Free Webinar: Building Lasting Relationships to Maximize Impact This insightful session will deepen your understanding of donor engagement. Learn best practices for cultivating meaningful relationships, effective stewardship strategies and how to communicate your organization’s mission to inspire sustained support. Our team of experts will share: Real—world examples of donor cultivation and stewardship Strategies to… Read more »
How to Build Donor Relationships During Crisis
A Day in the Life of an Executive Director During These Uncertain Times How Shawn Puller Keeps Garth Newel Music Center Moving Forward By Marissa Monell, Client Manager, The Curtis Group, and Shawn Puller, Executive Director of Garth Newel Music Center in Warm Springs, VA We are excited to continue “A Day in the Life… Read more »
Connecting with Millennials: How Nonprofits Can Build Relationships with Tomorrow’s Leaders
The most recent AFP eWire featured three short, but informative, articles on tapping into the power of Millennials. Nonprofits know this influential generational group is more “connected” than any of its predecessors. But, how can the estimated 92 million members of the Millennial generation (born between 1980 and 2001) be motivated to effectively rally behind a… Read more »
Even Online, It’s All About Relationships
At the Hampton Roads Institute for Nonprofit Leadership Conference last Friday, I went to a good workshop by our Giving Institute colleague Jay Love of eTapestry. It was called “The Internet Unveiled: The Newest Tools & Website Trends for Relationship Building,” with the key words being “relationship building.” Jay’s message was to make sure your online… Read more »
Five Ways to Make 2026 Your Strongest Fundraising Year Yet
Fundraising Review and Reflections: What Worked in 2025 and What to Change for 2026 By Keith Curtis, Chairman and CEO For nonprofits, 2025 often felt like a test. The philanthropic landscape is undergoing rapid changes, and nonprofits are having to evolve along with it. We saw a lot of emerging trends this past year—charitable giving totals rose,… Read more »
What the 2025 Bank of America Study of Philanthropy Reveals About Today’s Donors
A version of this piece first appeared on Giving USA and The Giving Institute. We’ve expanded it here with added guidance for fundraisers. Turning Big Into Bigger: Engaging Your Major Donors With Data-Informed Strategies By Keith Curtis, Chairman and CEO Numbers tell a story, and research into donor behavior and giving trends gives organizations a roadmap to navigate… Read more »
The Future of AI in Fundraising: Amplifying Human Connection
Level-Up Your Fundraising with AI By Emily Ruble, Associate Consultant “The future of AI is not about replacing humans, it’s about augmenting human capabilities.” – Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google AI is rapidly changing the rules in every sector and proving to be a powerful ally. Recently I attended the Fundraising.AI Global Summit, and learned a lot… Read more »
FREE Webinar: How to Keep Your Donors Happy — and Giving!
Rethinking Donor Retention: Building Connections in a Changing Landscape Current fundraising trends reveal a challenging paradox: charitable giving is up, but donor counts are down. That means more dollars are coming from fewer donors—raising the stakes for building lasting, trust-based relationships. So how can your organization remain relationship-focused in an increasingly transactional giving environment?… Read more »
Beyond the Headlines: What Giving USA 2025 Means for You
The Giving USA 2025 Data Is In — Now What? The newly released Giving USA 2025: Annual Report on Philanthropy shows that charitable giving in 2024 reached $592.5 billion — a 6.3% increase in current dollars and a 3.3% increase when adjusted for inflation. A strong stock market and steady economy fueled growth, with nearly every recipient sector seeing… Read more »
Is It the End of Philanthropy As We Know It?
Change Is the Only Constant: Prepare for the Future of Philanthropy By Wendy McGrady President and Chief Operating Officer The Greek philosopher Heraclitus is famous for noting that the only constant in life is change, saying “you cannot step twice in the same river.” Over 2,000 years later, this concept remains relevant—especially for the nonprofit sector… Read more »
