data Health

Data Warehousing: A Game Changer for K–12 School Operations

In today’s digital age, data plays a crucial role in the functioning of educational institutions. One of the key tools [...]

November 14, 2024 | 3 min Read

Digital Marketing

5 Ways to Use Your Digital Impact Report as a Marketing Tool

If you’ve done all the work to compile compelling stories, gather impressive statistics, and produce a visually engaging digital report, [...]

November 13, 2024 | 3 min Read

Change Management

Changemaker Spotlight: Shemitria Smith, Clark Atlanta University

This Q&A series aims to provide readers with valuable insights from changemakers across the social impact community.  Shemitria Smith, M.Ed. [...]

November 13, 2024 | 5 min Read

boost your year-end giving

End-of-Year Giving

5 Actions to End the Year Strong

December 5, 2023 | 2 min Read

Employee Giving

Employee Giving Strategies to Boost Year-End Impact

October 24, 2023 | 5 min Read

End-of-Year Giving

5 Fundraising Power Principles to End Your Year Strong

October 17, 2023 | 4 min Read

End-of-Year Giving

What is Your End-of-Year Strategy for Planned Gifts of Assets?

The call came on December 2. The caller and I had met a few years before. He was a donor [...]

October 23, 2024| 4 min Read

Featured Experts

Griff Bohm

Vice President of Growth for Momentum

Is AI Coming for My Fundraising Job?

Joshua Layton

Co-Founder of Loop: Design for Social Good

How to Design a Nonprofit Logo That Amplifies Your Mission

Christine Ward

Digital Content Strategist at Cornershop Creative

3 Quick Tips for a Better Nonprofit Website Aesthetic

The Engage Podcast

Tune in to the ENGAGE Podcast to hear experts from across the community share best practices, tips, and must-know trends that will help organizations maximize their impact.
Explore Podcasts

Data Insights

From Research to Reality: Experts Discuss the Generosity Commission Report

October 29, 2024 |40 min Listen

Sector Trends

Insights from the Giving USA Annual Report on Philanthropy

October 17, 2024 |25 min Listen

Change Management

Learning and Unlearning to Be Next Level

February 5, 2024 |25 min Listen

Hidden Gems

Code and charts projected onto a female executive.

Strategic Planning

3 Imperatives for the Modern Nonprofit CFO in the Digital Age

As nonprofit finance leaders, we are charged with empowering our teams with the technology, skills, and support they need to [...]

November 3, 2022 | 5 min Read

Donor Cultivation

Engaging Your Donor Community: 5 School Fundraising Tips

Fundraising is often a necessity for schools to provide students and teachers with resources that set them up for success. [...]

April 10, 2023 | 5 min Read

A woman overlooking a man using a computer.

Donor Management

How to Use Data to Build Stronger Relationships

Before we discuss how to use data to build stronger relationships for your nonprofit, let’s start with a philosophical question: [...]

December 12, 2022 | 7 min Read

Financial Reporting

A Checklist for a Smooth Fiscal Year-End for Your Nonprofit

There is a shadow lurking behind all the excitement around your next big event. Something is looming behind your next [...]

May 22, 2023 | 4 min Read

What to look for when evaluating a grant proposal

Grants Strategy

10 Things to Look for When Evaluating a Grant Proposal

Making impactful grants to the right nonprofit partners starts with a thorough grant proposal evaluation. Be sure you're looking for these 9 things.

December 1, 2022 | 3 min Read

Grants Strategy

Types of Grants That Every Nonprofit Should Know

Of the many ways a nonprofit organization can get funding, grants often seem like the holy grail. Fill out a [...]

May 8, 2023 | 7 min Read

Giving Tuesday

Stand Out This GivingTuesday: 200 Email Subject Lines

As GivingTuesday approaches, the inboxes of your supporters are bound to be flooded with messages from countless organizations, each with [...]

October 31, 2024 | 7 min Read

Board Management

How to Engage Board Members in Fundraising

Have you noticed your board members avoiding eye contact when the subject of fundraising comes up? Most people are motivated [...]

October 8, 2024 | 4 min Read

Major Gifts

How The Salvation Army Uses Power BI to Boost Major Giving

To help major gift officers focus on donors instead of desk work, The Salvation Army Southern Territory has begun using [...]

October 8, 2024 | 5 min Read

View All Fundraising Posts

Financial Reporting

GAAP for Nonprofits: How to Reconcile GAAP and Non-GAAP Results

Have you ever had your board members scratch their collective heads when the development and finance teams report their results? Do you get questions on why the two never match up?

September 13, 2024 | 3 min Read

Financial Reporting

9 Best Practices for Strong Nonprofit Financial Management

Smart money moves are vital for nonprofits. You’ve got to use funds wisely, aligning with your mission and honoring donor [...]

August 12, 2024 | 11 min Read

Fund Accounting

Nonprofit Accountant vs. Fractional CFO: The Key Differences

Effective nonprofit financial management is a team effort. Having multiple people working on your organization’s finances helps ensure accuracy—not only [...]

July 24, 2024 | 4 min Read

View all Finance & Accounting Posts

Annual Giving

Rethinking Annual Giving Metrics: A New Storyline for Higher Ed

For many years, the overarching narrative for annual giving in higher education fundraising has been the same: We’re getting bigger [...]

October 4, 2024 | 5 min Read

Enrollment and Retention

Reimagining Graduate Student Recruitment: 4 Tips to Get Started

Students pursue advanced degrees with the promise of invaluable research opportunities, specialized skills, and increased earning potential. Accordingly, many college [...]

February 6, 2024 | 3 min Read

Awards and Scholarships

5 Ways to Empower Scholarship Reviewers

Reviewing scholarship applications can be one of the most complicated processes to manage during scholarship season. Reviewers are a critical [...]

December 28, 2023 | 3 min Read

View all Higher Education Posts

Change Management

What It Means to be a Connected K–12 School

The definition of “a connected school” could be many different things. Each description, at its core, stems from the answer [...]

October 29, 2024 | 7 min Read

Data Management

Information: The Better Half of IT

We sometimes forget that IT stands for Information Technology. As a society, we have become obsessed with the “Technology” half—the [...]

April 17, 2024 | 5 min Read

Tuition and Financial Aid

How to Improve On-Time Tuition Payments

Private and independent schools rely on tuition to fund operations. In its 2023–2024 Trendbook, the National Association of Independent Schools [...]

October 20, 2023 | 5 min Read

View All K-12 School Posts

Employee Wellness

Challenges of Establishing an Employee Relief Fund (ERF) and Recommended Solutions

The growth in Employee Relief Funds (ERFs) exploded in the spring of 2020 as Covid-19 began to affect companies and [...]

September 8, 2021 | 4 min Read

Change Management

Responsive Philanthropy: How to Address Community Needs in Time of Crisis

Operations at Headwaters Foundation for Justice, a foundation that invests in grassroots organizations across Minnesota, were humming along well. The [...]

January 13, 2023 | 6 min Read

Volunteer Management

How the Pandemic Has Changed Pro Bono

The pandemic pushed the social sector to make game-changing shifts in community programming, funding models and organizational leadership. Nonprofits that pivoted their programming in [...]

October 18, 2021 | 3 min Read

View All ESG & CSR Posts

Change Management

Questions to Ask If You Are Thinking About Moving to a New GMS

When your grantmaking organization first started, you didn’t need a lot of functionality to manage your single program and a [...]

November 7, 2024 | 4 min Read

Disaster Response

Preparing for the Inevitable: How Grantmakers Can Thrive Amid Climate Events

A huge thank you to Audrey Kidwell, Grants Manager for the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, for providing many of the [...]

October 28, 2024 | 4 min Read

Budgeting

Finance Best Practices for Your Grantmaking Organization

As a grantmaker, you expect organizations you support to manage their awards effectively, accurately, and responsibly. Those same expectations should [...]

July 16, 2024 | 4 min Read

View All Grantmaking Posts