So how do you go about saving money as a nonprofit organization? Keep reading to learn about eight ways you can start saving money today! 

1. Evaluate your banking relationship.

• You deserve a business banker who is responsive and looks out for you. Ideally, they review your accounts with you annually to determine if you’re getting the most out of your banking experience. Use this time to learn if they have new account types or services that would help you. Evaluate if you are paying for a service that you no longer need.
• Consider different ways to earn money through your savings. When interest rates are strong, you may be able to negotiate rates for your savings accounts, especially if you are willing to change banks. Maintain a strategic balance in your checking account, leaving the rest in savings. You could also consider a “sweep” account that automatically transfers funds between checking and savings to maximize your savings balance.
• Ask for fees to be waived if you make a one-time mistake. Banks often forgive a late credit card payment or requests for old statements. We also suggest opting in for electronic banking so you can always keep an eye on your accounts. 

2. Earn on your spending.

Another cost-saving option is to sign up for a credit card that allows you to earn benefits. Consider finding a card that does not require staff as a guarantor and will allow for individual cards for each staff member. Many banks will offer 1% cashback to their customers on their credit cards. Most major credit card companies don’t offer cards without a business owner and aren’t a good option, so be careful. If you’re interested in learning more, check out Huntington National Bank, which offers excellent options for nonprofit organizations.

3. Avoid state sales tax.

Your state may offer a tax-exempt certificate to give to vendors as proof that they should not charge tax. Most major retailers and service providers, including Amazon, offer tax-exempt programs that will automatically suppress taxes on your invoices or will refund them for you. It may be worth reviewing your major expenses to request a refund on taxes paid this year. Keep in mind that you will still need to pay other kinds of taxes, like hotel taxes.

4. Take advantage of discounts.

Always ask retailers and service providers if they offer a nonprofit discount – very often, they will. If they don’t, they may help you get the best rate to stay within your budget. TechSoup is a fantastic resource for discounted software like Microsoft and Adobe Suites, sometimes offering services for pennies on the dollar. Additionally, Google offers qualifying nonprofit organizations up to $10,000 monthly in free advertising through Google Ad Grants.

5. Use rewards programs.

You know all those customer rewards programs you use in your personal life? They are available to nonprofits, as well. Hotels, airlines, gas stations, grocery stores, office supply stores, and more often allow you to accumulate rewards to redeem later. Some even have special programs to get business-level rewards. Plus, you can earn individual-level rewards.

6. Shop using rebate sites.

There are tons of sites with programs that kick back a reward to the shopper. Evreward.com catalogs rebates and discounts available from a retailer or from shopping through your credit card portal. Keep in mind that your credit card may also have special bonuses for shopping at certain retailers.

7. Re-negotiate your service contracts.

The cost of internet, phone, news services, utilities, and more can rack up for an organization. In many cases, you can reduce your costs by renegotiating your contracts. You could call and ask for a discount, shop for new services, or use a service to negotiate on your behalf. Check out Schooley Mitchell, who often can help slash these costs.

8. Don’t be penny-wise and pound-foolish.

Saving a few bucks may take more time than it’s worth—what do you lose in terms of time or other resources by taking the money-saving route? Consider who is spending that time or those other resources in order to save money. If higher-paid or in-demand staff find they must spend large amounts of time and energy on a project in order to divert funds to other programmatic areas, you may take a step back and realize it is ultimately less expensive to simply allocate some budget for a particular item.

One area where many nonprofits find it’s not worth it to cut corners is with their fundraising software. For many busy nonprofit staffers, the time saved and peace of mind gained by choosing a reliable system that helps them communicate efficiently and effectively with supporters is well worth the financial investment.

Remember to consider these tips next time you evaluate your budget or plan a big purchase to support your organization. How could you save valuable funds to put toward your mission, making the most of those hard-earned fundraising dollars?

About the author:

Jodi Segal, Big Change Consulting’s Founder & Principal, has been helping nonprofit organizations start up, gear up, and clean up their operations, human resources, and fundraising for 25 years. She has built strong and successful programs at growing local, state, and national organizations. After repeatedly witnessing nonprofits struggle with effective and efficient operations, Jodi recognized the lack of services to help. She designed a unique scope of work for Big Change Consulting to solve these problems. The benefit of Jodi’s experience with organizations is that she sees around corners and designs streamlined solutions that last. She is passionate about partnering with leaders to solve operations challenges so they can focus on the critical work of fulfilling their mission.

Before founding Big Change Consulting, Jodi was Deputy Director at the Ohio Environmental Council (OEC). During her 13 years at OEC, she built their development department, oversaw marketing and communications, and led administration, finance, HR, and special projects. Jodi lives in Central Ohio.

Published: July 21, 2023

The post 8 money-saving tips for nonprofit organizations appeared first on Network for Good.

Join Alyssa Wright for a workshop in which she shows you simple ways to find new donors in your weekly work plan. Spend each Monday through Friday prospecting and bringing in new connections (without spending crazy amounts of time).

You’ll learn how to convert social media followers to reoccurring donors, event attendees to major givers, and program officers to donor organizers.

Speaker: Alyssa Wright, Founder of Wright Collective

The post Acquire New Donors With This Fall Fundraising Plan appeared first on Network for Good.

In 2022, we shared the exciting news that Network for Good joined other leading social good technology companies CyberGrants, EveryAction, and Social Solutions to become Bonterra. Together, our goal is to fundamentally change the way social good is delivered by empowering the doers of good to advance their missions through a connective, comprehensive technology ecosystem dedicated to achieving unprecedented outcomes that drive sustainable impact across entire communities.  

While we’re excited to offer solutions to support doers of good across the social good space, the guiding values of Network for Good and our commitment to empowering small- and medium-sized nonprofits are shared across the Bonterra team. We remain committed to providing the tools and support you need to fulfill your mission more efficiently and effectively and providing best-in-class resources to help you develop and execute successful fundraising campaigns.  

As we continue as Bonterra, we understand that you have questions about what this means for you. Below, we have addressed some of the most common questions we have received. Additionally, we’re excited to share a peek into what innovations are coming soon on the Network for Good product roadmap.  

Why should I be excited that Network for Good has joined Bonterra? 

As we mentioned above, Bonterra’s goal is to create a comprehensive technology ecosystem. While our customers will still work with the same team members on the same, secure software they love, they will be able to benefit from best practices provided by other parts of our platform that they may not have considered in the past. What we know about our customers and those in the market for technology solutions is that there is a deep desire for aggregated information that they can act on rather than an overly technical solution or a single infrastructure.  

As a company that touches all parts of the social good landscape, Bonterra has a unique opportunity to gain a bird’s eye view of fundraising dollars, grant distribution, corporate social responsibility, volunteering, and the delivery of services. Bonterra is able to better understand what led to outcomes or changes across communities and share that understanding with our customers in meaningful ways. This understanding, along with the expanded technology ecosystem, will allow us to more effectively innovate on the Network for Good product for the future. Plus, Bonterra can grow and scale with your organization, with solutions designed for nonprofits of all sizes.  

Network for Good has historically been a leading resource for small– to medium-sized nonprofits. How will Bonterra continue to support and prioritize our specific needs? 

Bonterra remains committed to empowering small- and medium-sized nonprofits. We will continue to produce resources specifically meant to serve the small- to medium-sized nonprofit audience through blog posts, eGuides, webinars, a customer knowledge base, and more. Additionally, we will still provide innovative simple, smart all-in-one software to help you streamline your fundraising efforts and better support your mission.  

How will Network for Good continuing as Bonterra affect my experience within the platform? 

While the branding within the product interface will look different soon, the tools you count on will remain and continue to serve your needs. While we will continue to work on ways to innovate and improve the product and customer experience, the existing tools and easy-to-use interface will remain the same. Keep reading to learn more about the exciting updates coming within our product roadmap.  

Will Bonterra still provide the same level of support I have experienced as a Network for Good customer? 

While there are exciting changes coming, one thing that will not change is your relationship with us. You will continue working with the same support, training, and service teams.  Your data will be stored, managed, and serviced in the same, secure way. We will continue offering our services and honoring the commitments under your current contract without change, and there is no action you need to take.   

Will the Jumpstart program change under Bonterra? 

No, there will be no fundamental changes to the Jumpstart program. The program elements, such as the needs assessment, coaching engagement, educational curriculum, platform, technical assistance opportunities, and reporting, will remain the same. 

How will Bonterra continue to innovate the product to provide upgrades to the user experience going forward? 

Over the next several months, we’re excited to roll out some exciting product upgrades to allow us to better serve you!  

Mobile payment options: 

We recently introduced Google Pay, which makes it easier for your donors to give on Network for Good fundraising pages and events. This feature has been highly requested by Network for Good customers to make giving as effortless (and rewarding!) as possible for donors—regardless of their device or browser. Plus, Google Pay and features faster disbursements, so our customers will have access to their funds sooner. Stay tuned! Apple Pay will soon be available as part of this update.  

Making payment information ready at the push of a button is a focus across Bonterra. That’s why easy-to-use digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay are also available for our CyberGrants customers with a corporate social responsibility (CSR) program. 

Standalone Auctions: 

With standalone Auctions, customers will have the opportunity to purchase an auction without having the full Network for Good platform. This will allow anyone who may be interested in Network for Good a chance to experience the product. Plus, customers who need Auctions software for a single event can purchase a single auction to meet their needs. Stay tuned for more details about this new offering soon.   

Continued Auctions upgrades: 

In addition to offering Auctions as a standalone option, we’re introducing new features so you can better manage your auction experience. Currently, when you host an auction through our platform, you have the option to require participants to enter their credit card before bidding, which means you don’t need to chase down bidders for payment after the auction concludes. 

We’re enhancing the admin dashboard to the Auctions platform, which will provide you with the most important information before, during, and after the auction. This means you will be able to quickly and easily complete tasks, generate more bidding activity during the auction, and easily communicate with your bidders.   

Better fundraising features: 

Finally, we plan to continue adding features to the product to make you a better fundraiser. Specifically, we want to help you more easily re-engage donors who haven’t given in the last 12 months. This will include in-product engagement paths and insights you can utilize to create effective campaigns to re-engage those lapsed donors.  

We believe relationships are how things get done, and our relationships with our customers are at the heart of our solutions. We aim to continue equipping you with the tools you need to support your mission, connect the dots, and improve outcomes across communities. We look forward to continuing our journey as Bonterra, together. Learn more about how Bonterra is investing in our unified solutions to do better across the social good landscape. 

Published: June 20, 2023

The post What to expect in 2023 and beyond as Network for Good continues as Bonterra appeared first on Network for Good.

Learn the exact strategies that these fundraisers used in their campaigns and how they were able to raise an average of 10.3x more, year-over-year, in their fundraising campaigns.

Speakers: Jesse Lane & Ben Richards, goodmakerU

The post How to 10x Your Next Fundraising Campaign appeared first on Network for Good.

Most of the time, we are so busy taking care of everyone and everything else that when we experience burnout, we don’t even realize it until it’s too late. And then we’re stuck in this place of feeling exhausted, unfulfilled, and maybe even a little resentful.

What if the answer to bouncing back from burnout actually lies within you? That’s right, YOU are the only one who can fix this. And it starts with understanding that your mission is YOU.

This session is based on Cody Hays’s own experience with burnout and what he’s learned from working with hundreds of nonprofits professionals. He weaves together research, stories, and practical tips to show you how to find your personal mission and use it as a guide in your work and life.

Speaker: Cody Hays, Marketing Mission

The post Mitigating Nonprofit Burnout: Your Mission is You appeared first on Network for Good.

Are you tired of hearing “NO” when you ask for funds or anything else for your organization? Or worse, hearing NOTHING AT ALL?

Are you great at building rapport but struggle to move the conversation to the ask? Are you tired of hearing “Let me think about it and get back to you,”?

In this webinar, we will share three actionable steps to start hearing yes! This talk will help you manage rejections and objections, and will have you asking for money with ease.

Speaker: Maryanne Dersch, Founder & Chief Excitement Officer, Courageous Communication

The post Hear YES in Fundraising Faster, More Frequently and with Less Follow Up appeared first on Network for Good.

Have you ever been frustrated by your nonprofit’s newsletter? Is it that no one opens it? Is is that very few people donate through it? Is it that not enough people sign up?

In this webinar we’ll solve these problems and help your newsletter make money for your nonprofit.

You will learn:

• Tricks to get MORE people to sign up for your emails
• How to get donors to click donate or buy
• Subjects lines that actually work
• 5 ways to get people to share your newsletter
• Sample emails

Speaker: Mazarine Treyz

The post Writing a Newsletter That Helps You Fundraise appeared first on Network for Good.

Erika McCall, founder and CEO of Go For Yours, is proud of the innovative approach the organization takes. “One thing I love about our programs is that we create a nontraditional, co-curricular learning experience where we bring the students to LA because [all education doesn’t have to take place] in the classroom … Some of these students have never been to California. There’s a handful that have never been on a plane … they’re all leaders in their communities, but they can only go so far without certain access and opportunities. And LA is the perfect place to have access to certain dreams.”

Since its founding in 2017, Go For Yours has provided over $10,000 in scholarships and recently sent over 1,000 students from various cities to private showings of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” as part of its Dream Experience. 

Erika says the program is forever growing, and fundraising plays a huge role in that growth. That’s where Network for Good comes in. The organization raised over $40,000 in its first six months with Network for Good. 

Streamlining Fundraising Efforts with an Easy-to-Use Platform

Go For Yours has been fundraising since 2018, and Erika says they tried several platforms including PayPal and Stripe before making the switch to Network for Good. 

“It’s just always been by the grace of God where [funds] falls out of the sky,” Erika said. “We just planned and then hoped the money would come. But that’s not the way I want to continue to operate … Moving forward, I want to plan better with fundraising, and Network for Good has helped me do that.”

The platform has allowed her to collect donor information, integrate online fundraising into the organization’s website, and more effectively manage marketing activities like the Go For Yours email newsletter. 

Utilizing Fundraising Pages to Boost Donations

Erika utilized Network for Good’s fundraising page feature to create a branded campaign which she shared with her network through Facebook and email. By asking for donations of $10 or more, she was able to raise nearly $12,000 in less than three months for the Go For Yours Dream Experience. 

Erika says since Network for Good allowed her to create a more professional looking page that featured a list of recent donors, it encouraged more people to contribute. The campaign even attracted several celebrity donors. “I think Network for Good helped show me the progress, this is how much we have raised and how much we really have the ability to raise to reach our goals through this platform.”

Another way Go For Yours utilizes fundraising pages is by creating dedicated pages for some of the students taking part in the program. This allows the organization to share the personal stories of its students and gives them the chance to ask friends and family to donate on their behalf.  

Tackling Big Challenges with All-in-One Software

In addition to creating more professional looking branded fundraising campaigns, Network for Good has allowed Erika to better track donor data, boost her confidence as a fundraiser, and conduct surveys to improve students’ experience with their programs.

The platform has allowed Go For Yours to track more granular donor data such as phone numbers, email addresses, and even mailing addresses. Plus, the built-in templates and communications tools allow Erika to easily engage with donors and track fundraising milestones. Having a clean donor database and communication tools have been key to enhancing the organization’s fundraising strategy. 

“I am a naturally shy person,” Erika said. “And nobody likes to ask for money but [Network for Good] helped boost my confidence because I had it right there … I have the messaging; I am able to create a whole [donor outreach] formula. So, it definitely helped boost my confidence in fundraising, knowing I can raise this much money.”

Erika is always striving to improve the programming offered by Go For Yours. She says while fundraising is a key part of its success, Network for Good’s survey feature has allowed her to collect feedback from students participating in the program so she can also continue to innovate and develop creative experiences. 

The Importance of Investing in Technology

While it may not be a top priority for some nonprofits, Erika says investing in technology like Network for Good is essential to thriving in today’s environment. While making an investment like this with a possible recession on the horizon may not seem like a good idea, technology will ultimately make fundraising and donor management easier.

“If you don’t have that technology, then you’re missing  out on a huge network of important people,” Erika said.  “I can count on my hand, how many checks I get in the mail … it’s not a lot. And so that technology piece is important to invest in … your brand is important, your marketing, all of these things are important because it’s a business and you want to make sure that you have the tools that keep you ahead of the game like Network for Good has helped me stay ahead of the game.”

Interested in learning more about how Network for Good can help streamline your fundraising efforts, and help you raise more? Request a free demo today!

Published: March 9, 2023

The post How Go For Yours Streamlined its Fundraising Efforts and Built Its Brand Through Network for Good appeared first on Network for Good.

Tips and Tricks for Nonprofits at All Stages

One of the most important steps a nonprofit can take is developing a strategy for engaging with and stewarding supporters at all stages of their relationship with the nonprofit. Supporters come to your organization because your purpose resonates with them, but there are actions you must take to initiate that support and cultivate the relationship going forward.

But what does this look like and what actions can you take to develop a standout supporter engagement strategy? We’re here to help.

In this guide, we will cover:

• Some of the key steps your nonprofit organization should take to attract, steward, and retain donors whether you are just starting out or have been supporting your community for years.
• The donor stewardship lifecycle and the eight stages of donor engagement.
• The importance of promoting your purpose to raise awareness for your organization.
• Donor management tips for both new and mature nonprofits.

Download the eGuide to start developing your supporter engagement strategy today!

The post Standout Supporter Engagement Strategies appeared first on Network for Good.

Despite this, many nonprofits have embraced hybrid work models. But what is it specifically about hybrid work that is so draining? How can nonprofit staff avoid hybrid work pitfalls that zap energy, and sabotage productivity?

During this session, we will share best practices and skills for establishing work-life-tech balance and creating an inclusive culture. Adopt these practice and you and your organization will thrive and avoid over-exhaustion. It’s all about managing your well-being.

Speakers: Beth Kanter & Meico Whitlock

The post Work with Less Stress and Burnout in the Nonprofit Space appeared first on Network for Good.