I remember the feeling of confidence I had going into 2020. I had been in the fundraising field for over 15 years (full-time), and at the time, I thought I had most things figured out. I would have confidently made broad, sweeping predictions about the future. And, as we all know, I would have made a complete fool of myself. Because everything we thought we knew was turned upside down by the global pandemic just a few weeks later.
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That humbling experience taught me a critical lesson: predicting the future isn’t about certainty; it’s about curiosity. It’s about studying trends, tracking the breadcrumbs, and embracing flexibility. As we look toward 2025, the nonprofit fundraising landscape continues to evolve, shaped by technology, shifting donor expectations, and global economic conditions. Here are a few trends to watch and how they might reshape the way we fundraise:

Gone are the days when a generic email blast could sustain your donor base. Modern donors expect nonprofits to know their preferences, interests, and giving history. This shift demands a deeper investment in donor data and segmentation strategies.
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What this looks like in practice:

• Personalized video messages from organizational leaders thanking donors for specific gifts.
• Tailored campaigns that reflect the donor’s passions – think targeted appeals for programs they’ve supported in the past or issues that align with their values.
• Leveraging AI to analyze donor behavior and suggest optimal engagement strategies (more on AI below).

AI has moved beyond being a buzzword – it’s now a practical tool reshaping nonprofit fundraising. From automating administrative tasks to analyzing donor data, AI is helping fundraisers work smarter, not harder.

Emerging applications in fundraising:

• Predictive analytics: By analyzing historical data, AI can identify which donors are likely to upgrade their gifts, lapse, or respond to specific campaigns. This enables fundraisers to act strategically and proactively.
• Content generation: Tools like ChatGPT can help draft compelling appeals, social media posts, or event invitations, giving fundraisers a head start while maintaining their voice.
• AI-powered donor stewardship: AI tools can automate personalized thank-you emails, gift anniversary reminders, and touchpoints, ensuring donors feel appreciated without overwhelming staff time.

However, as AI becomes more prevalent, ethical considerations must remain at the forefront. Donor confidentiality is non-negotiable – organizations must carefully vet AI platforms to ensure donor data remains secure and private. Similarly, while AI can streamline processes, it’s no substitute for genuine, human connection. The most successful fundraisers will treat AI as a powerful enhancement to relationship-building, not a replacement for the trust and care that donors deserve.
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By prioritizing ethics, privacy, and authenticity, nonprofits can leverage AI responsibly while maintaining the integrity of their donor relationships.

With limited staff and growing expectations, nonprofits are turning to automation to streamline repetitive tasks. Automation allows teams to focus on what truly matters: building relationships and driving impact.
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What’s being automated:

• Email workflows for donor journeys, from onboarding new donors to lapsed donor reactivation.
• Social media posting schedules, freeing up time for engagement and content creation.
• Grant tracking and reporting processes, ensuring deadlines are met with minimal stress.

By automating these tasks, organizations can improve efficiency without sacrificing quality.

Donors today demand clarity on how their contributions are being used. Organizations that can clearly articulate their impact and demonstrate accountability will stand out in an increasingly competitive philanthropic landscape.
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How to show transparency:

• Detailed impact reports shared via email or social media.
• Real-time project updates through live streams or donor-exclusive newsletters.
• Open discussions about challenges, successes, and lessons learned.

Transparency isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s becoming a baseline expectation for earning donor trust.

The way people consume information and interact with brands (including nonprofits) is constantly evolving. In 2025, expect to see growth in emerging channels like:

• Short-form video content offers bite-sized storytelling opportunities.
• Text-to-donate campaigns capitalize on the growing use of mobile devices for philanthropy.
• Virtual and hybrid events create global accessibility without sacrificing the intimacy of in-person connection.

Experimentation will be key here, and nonprofits that adopt a “test and learn” mindset will stay ahead of the curve.

The future of nonprofit fundraising is both exciting and daunting. The tools and strategies available today offer incredible potential to engage donors in meaningful ways – but only if we approach them thoughtfully. As we navigate these trends, let’s remember the lessons of the past: stay adaptable, keep learning, and never forget that at the heart of every fundraising effort is a desire to connect people with purpose.

What trends are you seeing in your work? Let’s keep the conversation going in the comments!

​Cheers!

As we turn the page to a new year, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the incredible impact your donors have made on your organization. Donor appreciation isn't just about wrapping up last year's success - it’s about laying the groundwork for lasting relationships that will sustain your mission well into 2025 and beyond.
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In nonprofit fundraising, donor retention is key. It’s much easier (and more cost-effective) to retain a donor than to acquire a new one, which is why a thoughtful approach to showing gratitude can be a game-changer. Starting the new year on a note of appreciation can make all the difference in keeping those relationships strong. Here are six creative and practical ways to show your gratitude this New Year:

Instead of sending out traditional holiday cards, why not opt for a New Year’s card? It’s a great way to stand out, especially since January mail isn’t competing with the December rush. At my current institution, where we serve a multi-religious community, we steer clear of specific religious holiday cards, but New Year’s cards offer a respectful and inclusive option.

This isn’t just about sending a card; it’s about showing donors they’re valued as you enter a fresh chapter. By sending a message of gratitude and well wishes for the year ahead, you remind them that their support is crucial to your mission’s success.

Why It Works: A New Year’s card avoids the crowded December mailbox, acknowledges diverse traditions, and sets a positive tone for the year ahead.

If you are not as chronically online as I am, you might not be familiar with TikTok Shop. However, as a nonprofit fundraiser, you should be. The nonprofit sector can learn many valuable lessons from this feature of TikTok about how to engage online with our supporters.

TikTok officially launched TikTok Shop in the U.S. in November 2022, marking a significant expansion of TikTok's e-commerce capabilities. The feature allows users to browse and purchase products directly within the app, integrating shopping with the platform's popular short-form videos.

But that doesn’t quite capture how seamless it really is. Picture this: You are scrolling through funny cat videos after all the work of the day is done. Before you notice it, you’ve stopped to watch someone apply moisturizing oil to their skin. You scratch a rough spot near your elbow and find yourself nodding as the person giving the video testimonial bemoans how much they dislike normal lotion, which leaves their skin feeling sticky. Suddenly, without leaving TikTok, you are on a sales page and two days later, your moisturizing oil arrives in your mailbox.
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Even as I was scrolling through my FYP (For You Page), my brain was wondering how we as nonprofit fundraisers could craft an online experience like this for our donors and, even more importantly, for future donors. Here are some defining features of TikTok shop that I believe could be incorporated into our nonprofit marketing and fundraising plans.

• ​TikTok Shop: TikTok Shop integrates e-commerce directly into the app, allowing users to browse and purchase products without leaving the platform. This seamless shopping experience reduces friction in the buying process, making it easier for users to make impulse purchases while still engaging with the content.
• Nonprofit Application: While currently there is no way to give directly to a nonprofit via the TikTok app, we can reduce the friction (number of clicks and starts and stops that it takes to complete a transaction) of our giving forms. Ensure that your donation process is as seamless as possible. A smooth, user-friendly donation process reduces barriers and makes it easier for viewers to support your cause on impulse.

Nonprofits can take inspiration from the world of e-commerce, such that making a gift of $50 becomes as easy and natural as buying a hair straightener on your phone. If we want a world where folks see a video about our cause and make a gift right then and there, we need to learn from businesses that have proven practices to make impulse purchases happen. The most important takeaway from researching TikTok Shop is that nonprofits should push beyond their strict branding guidelines to lean harder into authenticity. Produce fun and inspiring content featuring voices and faces that are relatable and authentic supporters of your nonprofit’s cause.
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I predict that nonprofit organizations that successfully adapt the strategies of TikTok Shop will thrive in the ever-changing digital landscape. This will happen by tapping into the power of real-time engagement, authenticity, and community-building. By leveraging live fundraising events, interactive content, and social proof techniques similar to those used in TikTok Shop, nonprofits can create dynamic and compelling donor experiences that resonate with modern audiences. These organizations will not only increase their reach and visibility but also foster deeper connections with supporters, leading to more immediate and sustained giving. As digital trends continue to evolve, nonprofits that embrace these innovative approaches will be better equipped to meet fundraising goals and maintain relevance in a fast-paced, online-driven world.

QUESTION FOR YOU? Have you utilized some aspects of TikTok Shop in your nonprofit's online marketing? We found that during the pandemic Facebook Live was a wonderful way for our president to continue to connect with our constituents in real-time. I'd love to try it soon for fundraising purposes specifically. What ideas do you have after reading more about TikTok Shop? Let me know in the comments.

​Cheers!

PS - If you’re loving the resources on Real Deal Fundraising, wait until you see what’s in my Etsy store! I’ve created a collection of digital products designed to save you time and help you bring in more money for your nonprofit. From ready-to-use templates to creative campaign ideas, these tools are crafted with your success in mind. Head over to Real Deal Fundraising on Etsy and take your fundraising to the next level - because you deserve to work smarter, not harder!

PPS - I hope you’ll continue the conversation by subscribing to Real Deal Fundraising. When you subscribe, you’ll get my monthly newsletter email, which includes the best articles on fundraising, productivity and cool stuff every week. The whole thing is weekly curated awesomeness as well as freebies like webinars, instructional videos, and whatever else I can put together to be helpful to you!

Video is more and more a huge part of the storytelling process for fundraisers. It's a great way to communicate the impact of philanthropy in the world. But, most fundraisers aren't video professionals. Once you have your video done, what are the best practices to get your constituents to watch it? I asked my friend and colleague, Ndlela Nkobi, that question. Here are his 5 best tips for getting your message seen! Enjoy! -- Jessica Cloud, CFRE

Congratulations on finishing your organization’s video! After weeks (sometimes months) of planning, shooting, and editing, you have finally uploaded your film to YouTube. Now what?  How do you make sure that your video gets the views it deserves and has its intended impact? Though there are no guaranteed ways of making your video go viral, here are some steps to make sure the people who need to see the video actually see it, watch it and take action.
 
1. Reinforce Your Call to Action

Videos are generally created to get people to take some action (sign a petition, donating, joining a mailing list . . .) and your call to action in your video is where you ask your audience to take that action.   Make sure you reinforce that call to action whenever you get a chance (your website, YouTube, your platforms).  The ultimate success of your video will be based on how many people take you up on your call to action.

2. Have a Great Thumbnail

Pick an engaging still image to give your audience a quick snapshot of your video. That thumbnail is also the image that is generally automatically used when the video is shared on social media and on platforms like WordPress.  Consider creating a custom thumbnail that could also includes words that would further draw the viewer in.

3. Pay Attention to your YouTube Descriptions, Titles, Tags

The title, description and tags you use on YouTube will not only help people find your video when they search for related content but they should also draw people in to watch the video. Not everyone is going to see the video on your website so give your viewer all the information they need to take the next step in your video description.

4. Place Video on Your Website

Placing your video on your website gives you much more control over how the video is presented to viewers with things like the call to action, video placement and supporting text/images/graphics. 

5. Promote the Video on Your Platforms

Once the video is ready on YouTube and on your website, share it widely on your various platforms (Facebook, Twitter, mailing lists, . . . )  Your platforms will be one of the main ways that the people in your community find out about your video.   Don’t be afraid to repost content (especially on social media) to make sure as many people see your post as possible. 

Bonus action: Check Your Analytics

Here is another area where you get to define what success looks like for your video (or campaign). Whether you are looking at Google Analytics or YouTube analytics (ideally you are doing both) this is where you get to see how successful you were with things like page views, videos views and how long people are looking at your video. It is also important to look at engagement (likes, shares, comments  . . .)  Analytics and engagement are matrices you use to help you plan for the next videos you are working on producing. 

About the author: Ndlela Nkobi is a filmmaker and online video content creator based in New York City and Johannesburg. He works with small businesses, nonprofits, consultants and artists to connect with their clients through the use of video. You can see his work at ndlela.tv. 

Ndlela Nkobi has worked for Center for New Media Teaching and Learning (Columbia University) and Third Sector New England (Boston, MA).  He has worked with Center for Environmental Research and Conservation (Columbia University), New York City Department of Education, Nonprofit Consultants Network (Boston, MA) and Starr King School for the Ministry (Berkeley, CA).

Hi readers, I hope you enjoyed this guest post. Do you have additional tips for how to get the most reach on promotional videos? Comments and questions are, as always, welcomed and encouraged!

Cheers, 

Jessica Cloud  

PS - If you liked this post, you might also like these: 

• Create Memorable Web Addresses
• All about Giving Days (Interview with Jake Strang)
• Canva for Graphic Design

PPS - If you found this article helpful, please comment and let me know. Also subscribe to Real Deal Fundraising so you don't miss a post! You'll get my  guide to Call Center Games for Free!

I was a bullet journal skeptic. Lots of smart friends that I respected seemed to be jumping on this bandwagon but it seemed to me to be a way to waste a lot of time color coding with fancy pens. 

So, I asked on Facebook for someone to explain to me what all the hype was about. If you aren't familiar with the concept of a bullet journal, watch this video below. Then you can read about my conversion to bullet journal or bujo (as the bullet journal junkies call it) below the video.

After reading comments from my friends and watching this video and others, I decided to try using a bullet journal as a way to help me organize my work more effectively and to integrate my home life and work life. I've been doing it now for a little under a month and I'm a fan. ​Here are some reasons why I recommend you experiment with this method. 

• It's flexible enough you can use it for whatever you want. If you don't like to draw or doodle, don't. If you like a daily listing of to-dos, do that. I found after a week that I didn't. I function on a weekly basis. 
• One strength of the system is everything is in one place. I don't have to hunt around for the grocery list or for the monthly budget, it's all in my journal. I have my work meetings, homeschool lesson plans, my study plan for graduate school comprehensive exam, everything in one little place. 
• It's a low-key place to express myself. No one else looks at my journal and while I don't have too much time to doodle or do fancy lettering, occasionally I write a quote and draw a mandala or flowers or something. I'm a perfectionist and I like to draw but it has to be low stakes or I'm too tough on myself. 
• The thing I like MOST about the bullet journal are the weekly habit trackers I use. This is for items I wish I did every single day but often fall through the cracks. You can see one of my early habit trackers above. It helps me to remember those life balance things that get lost in the weekly shuffle and turns taking care of myself into something I get a sense of accomplishment from. 
• It helped me to loosen up, ironically. I modified the habit tracker to track which subjects we cover daily in our homeschool with my daughter. I'm a type-A, box-checker. In the past, I kept a multi-page detailed monthly lesson plan and I developed anxiety if we deviated from it. None of this was working well for my daughter. Now, the homeschool subject tracker allows her to pick which subjects she wants to do as the week progresses and I get to check off boxes. At the end of the week, I've found we have a good mix nearly all the time. 
• What I've done recently is refined my personal habits list down to five instead of ten, so I can focus on the most important. And I plan to do a similar habit tracker for work that includes things like "writing 2 thank you notes per day" and "contact two donors today". I'll keep you posted as to how that works out. 

Altogether, this little book with roses on the cover has been a positive addition to my life. It helps me get a holistic picture of all of my obligations and upcoming engagements. It also has helped me not to let my own personal goals get lost amidst the many work and family duties.

If you love your bullet journal, let me know why in the comments below. If you want to try it out, do so and report back here to tell us how it's working for you! 

This video tutorial shows you how to set up basic formulas in MS Excel. By using this method, you would be able find out your direct mail response rates and average gift. Also, I touch on how to "reverse engineer" your statistics if you only know the response rates and average gift, perhaps from a past mailer. 

You can check out my other video tutorial on how to use Excel for fundraisers here. 

If you enjoyed this video please subscribe to Real Deal Fundraising.

When I was working at Southern Miss, we received a file to do a mailer to parents of current students. Of course, Admissions didn't have lovely and clean addressee and salutation fields and in fact, we didn't even have the parent's first name in most cases. 

I learned to use the "concatenate" formula to use that raw data to create addressees and salutations that were appropriate for direct mail. When we didn't have the parent's first name we used the student's name. It looked like "Dear Parents of John Doe,". Sometimes you make lemonade out of lemons. 

It's not uncommon in fundraising to get a list of prospects that has "raw data" with first name and last name as separate fields, no titles and no addressees or salutations. Before you can create a mail merge or import those into your database, you'll need to create the fields that you need. And you'll want to do it cleanly and efficiently. 

In this video, I'll show you 3 tricks in MS Excel that will help you save time and frustration in creating addressees and salutations for a list of prospects. 

1) Use filters to create working groups
2) Use the "concatenate" formula to string text together
3) Use "paste values" to turn your data set into editable text

If you liked this video, check out my video on using Excel's "filter by color" function to plan your donor trips. And subscribe to Real Deal Fundraising to get content like this in your inbox. 

I love to learn new tricks in MS Excel. Learning about how to use filters and specifically the "filter by color" function has helped me to stay organized in my work. In this video, I show you how I use Excel to get my visits for donor trips, including how to use filters and "filter by color". 

If you found this video helpful, subscribe today to Real Deal Fundraising. You will immediately receive a free e-book, "15 Best Call Center Games" and you'll be entered to win a copy of my upcoming e-book "How to Staff Your Phonathon Super-Fast: The 7 Secrets to Fill the Seats". Click the button below to sign up.

Video is such an amazing tool for connecting with donors. I love finding gems of inspiration on youtube. So, to keep this Friday fun, here's some of the funniest advancement and fundraising videos I've seen.

These first two are from the first Face of Y'ALL campaign (Young Alumni Leaving a Legacy), which was a tremendously successful young alumni campaign from the University of South Carolina. Some of my Carolina Callers were included in this first video. The second video is a creative way to use the president and a mascot to hilarious effect. Dr. Sorensen even had a stunt double for that video but I've been sworn to secrecy about who it was. 

I'm so envious of this video from Bowling Green State University. What a dream to have donors with such a great sense of humor! This video not only celebrates their giving but surely it inspires others to get involved. What a wonderful thing!  

And I can't do a video post without some awesome flash mobs!!