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3 Shifts That Turn a Start-Up Nonprofit into a Sustainable Org Read time: 3-4 minutes Starting a nonprofit is no small feat. You had a vision, took action, and you’re making a difference. That’s worth celebrating. But if your organization is in the early stages, you might be noticing some growing pains. Maybe one person – maybe you?! – is wearing every hat. Fundraising feels chaotic, and important details live entirely in your head. The good news? Moving from a start-up to a sustainable…

What Winning Grant Proposals Have in Common Read time: 4 minutes Want to know what separates grant proposals that get funded from the ones that don’t? (Who doesn’t? 😆) I recently analyzed 10 successful nonprofit grant proposals totaling over $2 million in funding to find out exactly what they were doing differently. Here’s what I noticed: These applications weren’t using secret formulas or insider connections. They were simply doing a few key things really, really well. In this week’s…

We’re fundraising in uncertain times. Here are a few things working. (+ Join me Feb 4!) Read time: 3 minutes If you’ve felt the weight of this moment, you’re not alone. Let’s name what’s going on: 85% of nonprofits expect service demand to increase and 36% of orgs ended 2024 with an operating deficit, the highest in 10 years (Nonprofit Finance Fund). Total giving grew 6.3% in 2024, but… the number of donors dropped 4.5% (BWF). So yeah, there’s uncertainty… BUT there’s also creativity and real…

3 Tiny Website Tweaks That Increase Donations (Backed by Data) Read time: 3 minutes Your organization’s website is working harder than you think. Experts note that a reasonable bounce rate — that’s how many people leave your site after viewing just one page — is 40% or below. BUT… many nonprofits are seeing rates closer to 60-70%. That means there’s a real opportunity to improve how we turn more of that interest into action. In this week’s Changemaker Mondays ☀️ ☕ 🌍, I’m sharing three…

Signs of a Thriving Nonprofit Culture (Whether or Not You Have Staff) Read time: 3 minutes First things first: Happy New Year!!! 🎉🎉🎉 I wanted to kick off 2026 talking about something super important but often invisible: Organization culture. I get it. “Nonprofit culture” can sound like a fluffy buzzword, especially when you’re busy trying to serve people and keep things running. But culture isn’t abstract. It shows up in practical ways that affect team retention, fundraising, all that good…

3 Ways AI is supporting Fundraising(and how to use it ethically) Read time: 4-5 minutes AI tools are opening up new ways for nonprofits to work smarter, save time, and focus more on relationships and impact (the important stuff). AI is already helping nonprofits craft clearer messages, make sense of data, and take repetitive tasks off their plates. And for the first time, these tools aren’t just available to large organizations — smaller and newer nonprofits can access these tools too. In…