Fundraising for Beginners - Nonprofit Fundraising

Welcome to Fundraising.

You came to the right place. Let’s explore the basics.

Fundraisers should use pride, not apology, when asking for a gift for a charity that is doing good work.
Henry Rosso

Who is this site for?

YOU CAN BE A FUNDRAISER.

YOU can be a fundraiser!

This site is for anyone with a passion for a cause. Perhaps you’ve just started out in the fundraising profession, or maybe you have been working in development but need to learn more about digital marketing, or even, perhaps, you have a passion for a cause and just want to learn how to help raise more money, if so, this site is for you.

We’ve created this site to teach you the art and science of fundraising. Articles and training videos are categorized and rated by level of experience, beginner, intermediate, and advanced. No matter your starting point, you will be able to learn how to be an excellent fundraiser. Discover great courses that will help you become the fundraiser you want to be.

Natural born fundraiser is a myth. You can learn the skill of fundraising and raise millions of dollars for your favorite cause. I want to show you how.

What skills will you learn?

THE ART AND SCIENCE OF FUNDRAISING.

Fundraising is similar to other industries: there are specific skills you will learn to become a great fundraiser.

From understanding the motivations to why people give to writing fundraising copy that converts, as someone new to fundraising, you’ll need to understand the psychology of the donor and how to present your fundraising campaign. You’ll also need technical skills for managing a donor database, analyzing results, and creating tests to optimize performance.

You will learn how direct mail differs from digital, how to perform direct mail donor acquisition programs and how we’ve adapted those acquisition programs online.

As you progress, you’ll learn different types of donors such as general, continuity, mid-level, major, legacy, corporation, foundation and more. Different types of donors will behave and give differently and understanding how they think will help you craft the perfect fundraising campaigns.

Find fundraising courses that will teach you how to become a world-class fundraiser.

What should I read first?

LEARN SUCCESSFUL FUNDRAISING.

8 Things Every New Major Donor Fundraiser Should Do Next (Part 2)

September 17, 2022

Congratulations on your new position as a major donor fundraiser! Learn 8 more tips for success.

10 Proven Ways to Craft High Performing Year-End Emails

September 16, 2022

Year-end giving is crucial for many nonprofits—in fact, according to Nonprofit Tech for Good, 31% of all annual giving occurs in December. So how can you make sure your emails stand out and persuade donors to give?

5 Reasons to Send a Plain Text Email

September 15, 2022

Inboxes are overflowing. Email subscribers are overwhelmed. And message fatigue is real. So how do you cut through the noise and make sure your important fundraising messages are getting read? By sending plain text emails.

7 Essentials for a Great Annual Report

September 13, 2022

Your annual report is one of the most important pieces of fundraising collateral that you produce. It provides donors with a snapshot of your organization’s work and impact over the past year, and it is an essential tool for building relationships and soliciting financial support. But what good is an annual report if no one reads it?

8 Things Every New Major Donor Fundraiser Should Do First (Part 1)

September 4, 2022

As a fundraiser, you know how important it is to secure major gifts from top donors. But what’s the best way to go about doing this? Here are eight things every new major donor fundraiser should do.

8 Steps to Creating Urgency in Your Fundraising Appeal

July 19, 2022

Creating a sense of urgency in your appeal messaging will help move readers to become donors.

Writing a Donor-Focused President’s Letter

December 30, 2019

Sending a President’s Letter (or Executive Director’s Letter) at the beginning of the year helps donors know the impact they made in the previous year. It’s a wonderful engagement tool and a way for donors to feel gratitude for what their donation accomplished. With an example letter!