Why do a self-assessment of your development work? Before we jump into the “how”, let's take a step back and discuss what a development self-assessment is and why we always recommend them to our school and nonprofit partners. Simply put, a development self-assessment is an opportunity for you and your team to take a deep look at every aspect of your development work to identify areas of strength and areas of growth.

Monthly giving programs adopt a community-centric approach to fundraising, firmly anchored in partnership, mutual understanding, and shared values. Did you know that on average donors who set up a recurring donation give 42% more annually than one-time donations? Our comprehensive guide outlines the strategies and tools you will need to get started.

Strategizing campaigns throughout the year can relieve end-of-year campaign stress. In this article, you’ll gain insights on planning for success, identifying and leveraging engagement opportunities, and creating impactful fundraising campaigns.

Welcome to the last article in our Building a Grants Program Summer Series. In this article, we dive into best proposal writing best practices, share strategies to manage the writing, review, and submission process, and tips for stewarding funders after a decision is made. Be sure to check out some of the free tools we’ve included in this final article!

Welcome back to our three-part series on building a grants program for your organization! Once you’ve identified and prioritized which prospects to pursue, it’s time to develop a strategy for building a relationship and securing an invitation to apply. In article two of this three part series we take a deep dive into building your grant strategy to increase your win rate.

Do you want to build a grants program and improve your win rate? This article dives into the first phase of building a dynamic grants program - research and ranking.

January kicks off planning for Spring and Fall 2021 events. Now is the time to start conversations with supporters about corporate sponsorships and consider how we can up our game to deliver fun, engaging events in 2021.

Nearly one third of all charitable giving is raised in December and 12% on the last 3 days of the year. Like everything about 2020, the election backdrop and the impact COVID-19 has had on our schools and lives make for a unique giving season. Most donors have been giving to causes at pre-COVID levels and plan to continue making gifts above and beyond their COVID contributions. We’ve seen donors give more for urgent needs addressing key gaps. Your campaign will need to express urgency, communicate authentically, and stand out from the hundreds of emails being sent by political campaigns, retailers, and even other nonprofits.

Planning a successful year-end campaign can be a daunting task. But, we know “you’ve got this.” Here are 10 quick tips for a successful end of year campaign.

Many of us have new board members, board terms kicking off and board meetings reconvening this fall. It is the perfect time to have a discussion with your board about identifying prospective donors, paths to connect with them, and ways to cultivate these relationships. It is a time to invest in your development infrastructure to set yourself up for success during the 2020-2021 school year.

It is a year where philanthropy is needed to support virtual learning, SEL programs, student mental health, after school enrichment, and the list goes on. Parents play a key role in building a culture of philanthropy and it’s up to school leaders to bridge the gap between parent engagement and fundraising. This article explores parent engagement and philanthropy through an equity lens, providing school leaders tips to get parent engagement right.

Undoing systematic racism is a huge undertaking, but recent events remind us that lives depend on it.

All of us engaged in education must ask ourselves:

• What is my role in undoing systematic racism? racial equality? closing the achievement gap?

• What can I do? How can I do it with humility, thoughtfulness, and an open mind?

• Are all the voices at the table? Have we sought out allies to support us?

None of us imagined the reality we’re facing now when we developed our strategic plans for 2020. We’re living in and adapting to a new normal – teachers shifting to distance learning, students learning via virtual classrooms, staff working remotely, and parents and donors homebound. It has had a major impact on how we proceed with events. Included in this article are some helpful tips to help you pivot your events this year and into next.

As charter school leaders seek guidance on how to proceed during this time of uncertainty and COVID-19, we want to support your important missions by offering practical advice and expertise on how best to proceed in the short term as well as in a post-COVID 19 landscape. CCS Fundraising and FundED Strategies conducted a webinar discussing these challenges and strategies for charter schools moving forward. Click here for the recording and corresponding slides.

Without a doubt, the fundraising climate for DC charter schools looks different than a couple of months ago. Yet, we’re seeing that donors are eager to continue to support the critical work we’re doing.  We know that organizations that continued fundraising and communicating with donors received positive donor feedback and rebounded faster than those that went silent. Here are 5 tips to maintain or even grow individual giving.

DC charter school leaders have a lot weighing on their minds these days, including distance learning programs, technology access, and food security for the students and families we serve. Fundraising has never been more critical to support these needs, yet our fundraising approach must pivot and show immediate relevancy.

We asked development leaders from across DC to share where its school’s philanthropic support comes from and dug into the DC PCSB Report Card data to help school leaders gain clarity on revenue sources and trends. When schools understand the data driving philanthropy, they can better diversify revenue. We’ve summarized the key insights below:

January represents a new year and new beginnings. It is a time to embrace what worked, learn from and let go of what didn’t, and make refinements moving forward. It is also halfway through our school calendars when we compare how we’ve performed to goal and consider strategies to ensure success by year-end. Have you done this already in 2020 – with your team? with your board?

The donor management system is like the right hand of a fundraiser. It stores critical donor information, records interactions and relationships, supports cultivation and stewardship strategies, and is the backbone to a successful development strategy. However, with so many tools and resources out there to choose from, how do we make sure we are picking the right one that fits our organization’s needs and budget.

How can you, as a development leader, teach your board members that fundraising is more than just asking for money? Here are a few key tips that will help you engage board members in each phase of the donor cultivation cycle.

Even as schools look to diversify their revenue sources, grants are still the lifeblood for many schools across the country. That's why we developed a grant opportunities database to help development leaders identify grants that might fit their organization. Check back regularly for updates and new opportunities.