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

Artificial Intelligence

Resources at the Speed of Need: The AI Imperative for Fundraising

The system that connects generosity to need is under strain. Recent benchmarks show the divide clearly: While 53% of organizations grew fundraising revenue last [...]

June 24, 2026| 7 min Read

Change Management

The Crucial Role of Change Management for CFOs: Driving Sustainable Success in Nonprofit Finance

June 17, 2026| 5 min Read

Donor Management

How Incremental Tech Upgrades Can Spark Sustainable Growth for Arts and Cultural Organizations

June 12, 2026| 4 min Read

Artificial Intelligence

Human-First AI: Why Your Smartest Agent Still Needs You

June 5, 2026| 4 min Read

Change Management

Signs Your Systems Are Broken (And You’ve Just Learned to Live with It)

May 26, 2026| 3 min Read

Latest Posts

Annual Giving

12 Nonprofit Revenue Streams to Help You Diversify

Imagine leaning the entire weight of your nonprofit’s mission on a single pillar. Whether it is a massive annual government [...]

June 26, 2026 | 8 min Read

Fund Accounting

3 Tips to Better Manage Accounting for Your Ticket Sales  

Arts & Cultural organizations tend to have more unique revenue streams than any other type of nonprofit. So, today I'll share a few tips to better manage accounting for your ticket sales.

June 25, 2026 | 5 min Read

Artificial Intelligence

We Raised $101K in 3 Weeks: Here’s Our AI-Assisted Board Fundraising Playbook

We ground out 58 grant applications over one year to net $108,000. Then we amazed ourselves by raising another $101,000 [...]

June 25, 2026 | 8 min Read

Financial Reporting

What Are Admin Expenses?

Employee salaries, purchasing office supplies, and paying the electric bill so the lights keep working are all examples of the admin costs.

June 22, 2026 | 5 min Read

Awards and Scholarships

4 Essential Steps to Grow Higher Ed Scholarship Programs—and Improve Student Retention

Steps for successful scholarship fundraising and ideas that can help higher ed institutions receive transformative gifts for their scholarship programs.

June 22, 2026 | 4 min Read

Financial Reporting

The CHC CFO Playbook: Turning the $50 Billion Rural Health Transformation Program into Real-Time Financial Intelligence

If you oversee the finances for a community health center, you are acutely aware of how Medicaid is changing with [...]

June 18, 2026 | 5 min Read

Volunteer Engagement

Volunteer Management

Ideas for Youth Volunteer Programs

February 25, 2026 | 2 min Read

Volunteer Management

Volunteer Management 101: How to Create a Strong Strategy

August 19, 2025 | 5 min Read

Volunteer Management

6 Tips to Retain Volunteers

February 15, 2024 | 5 min Read

Community Engagement

How to Offer More Enticing Volunteering Opportunities

When you find that your nonprofit’s volunteer opportunities are no longer drawing the interest they used to, it’s time to [...]

April 15, 2026| 4 min Read

Featured Experts

Wendy Johnson

Founder of Nonprofit Mensa

Healthcare Philanthropy as Strategic Revenue: Why More Hospitals Are Rethinking Financial Growth

Laurene Currie

Responsible AI Research Scientist, Laureate

How Real-World Experience Shapes Responsible AI at Blackbaud

Sam Coates

Co-Founder of CFO Leverage

4 Common Fund Accounting Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

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

Artificial Intelligence

What You Need to Know to Bridge the AI Effectiveness Gap

June 24, 2026 |10 min Listen

Volunteer Management

Volunteer Culture by Design: Systems, Storytelling, and Appreciation

May 18, 2026 |28 min Listen

Disaster Response

Best Practices in Disaster Philanthropy

April 26, 2026 |15 min Listen

Hidden Gems

Manager Skills

What Does It Take to Become a Great VP of Advancement?

As a Strategic Consultant at Blackbaud, I have the privilege of working closely with many leaders in higher education who [...]

August 2, 2024 | 5 min Read

Online Giving

8 Common Donation Page Mistakes (and Simple Solutions!)

A poorly designed donation page will make you miss out on supporters' donations. Here are the 9 mistakes to avoid so that your page is optimized for giving.

June 12, 2024 | 5 min Read

Internal Controls

Building Trust and Accountability: A Guide to Nonprofit Internal Controls Policy

Picture this: A nonprofit organization launches an ambitious new program, only to discover months later that inconsistent financial processes have [...]

June 4, 2025 | 6 min Read

Artificial Intelligence

AI Can Be Your Most Powerful Tool for Growing Midlevel Giving

Midlevel donors don’t always get the love they deserve. This loyal and often overlooked segment of donors represents a significant [...]

July 19, 2024 | 6 min Read

Grateful Patient

Healthcare Fundraising Ideas: 35 Options for Foundations and Nonprofit Hospitals

The work that healthcare foundations and nonprofits do to support patients is essential to the health of our communities. But [...]

November 25, 2025 | 9 min Read

Digital Marketing

How to Turn Annual Reports into Donor Engagement Tools

For many nonprofits, annual reports are often treated as a retrospective exercise: an obligation to summarize the past year’s activities [...]

June 11, 2026 | 4 min Read

Volunteer Management

Ideas for Youth Volunteer Programs

Are you looking for fresh ways to energize your nonprofit, attract new supporters, and ensure long-term organizational growth? Implementing youth [...]

February 25, 2026 | 2 min Read

Event Planning

A Quick Event Checklist for First-Time Fundraisers

Hosting your first fundraising event can feel overwhelming. You’re worried about everything from simple logistics, like finding a venue and [...]

November 21, 2025 | 5 min Read

View All Fundraising Posts

Change Management

Signs Your Systems Are Broken (And You’ve Just Learned to Live with It)

We all know that CFO. Sharp, experienced, good at their job, and the crown jewel of their department is a [...]

May 26, 2026 | 3 min Read

Fund Accounting

Best Practices for a Stress-Free Fund Accounting System Implementation

You’re done with juggling multiple spreadsheets just to track your restricted funds. You’re finished with manual approval processes for expenses. [...]

May 15, 2026 | 6 min Read

Manager Skills

From Gatekeeper to Trusted Advisor: How Finance Becomes a Thought Leader

Let’s be direct: the phrase “thought leader” is a little uncomfortable, especially for nonprofit finance people. It sounds like something [...]

April 28, 2026 | 4 min Read

View all Finance & Accounting Posts

Direct Marketing

Phonathon Best Practices for More Confident Donor Outreach

A phonathon gives fundraisers a way to connect donor outreach and engagement with fundraising calls in one coordinated campaign. Meaning, [...]

June 15, 2026 | 3 min Read

Alumni Engagement

From Prospective Student to Active Alum—Engagement Fosters Lifelong Support

When you hear the name of your alma mater, what feelings bubble up? What keeps you engaged? In our family, my husband, daughter, [...]

May 14, 2026 | 5 min Read

Awards and Scholarships

5 Strategies to Strengthen Your Scholarship Process

Is your scholarship process outdated, difficult for students to navigate, and a challenge for you to manage? These are common [...]

June 5, 2025 | 3 min Read

View all Higher Education Posts

Annual Giving

Community-Building Through Student-Led Fundraisers

The most successful school fundraisers go beyond simple student participation to deep student engagement, empowering active student leadership that results [...]

May 1, 2026 | 4 min Read

Artificial Intelligence

People-Powered, AI-Enabled: Effective K–12 Fundraising

Development leaders at private and independent schools of all sizes are asking the same question: “As AI becomes embedded in [...]

April 22, 2026 | 3 min Read

Tuition and Financial Aid

Improve Your Student Billing Process

Are you struggling with an inefficient student billing process? You are not alone. Many educational institutions face the challenge of [...]

April 1, 2026 | 4 min Read

View All K-12 School Posts

Grants Strategy

How to Scale Your Rapid Response Grants

When crisis strikes, communities can’t wait months for funding. Rapid response grants bridge that gap by helping organizations act quickly [...]

March 11, 2026 | 5 min Read

Grantee Partnerships

Bridging the Empathy Gap: Fueling Collaborative Impact in the Social Sector

Most of us enter the social impact space with a fervent desire to change the world. We meticulously build solutions, [...]

September 2, 2025 | 6 min Read

Data Insights

How Grantmakers Can (and Should) Get Started with Research

Now is an important time for small and mid-sized foundations to engage in research activities. Institutional foundations are fighting to [...]

June 17, 2025 | 6 min Read

View All Grantmaking Posts

Board Management

5 Core Essentials for High-Impact Board Orientation

The board of directors is arguably one of the most important parts of any nonprofit organization. After all, they serve [...]

April 30, 2026 | 4 min Read

Community Engagement

How to Offer More Enticing Volunteering Opportunities

When you find that your nonprofit’s volunteer opportunities are no longer drawing the interest they used to, it’s time to [...]

April 15, 2026 | 4 min Read

Crisis Management

How Savvy Organizations Weather Uncertain Times

Preparing for the unknown is a tenant of leadership in today’s ever-changing economic, political, and cultural landscape—and those who know [...]

June 11, 2025 | 4 min Read

View All Leadership Posts