Small nonprofits can scarcely afford to lose any donors from one year to the next, given the expensive and time-consuming effort that donor acquisition represents. It can be tempting for small nonprofits to focus heavily on donor acquisition. The logic behind it is that the more donors who give to the nonprofit, the larger the nonprofit becomes. However, this only tells half of the story.  The logic of acquiring more donors to grow your nonprofit […]

Heidi Gerbracht will be at Cause Camp 2020 presenting on how diversity, equity, and inclusion are crucial to your organization’s success. “If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” As immediate past board Chair of an organization striving to empower women to run and win political office, this quote from Lilla Watson, an indigenous […]

How to Get the Most from Your 2020 Giving Tuesday Campaign Yep, you read that right. If you’re thinking about planning your Giving Tuesday campaign this week (it’s December 1, 2019), you’re about a year too late. Listen, I know you’re busy and dates have a way of sneaking up on you. By reading this now, you’ll give yourself plenty of time to take my advice, reap the benefits and launch a successful Giving Tuesday […]

The elders in my family set high standards for what “hard work” felt and looked like. They subscribed to the adage that people of color (especially women of color) had to work “twice as hard” in business to prove themselves. I deeply respect my family’s wisdom. I credit them for my fierce work ethic, which fit right in with the “do more with less” mindset of nonprofit work, but as I rose through the ranks […]