Thursday was We Are For Good's virtual summit, ImpactUp: Possible. When I tell you that I come away inspired and full of joy every time I interact with this crew, it's no lie. And ImpactUp: Possible was that feeling, ten fold. Hala Hanna, Executive Director of MIT Solve, declared: Hope is the decision to make something possible. Whew, I didn't know Hala was gonna take us to church. And her keynote got me thinking, Reader, the scarcity mindset has permeated the nonprofit sector for far too...

Fall festivals are one of my favorite things about this time of year, especially in Tennessee. Crisp air, activities for the kids, and pumpkins and mums galore. At a festival this weekend, I quickened my pace when I saw a long row of vendors for local businesses and organizations, excited. My excitement turned to confusion. Then curiosity. As I looked down the row, I saw the same exact AI-generated banner at about a quarter of the booths. Same layout. Same (or similar) colors. Some even had...

You hear me go on about email marketing all the time, Reader... But does it actually pay off? NextAfter conducted a study to find out The True Lifetime Value of an Email Address. They tracked 17M+ subscribers over 36 months. Here’s the skinny on what the data showed: Over 50% of donors from emails during this period were downstream donors (donors that gave long after subscribing). An email address (rather, the person behind it) can bring $25.46-$72.40 in revenue per donor. That’s a net ROI of...

On Friday, I grabbed coffee with a client (shout-out to Emily!). We were talking about what marketing for nonprofits looks like in this AI age, and how many well-intentioned webinars, templates, and experts have herded us into a copy-and-paste habit, often making it harder for your mission to stand out. This is especially true for Giving Tuesday. I love the idea behind this day, but I see many more clients and friends opting out and shifting to more mission-relevant activities instead. I've...

My daughter and I raced to our beach towels and plopped down. I turned to grab my clothes... Where's our bag?! I frantically asked my husband. In a few short minutes, while distracted by the sea glass my daughter found, our vacation in Spain turned into a few days of wild password-changing from my laptop and many hours at the police station. The rest of our time was spent navigating European cities in true 90s-style fashion. I've talked a lot this year about going more analog, and not having...

We’ve sent some emails before, but we didn’t get many results from them. We haven’t sent any emails in a while. ↑ If you’ve ever uttered these words, you should know that email revenue for nonprofits increased by 16% last year, according to the latest M + R Benchmark report. Yes, nonprofits still see results from email marketing. No, email isn’t “dead” and you don’t need another AI bot to figure out what works for you. But the act of simply sending an email doesn’t create jumps like last...

Second-hand enthusiasts and pro-thrifters, where ya at? ✋🏼 One of my sustainability goals this year is to buy no new clothes – vintage and second-hand only. New items can’t match the joy of finding a gem when scouring second-hand apps and local vintage racks. I’ve personalized my settings to get relevant recommendations from each app, so I was confused to open my email and see the subject line: New trench coats in your style I’m only 5’2” – I’m not trying to walk around like this… Confused,...

Hey Reader, let me tell you about Brooke. Nonprofit executive director. Small team. Big mission. And she needed funding for a new program. Goal: $5,000 We sent 2 emails on Giving Tuesday. She raised $7,000 – fully covering the cost of the program with some left over. Huge WIN! I don’t want you to see this and get comparison-itis, Reader. Because we didn’t just send those 2 emails. Brooke was one of my retainer clients for a few years until they hired in-house. We’d spent that entire first...

Does your nonprofit hit the pause button during the summer, Reader? The “summer slowdown” happens across various industries. It’s a time for leaders and staff to relax, go on vacation, or spend time with their families. It’s much deserved. But summer “slowdown” doesn’t mean “stop” when it comes to your nonprofit marketing. Like it or not, we’re in an attention economy. That means the nonprofits that stay top-of-mind during slow times have a greater chance of achieving desired outcomes when...