Designing for Nonprofits

Nonprofits don’t lose donors because their campaigns are bad. They lose them because they expect people to act like machines. See campaign → click donate → gift received. But donors aren’t machines. They’re human. With a client, we recently mapped their donor journey and found at least eight to twenty touch points* before someone gave. And even that might not be enough. Because real life looks more like: hear about a charity in passing → see a campaign → wonder if it’s legit → buy something online → see it again when a friend shares → think about it later → get distracted by TikTok → finally give when a friend asks to support their fundraiser (or shows up at an event). So remember, your campaign is not the destination. It’s just one stop along the way. Which is why consistent branding matters. Not just your logo, not just your campaign, but showing up in a way that creates the same feeling everywhere. And that allows your donors to recognise you everywhere. If you’re not consistent, every touch point is starting from scratch. So, stop expecting instant results and stop blaming yourself for “failed” campaigns. Instead, start building the trust that sustains giving through strong branding and donor journeys. Have you ever actually seen the “campaign → donate” journey work? Or what’s been the most surprising donor journey you’ve seen play out? * A touch point is any moment someone comes into contact with your organisation: a social post, a friend mentioning you, seeing your logo at an event, reading your newsletter, or even hearing your name in passing. Each one nudges trust a little higher or lower. ___________ Hi! I help nonprofits untangle messy comms and build strategies that actually work. Follow me if you want more of the practical (and honest) side of nonprofit comms.

September to December is a *hot* period for nonprofit fundraising. Many foundations and donors are back to their desks after the summer and looking to make their closing funding rounds before the end of the year. If I were an advisor in your nonprofit organization, this is what I would suggest prioritizing in your fundraising plan from this month through the end of the year: 🫂 Curate Relationships Curating relationships with existing donors or key stakeholders is one of the most overlooked practices in fundraising. Only chasing new donors or funding opportunities goes at the expense of trust-nourishing and enthusiasm of those donors and stakeholders who are already "warmed up" about your work and mission. Don't make this mistake, and create space to strengthen the bonds with those who are already there. Think about personalized engagement and regular touchpoints to make them feel part of your mission and deepen their commitment to your cause. ⭐ Impact Storytelling Creating visibility around all the things your organization and your team have achieved throughout the year is a powerful avenue to leverage your commitment and attract the attention of donors and stakeholders ready to fund. Don’t be generic or conservative when it comes to showing the outputs, activities, results, community feedback, and transformations your work generated. Donors want to feel like they can make a tangible contribution to the end goal of your impact mission. Showing this to them in a compelling, story-based approach will help them understand what and why they are funding. 💰 Do Your Budget Know your number and make your financial plan clear. Prepare a budget that outlines your organization’s funding needs for the next 2 to 5 years. Identify the core areas that require sustained resources and ensure your strategy is aligned with long-term objectives. Create a strong narrative around why these areas need funding, how they will serve your impact goals, and why mobilizing resources into these areas will be foundational in securing sustainability and scalability to your work. 💥 Optimize Your Strategy You must have learned a lot in the past 9 months and got a lot of feedback, observations and lessons learned around your work. This is the perfect time to integrate the learnings into your overarching organizational strategic plan and fundraising strategy and adjust it according to the things you have now gained more clarity on, such as your new targets and goals. -------- Hey! I am Margherita, senior nonprofit consultant and advisor. I am open to working with nonprofit organizations in social justice and accelerating their development goals through fundraising, financial planning, organizational development, and operations. My fee model is equity-informed and open to accommodating all budgets. Contact me to learn more!

Seven years. That's how long a single survey comment carried forward into a donor's story. Buried at the end of my latest survey data, I read this: "I took your survey seven years ago, and had mentioned there my partner was sick. I continue to give because you called to check on me within days after that survey." That moment of care? It wasn't random. It came from the previous survey. The one where this donor shared about her life when asked about future engagements. Someone on the team read that response, picked up the phone, and checked in. Seven years later, here it was again—this time in a new survey—telling us why the donor stayed, why they gave, why they felt connected. And it reminds us: a survey isn't a one-time thing. It's not just: ask → collect → report → done. It's a conversation. A process of trust-building - of listening and then acting. When people see their words turn into action, they respond differently the next time. Because it contributes to that trust. They show up. They share more. They believe the data has a life beyond the form they filled out. Nonprofit friends, can we commit to only use data listening tools as non-extractive bridges? #nonprofits #nonprofitleadership #community

The “Value-First” Framework for Community Engagement ↓ I think of community value in three layers: 1️⃣ Personal Value What does this person get out of showing up? - New knowledge - Access to mentors - Career opportunities A place to be seen and heard 2️⃣ Collective Value What does the group get from being together? - Shared identity - Belonging and trust - Collaboration on projects - Peer accountability 3️⃣ External Value What does the outside world see and respect about this community? - Industry recognition - Access to speaking opportunities - Partnerships with companies or institutions - Influence on broader culture When these layers are aligned, members move from consumers → contributors → advocates. A Checklist For Designing Engagement That Works ↓ When planning your next engagement activity, ask: ✅ Personal Value → What does an individual walk away with that they couldn’t get on their own? ✅ Collective Value → How does this interaction make the group feel more connected, aligned, or collaborative? ✅ External Value → How does this activity position the community as impactful in the broader ecosystem? If your engagement idea doesn’t touch at least two of these layers, pause and refine. 👥 I’m curious — when you think about your own community: - Where is the value clearest right now? - And which layer do you need to strengthen next? Drop your thoughts below - I’d love to see how you’re mapping this framework to your own work. #communitybuilding #engagement #developercommunity

Before it was about getting donors to write checks. Now it’s about involving them in your ecosystem. Here’s 5 steps to get started today: You’re not just fundraising anymore. You’re onboarding stakeholders. If you want repeatable, compounding revenue from donors, partners, and decision-makers, you need to stop treating them like check-writers… …and start treating them like collaborators in a living system. Here’s how. 1. Diagnose your “center of gravity” Most orgs center fundraising around the mission. But the real gravitational pull for donors is their identity. → Ask yourself: What is the identity we help our funders step into? Examples: Systems Disruptor. Local Hero. Climate Investor. Opportunity Builder. Build messaging, experiences, and invites around that identity, not just impact stats. 2. Turn every program into a flywheel for new capital Stop separating “program delivery” from “fundraising.” Your programs are your best sales engine → Examples: • Invite donors to shadow frontline staff for one hour • Allow funders to sponsor a real-time decision and see the outcome • Let supporters “unlock” bonus services for beneficiaries through engagement, not just cash People fund what they help shape. 3. Use feedback as a funding mechanism Most orgs treat surveys as box-checking. But used right, feedback is fundraising foreplay. → Ask donors and partners to co-define what “success” looks like before you report back. Then build dashboards, stories, and events around their metrics. You didn’t just show impact. You made them part of the operating model. 4. Make your “thank you” do heavy lifting Thanking donors isn’t the end of a transaction. It’s the first trust test for future collaboration. → Instead of a generic “thank you,” send: • A 1-minute voice memo with a specific insight you gained from their gift • A sneak peek at a challenge you’re tackling and ask for their perspective • A micro-invite: “Can I get your eyes on something next week?” You’re not closing a loop. You’re opening a door. 5. Build a “Donor OS” (Operating System) Every funder should have a journey, not just a transaction history. → Track things like: • What insight made them first say “I’m in”? • Who do they influence (and who influences them)? • What kind of risk are they comfortable taking? • What internal narrative did your mission fulfill for them? Then tailor comms, invitations, and roles accordingly. Not everyone needs another newsletter but someone does want a seat at the strategy table. With purpose and impact, Mario

Here is #GivingTuesday success tip #3 and this one might just get me canceled 🙅🏻♂️ Get rid of the images from your donation page 😱 🤯 Yes, your campaign header image is pretty. Yes, that video is super compelling and is going to make EVERYONE want to give. Yes, a donation page with no images feels more "transactional." But what do the numbers say? Donation pages without images or videos have a higher conversion rate. Period. I've run this test at least once a year hoping, begging, PLEADING with donors to prove me wrong. But no. Every 👏🏻 Damn 👏🏻 Time 👏🏻 Donation pages without images beat the pages with images. And by a significant margin too - often a 50-60% lift in conversion rate (I've seen it deliver as much as a 400% lift for one organization)! Why does this happen? A few thoughts: 1️⃣ The page will load faster. Faster load times = more revenue. 2️⃣ Better experience. Removing imagery makes the donation form more accessible (specifically on mobile devices). 3️⃣ Imagery creates distractions. Removing distractions increases conversions. What is your go-to "hack" for boosting conversion rates on your donation pages?

🧱  Why the Way We Talk About Our Work Is Starting to Hurt It Nonprofits have learned to speak the language of institutions. We’ve adapted to funder expectations, grant compliance, and strategy decks full of “multisector alignment,” “resilience frameworks,” and “systems-level interventions.” But somewhere along the way, we lost the plot. We started writing for reviewers instead of communities. We became fluent in technical terms—but harder to understand, harder to trust, and often disconnected from the people we claim to serve. That matters now more than ever. In a time of defunding, narrative backlash, and public exhaustion, abstract language doesn’t just fall flat—it erodes credibility. It makes the work harder to defend. This isn’t about abandoning rigor. It’s about restoring clarity. About describing the work in terms people can feel, repeat, and act on. So what does that sound like? 📌 1. Instead of “We offer trauma-informed, wraparound services to disconnected youth.” Try “We mentor teens facing grief, violence, and instability—and make sure they don’t fall through the cracks.” 🔍 Why: The original focuses on frameworks; the revised version speaks to experience and responsibility. 📌 2. Instead of “Our strategy fosters inclusive economic resilience through multisector collaboration.” Try “We help small businesses grow and neighbors stay housed by getting local groups to work together.” 🔍 Why: Most people don’t use “resilience” to describe whether they can pay rent next month. Be concrete. 📌 3. Instead of “We address systemic barriers to equitable health outcomes.” Try “We connect people to doctors, clean air, and healthy food—especially in places where they’ve been shut out.” 🔍 Why: People trust what they can see, feel, and recognize. Start with that. 📌 4. Instead of “We center historically marginalized voices in program design.” Try “We ask the people most affected what would actually help—and we build from there.” 🔍 Why: Values are important. But people want to know how those values are applied in practice. 📌 5. Instead of “Our organization advances regional workforce pipeline solutions.” Try “We help people find good jobs—and get trained, hired, and paid in the industries that need them.” 🔍 Why: The revised version reflects urgency, outcome, and a basic reality: people want decent work. Language isn’t just style—it’s infrastructure. If we want the public to believe in the work, we need to talk like we believe in them too. #Nonprofits #PublicTrust #NarrativeStrategy #StrategicComms #SocialImpact #Funding #GrantWriting

#WednesdayWisdom Most nonprofits won't get to choose whether they deal with AI. The only real choice is whether you do it strategically or reactively. 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗜 looks like this: A peer organization announces an "AI-powered donor platform." Your board asks, "Why aren't we doing this?" You rush to buy a tool so you can say you're "doing AI." The result? Tools that don't fit your workflows. Staff who were never brought along. Budget tied up in tech that quietly creates more work instead of freeing capacity. I've watched this pattern repeat across nonprofits and foundations including some of the most sophisticated organizations on paper. 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗔𝗜 adoption feels very different: ✔️ You map where staff time actually goes and name your mission bottlenecks. ✔️ You choose one workflow where automation would create the highest mission ROI. ✔️ You bring staff in early as co-designers, not passive recipients. ✔️ You pilot small, measure honestly, and expand based on real results. ✔️ You build board literacy around capacity, risk, and governance — not just technology trends. Take the American Cancer Society's approach: in a 2022 fundraising campaign, they used machine learning to optimize ad strategy—driving donation revenue 𝟭𝟭𝟳% above benchmark and engagement rates of nearly 𝟳𝟬% on their rich media units. Their Director of Media Strategy put it plainly: "Every bit of our campaign spend needs to be optimized for the best possible performance." That's strategic AI starting with a clear mission outcome and building the technology around it. Before you sign a contract or add another tool to your stack, ask your leadership team: → Where is manual work currently limiting our mission delivery? → What would become possible if we reclaimed 10 hours per week of staff capacity? → Which staff, board, and partners need to be in this conversation from day one? → What does success look like in mission terms, not technology terms? This is the foundation I build with executive teams when we design AI roadmaps together, so AI becomes a 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗴𝗶𝗳𝘁, not a 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁. If you're feeling that "do something with AI" pressure but don't have a clear first step, DM me with "ROADMAP" (or drop it in the comments). I'll share the framework I walk EDs, C-suite leaders, and boards through in our AI readiness sessions. Your mission is too important to automate on autopilot.

We have been quite busy here at Funraise working on something I believe will transform the Nonprofit sector. And Today I get to tell you ALL about it. I am excited to introduce you to our latest AI-backed Fundraising Intelligence platform with some major AI enhancements like: 🤖 AI Revenue Forecasting Not all revenue is easy to forecast, especially when your business model is dependent on generosity. With AI Revenue Forecasting by Funraise, you'll get a better handle on future revenue and future donor activity using AI models powered by your past performance. 🤖 AI Data Explanations What's the Why underneath your data? With Data Explanations, you will be able to uncover unexpected patterns contributing to growth or decline in your fundraising performance and finally understand the logic supporting your data! 🤖 Data Alerts No one has the time to stare at a dashboard to watch it update. With Data Alerts, you'll receive automatic email or Slack messages for revenue thresholds and performance anomaly detections. 🤖 Natural Language Queries It's nerdy but you'll thank us later once you try building a complex report without needing to understand any special syntax or formatting to get you the data insights that you need fast! So, why is Funraise prioritizing this technology now? Two important reasons: 1) This effort to usher nonprofit organizations into the new era of AI will allow them to compete for the same dollars previously secured by for-profit companies that boast massive AI and data intelligence tools. Funraise’s team is excited to lead this turning point in nonprofit technology. I have seen firsthand how the power of data intelligence can sustain and accelerate life-changing impact. We’re excited to increase the accessibility of this technology because we know nonprofits are poised to launch into a future where actionable insights will increase impact in a big way. 2) Donor retention needs to be solved. Most nonprofits lose up to 50% of their donors each year. While technology alone won't fix this problem, it can play a critical role in decreasing donor churn. When you are growing revenue, it can be easy to overlook the revenue you are losing. With faster insights and more actionable data, I believe we can put this challenge behind us. FYI - I'll be going into much more detail about these features over the next several weeks so feel free to follow along and tag a nonprofit friend that may be excited to learn about this!

I love non-profits, but... for being community-based, a lot of them aren't the greatest at online community building. I've been in the nonprofit sector for a while, and from managing social media accounts, I've noticed a gap in how they connect with their followers (which sucks because their mission + impact deserve to be seen). I've seen some non-profits pay THOUSANDS for marketing support, only to remain stagnant online. No growth, little to no engagement, no storytelling. What I’ve noticed: ⤵️ Generic posts: “We got a $3K grant from XYZ!” or “We hosted an event!”, without connecting it to their mission or reason for followers to care. ⤵️ No engagement with comments!!! ⤵️ No storytelling: Just facts and flyers instead of stories of how their services helped the community. ⤵️ Inconsistent branding: Different fonts, colors, or logos on every post ⤵️ Clients + volunteers left out What I’ve done + would do: ✅ Turn events into videos (Reels, TikToks) + use trending audios. ✅ Feature client + volunteer stories/testimonials. ✅ Make annual reports digestible (aka turn long PDFs into carousels). ✅ Tell stories, not just updates (client success stories + quotes). ✅ Be consistent with visuals (text, color scheme, include logos). ✅ Create content related to the community served (stats, important info they should know, how to access services). ✅ Recycle event photos for “throwback” posts + connect to the mission. ✅ Respond to followers' messages + comments. Example post ideas: - “A day in the life” of a volunteer - “POV” at an event - Videos explaining the step-by-step process of accessing services - Community shoutouts (highlight local partners or supporters) And yes, you can still build a community, even with a low budget: 🎨 Batch-create posts in Canva 💬 Ask for community feedback with polls or stories 📝 Build a testimonial form to collect quotes and permissions (Google Forms, Asana, Survey Monkey) 🗓️ Create a content calendar (HubSpot + Notion offer FREE content calendars if you don't want to start from scratch) ♻️ Recycle and repurpose content For reference, check out these awesome non-profit's social media: 💚 CHIRLA 💚 Larkin Street Youth Services 💚 Immigrant Legal Resource Center 💚 Emboldly 💚 @mothersmilkbankca (IG) Nonprofits offer life changing services and deserve to be seen. If you work in the sector, let’s connect! I love brainstorming low-cost, high-impact, and organic ways to build authentic community online. 🌱