During chaotic times, it makes sense that many nonprofits are only able to focus on their immediate future. A recent survey of nonprofits found that 52% of respondents have the cash on hand to support their organization for only the next three months or less, with 18% having just one month or less.  

If your nonprofit is struggling, creating long-term financial plans may seem like a luxury. However, whether your nonprofit is doing well or starting in a poor position, the first steps to sustainability are the same: assessing your strategy, researching solutions, and restructuring as necessary.  

In this guide, we will provide tips for ensuring long-term sustainability across leadership teams, donor cultivation processes, and other internal operations.  

Many fundraisers think of cash when it comes to donations, but there's another valuable asset many overlook: gifts of stock. 

And no, we’re not talking about livestock! 

For savvy donors and nonprofits alike, stock donations present an incredible opportunity for giving that benefits both parties.

In this article, you will learn how stock donations benefit your nonprofit, the types of donors to focus on for this type of gift, and the tax advantages (and considerations) for both your organization and the donor.

Experts generally estimate that 80% of donations come from about 20% of donors. Bloomerang’s research shows an even greater divide, with 88% of donations coming from 12% of donors. 

That’s why cultivating major donor relationships is so important. They can truly make a massive impact on your cause and help you serve more beneficiaries. This guide will walk you through how to follow up with major donors to retain their support and keep them as part of your community. 

Major gifts are almost always built on trust, timing, and strong relationships. 

But before a donor ever has coffee with you, they usually visit your website. 

And when they’re doing their research, often comparing multiple organizations they care about, they go back to your website again. What they find there can either build confidence… or quietly raise red flags. 

If you want to attract transformational gifts, your website needs to work with you, not against you. In this article, we'll explore 6 ways your website might be hurting your major giving program, and how to fix them.

When most nonprofit leaders think about endowments, they picture something… big. 

Big gifts. Big donors. Big institutions with big budgets. 

It’s no wonder many small and midsize nonprofits assume endowments are out of reach.  

Something to think about someday, when the organization is larger, the budget is less tight, or a transformational donor finally walks through the door. 

But what if that assumption is holding your organization back? 

The truth is, you don’t need a million-dollar gift to start building long-term financial stability. You don’t even need a donor. With the right mindset and a board vote, your nonprofit can start creating a board-designated endowment (also known as a quasi-endowment) using funds you already control. 

In this post, we’ll share four reasons why your organization should consider this powerful (and underutilized) tool, no matter your size. 

To sustainably fund its mission, your nonprofit needs to not only encourage engagement from its supporters, but also cultivate their loyalty. Donor loyalty is built on trust, so it’s vital to instill confidence in how you’re managing your organization to make a positive impact, especially when it comes to finance. 

While developing procedures for everyday recordkeeping and regular reporting is important, effective nonprofit financial management also involves planning for the unexpected. This is where risk management plans come in. 

In this guide, we’ll walk through four steps for creating a financial risk management plan that can help see your organization through challenges that may come your way. Some of these actions can also strengthen your day-to-day procedures, helping you demonstrate that you’re using donors’ contributions as promised for a good cause. Let’s dive in!

When you work in nonprofit leadership, you spend a lot of time focused on the here and now: raising enough to meet this year’s goals, delivering on today’s promises, and making sure nothing falls through the cracks. 

But at some point, maybe during a board meeting, a donor conversation, or even a late-night budget review, a new kind of question pops up: 

What would it look like to create something more permanent? 

An endowment can feel like the answer to that question. It’s a tool that helps organizations plan beyond the next campaign or fiscal year and instead invest in their mission for the long haul. But for many nonprofits, especially small and midsized ones, the idea of starting an endowment can feel confusing, intimidating, or just… out of reach. 

In this post, we’re not here to tell you whether you should start one today. Instead, we want to help you think through whether an endowment belongs in your organization’s long-term strategy, and what to consider before you begin.  

Because here’s what we want every nonprofit leader to know: an endowment is not just for the biggest, best-funded organizations. With the right mindset and a clear approach, any nonprofit, regardless of size or budget, can begin building the foundation for long-term sustainability. You don’t have to count yourself out.

Major donors often provide the largest gifts to your organization, making them a vital part of your long-term fundraising strategy (especially if you're working toward building or growing an endowment).

While economic conditions may shift, your mission and your community’s support remain steady. According to Fortune, some giving may slow during a recession, but people still give to the causes they care about. Susan Hirschman, Director of Wealth Management for Schwab Wealth Advisory, puts it best: “No matter what the market is, people will always give to charities.”

It’s easy to focus on maintaining relationships with your current major donors—and you should! But if you're thinking about long-term financial sustainability through an endowment, it’s equally important to expand your network of support. There are donors out there who are aligned with your mission and ready to invest in your future—you just need to invite them in.

We’ll help you get started with three of our favorite best practices for identifying, cultivating, and stewarding major donors.

If your nonprofit has an endowment or board-designated reserve, you’ve likely asked (or been asked) a version of this question: “How much of this can we actually spend?” 

It’s a reasonable question. But without a clear, written policy in place, the answers often vary depending on who’s in the room, how the market is doing, or what the budget looks like that year. 

That uncertainty can lead to confusion, tension, and decisions that feel reactive rather than strategic. 

A spending policy changes that. 

It gives your board and leadership team a shared understanding of how much you can draw from your invested funds each year, and helps ensure those decisions are grounded in purpose, not pressure. 

In this post, we’ll walk through what a spending policy is, how it works, and why it’s one of the most important financial tools your nonprofit may not be using yet.

Once your nonprofit receives a major gift, you should immediately enter the stewardship phase to strengthen and retain that relationship. Start by showing sincere appreciation, recognizing the donor’s impact in a meaningful way, and planning thoughtful, ongoing ways to keep them engaged with your organization’s mission.  

Managing all of these activities can quickly get overwhelming, especially if you have a small team. The good news? Your nonprofit’s fundraising tools can help. With the right approach, you can use your technology to engage major donors, improve relationships, and ultimately increase giving. Here are a few tips to help make the most of your tech stack.