According to Salesforce, over 30,000 nonprofits use the CRM software – so it was only logical that some of their 3,400 apps were geared towards nonprofit organizations around the world. One of those apps is Fonteva -a relationship building tool created with associations and other member-based organizations in mind. The software itself has numerous products such as one geared towards memberships and another towards events. These products enable a nonprofit organization to manage their membership relationships and plan events.

In Use:

According to a recent press release, Fonteva is a “leading provider of membership and events solutions built on Salesforce®, Fonteva helps associations streamline their day-to-day operations by delivering highly configurable applications on one innovative platform.” One of the main Fonteva products is their event software which allows charities to execute events with ease.  

Fonteva includes numerous features that enable a nonprofit to organize an event and see it to fruition. Popular features of the tool include an event lifecycle management tool, attendee management, and reports and dashboards to make it easy to track key metrics.  Users pay yearly for access to the software which includes two free upgrades per year. Monthly payments start at $175 per user.

Ease of Use:

While many softwares today integrate with Salesforce- Fonteva was created by Salesforce which means nonprofits can say goodbye to time consuming and expensive integrations. Fonteva offers both in-person and online training to staff who are not familiar with Salesforce or need the extra guidance. Many customers on review websites such as Capterra and G2 commend the tool for how easy and accessible it is to use.

Technology Needed:

The tool is considered a SaaS or software as a service and is based on the cloud. The software is not available on-premises.

Recap:

Fonteva is a tool that enables nonprofits to build relationships, organize events and understand their membership base better. It is a SaaS tool and is based solely on the cloud. One of their products is Fonteva Events which allows charities to organize their annual galas and fundraising events. With Fonteva, charities can create responsive microsites, manage ticket transactions and registrations to ensure their event is successful.

 As a SaaS, users must pay for the software yearly with a one-time installation fee. Other than that there are no hidden fees – and a membership enables users to bi-annual upgrades.

Advantages:

• A Fonteva membership includes access to all of their products – not just the events
• No need for multiple softwares to execute your event – Fonteva is comprehensive and comes with registration management, ticketing, and reporting

Disadvantages:

• According to G2 the app costs $175 per user
• According to some reviews - response times to issues can be slow

My Opinion

 If you are one of the 30,000 nonprofit organizations who currently use Salesforce – I would encourage you to watch a free demo of the software. With different products associated with Fonteva it appears like a great tool build your membership base and execute events.

I do find that $175 per user is not practical for small-medium based charities – especially those that are made predominately of of volunteers.

It is important for a company of any size to compare metrics consistently throughout the fiscal year to ensure they are on the right track to achieving their monetary goals. This is no different for nonprofit organizations regardless of size. Comparing donor statistics year-over-year and week-over-week will allow an organization to understand which areas they are more successful and which areas they can improve. If only there was a dashboard which allowed nonprofit organizations to see their donor data in real time…thankfully Causeview saw the lack of software and invented a way to help nonprofits retain their donors. That software, is GivingTrak and it’s free. 

In Use:  

GivingTrak provides nonprofits with the dashboard they need to view and track their donor data – whether it’s active donors or retention rate.  Besides being free- the best part of GivingTrak is donors don’t have to wait a full calendar year to get results – GivingTrak refreshes each client’s dashboards weekly so charities can get a current view of where they stand and how their metrics compare with last week or last month.  

GivingTrak is currently free and includes goal setting, onboarding, and weekly automated data updates. Starting in the Spring, GivingTrak is offering a monthly subscription to GivingTrak Pro for $99/month. This will include industry benchmarks, data query, and segmented donor types. 

Technology Used: 

GivingTrak resides on the cloud so there is no need for a charity to download any software in order to get started. They will however – have to upload their donor data so the dashboard can accurately display their results. To do this – GivingTrak integrates with certain CRMs and are working on building connectors for others.  

Ease of Use:  

Not everyone is a “numbers” person. For those who aren’t – the dashboard is an easy way to digest these metrics. GivingTrak is easy to view and easy to understand with numerous graphs that display everything from lifetime value, average annual giving, retention rate, and total fundraising income. The dashboard also compares year-over-year statistics so nonprofits can make an educated choice on how best to manage their donor base.  

Recap: 

GivingTrak was implemented in November of 2019 and is a free dashboard for nonprofits to display and  analyze their donor data. GivingTrak is new but they have big plans ahead.  

Advantages:  

• GivingTrak does not ask for any personal donor information and instead relies on the Donor ID to base a nonprofit’s dashboard on – thus insuring a donor’s privacy. 
• GivingTrak’s dashboard is updated every Sunday – so a nonprofit’s statistics will never be outdated. 
• Nonprofits can visually see how they measure up to themselves year-over-year enabling them to make the right choices for themselves 
• The dashboard is free  

Disadvantages:  

• While they are working on integrating with more CRMs, at the moment they do not connect with Blackbaud.  
• $99/month for GivingTrak Pro will benefit medium-large nonprofits but will cost too much for small charities take advantage of. 

My Opinion:  

GivingTrak is a great way for any nonprofit to track their donor metrics. The easy-to-read dashboard lets anyone from a key stakeholder to a data analyst quickly see and process donor metrics. The weekly refresh allows those metrics to be up-to-date so the organization can get a clear view of their donor base.  

GivingTrak has only been around for a few months but they have already helped so many nonprofits understand their data. In the future, GivingTrak wants to offer benchmark statistics, and advice to nonprofits who want to know how they compare to similar charities. 

Market Smart is best known for helping  not-for-profit institutions like colleges and universities engage with potential donors by generating quality leads. So imagine my surprise when I found out that Market Smart is also behind Fundraising Report Card – a reporting and analytics platform that help nonprofit organizations make sense out of their fundraising data. With multiple dashboards such as retention rate, growth, and key performance – nonprofit organizations can see an overall picture of who their donors are.

In Use:

Fundraising Report Card is a free tool that is meant to be simple yet impactful. When it comes to digesting data – visualization is important. When faced with thousands of numbers on an excel sheet it’s hard to make sense of the big picture. Visualization enables a company to tell a story that will come in handy when making decisions or sharing findings to key stakeholders.

As long as a nonprofit has a donor ID number, the date in which the donation occurred, and the amount of the donation – they can upload their information straight to the site. The most common method is using a csv file format but Fundraising Report Card also integrates with CRMs such as Kindful and Little Green Light.

One of the most interesting things about the Fundraising Report Card is their live benchmarks that gives a nonprofit real time data about the nonprofit community. As of January 15, 2020 Fundraising Report Card has analyzed 64 billion donations. Other interesting statistics show how donations are changing year over year, donor retention rate, and the average donation amount.

Ease of Use:

The platform located on the cloud is easy to use. A nonprofit can start uploading data instantly. I will say that there is a learning curve. When I tried to upload sample data I kept getting the same error message, “oh man! We ran into some issues” after I tried uploading a second set of data. If an error message does occur there is a help center located on the website as well a short form a user can fill out that will  connect them with a community consultant.

Technology Used:

The software is located on the cloud – and therefore a charity only needs an email address to get started.

Recap:

Fundraising Report Card is a free cloud-based platform created by Market Smart for nonprofit organizations. The tool enables charities to visualize their donor data. Visualizations that Fundraising Report Card offers include campaign effectiveness and donor retention rate.

Advantages:

• The platform is free to use
• Fundraising Report Card analyzed donor data to create benchmarks for the nonprofit community
• All donor activity is anonymous within the platform

Disadvantages:

• For the time being Market Smart has no plans to enhance or modify the platform

My Opinion:

Fundraising Report Card is a great platform for nonprofits to analyze their donor data. Reports include donor retention rates and average donor size. While the reports available don’t necessarily dig deep- they are a great indication of who a nonprofit’s donor base is which can help them secure more donations.

According to Nonprofit Source, in 2018 - 84% of millennials gave to charity, donating an annual average of $481 across 3.3 organizations. In addition, millennials were more likely to donate via their mobile devices and through websites than they were by email. These statistics have prompted charities to change the way they ask for donations. Momentum is hoping to appeal to millennials by making it easier than ever to donate to the charity of their choice by donating through a mobile app or through their website.

In Use:

Momentum recently launched on Giving Tuesday and their goal is simple. They want to make it easier for people to donate. Through researching how people give - chief executive Nick Fritz and co-founders Ari Kagan and Ivan Dimitrov realized that people wanted to give to charity but they cited lack of funds and limited time as reasons why they did not give more. Fritz explained,  "We found that most people would like to give 2.5 times as much as they do, and we wanted to do something to try to close that gap." According to their website Momentum is “creating an effortless way to live up to your values and make a real difference.”

By donating through Momentum’s app – Fritz hopes to engage millennials to donate more by making the experience fun and effortless. There are numerous ways to donate through Momentum. Donors can choose to donate $0.25 every time they purchase a coffee, $.50 every time their favorite celebrity tweets, or $.10 every time they run a mile. While these microdonations may not sound like a lot of money – it adds up making a substantial impact for the charities they donate to. While Momentum officially launched on Giving Tuesday of 2019, they have been beta testing the product for the majority of the year. In this time the 1,000 or so people that have been using the app have donated a combined $31 thousand dollars to charities across the country.

Technology Used:

Momentum’s app is currently only available for iPhones. The company has plans to create an Android app in the future. When it comes to privacy and security - Momentum partners with Plaid and Stripe to ensure that users' sensitive information is safe. According to Momentum’s website a donor’s sensitive information are encrypted and never touches their servers.

Ease of Use:

Momentum’s app walks a user through the steps they need to get started. The user decides how to donate, how much to donate, and where their donation should go to. A user can also set up multiple triggers that go to the same or different charity. Every week users receive an email regarding their impact.

Recap:

Momentum is a socially conscious app that allows donors to make automatic donations based on the foods they purchase, the activities they participate in, or when their favorite celebrities interact with social media. The possibilities are endless – users can get as creative as they want or stick with a common theme. By using Momentum, Fritz hopes to close the gap between how much users want to give and how much they do give.

Momentum is free to use. At the moment the business is working off of tips. 

Advantages:

• Easy way to donate effortlessly
• Possibilities are endless as to how, when, and who to donate to
• App is free to use

Disadvantages:

• Momentum is only available as an iPhone application for now

My Opinion:

Momentum is a fun and easy way to get people to think about how they can help their community by doing something simple as purchasing a cup of coffee or running a mile. It’s an effortless way for those who lack the time to get involved. While I do worry about security – Momentum does partner with Plaid to ensure that sensitive information is encrypted. Plaid also works with other applications such as Robinhood, Acorn, and Venmo. Overall, if this app was available on androids I would definitely try it out.  

 Like so many other organizations affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, churches too are feeling the impact. First it was social distancing and the deterrent of large group gatherings. Then, the cancellation of in-person services followed by the cancellation of weddings and funerals, and stay-at-home orders. In many communities, the church is the epicenter of their beliefs, social circles, outreach, and an extension of the family unit. Now, so many church and faith-based nonprofit leaders are scrambling to stay spiritually connected to their congregants while also maintaining financial stability.

“When we think about the church, we tend to focus on the beliefs, faith, and services they bring to our communities. The reality is, churches have bills just like any other organization,” stated Fran Brown, Managing Partner of CapinCrouse, a national accounting and consulting firm specializing in serving faith-based organizations.

“The CapinCrouse Church Financial Health Index, an online dashboard of key measures, ratios, benchmarks, and peer information, shows the average church receives 48% of contributions via online giving,” according to Rob Faulk, Lead Partner for CapinCrouse’s Church and Denomination Practice. “That leaves 52% received from mail-in and in-person (weekend) services. Churches and nonprofits may actually see their revenue needs increase due to the addition of services to meet community needs. Historically, we’ve seen giving to nonprofits and churches decline significantly during recessions. So, even if a church can adjust and make up some of that gap, they could still see a significant decline in contributions. To churches and other nonprofits, contributions equal revenue.”

A few other key measures from the Church Financial Health Index point to the fact that the average church has:

• 97 days of operating cash reserves
• $2,449 of debt per adult attendee

The firm also published a blog about cash flow and reserve ratios as another starting point for organizations.

Ken Tan, a CapinCrouse consulting principal, added, “There are 4 S’s that keep church leaders up at night: sustainability, succession, structure, and security. Church leaders are now having to quickly adapt to the current environment, yet many are wondering how they will address sustainability and are taking a hard look at security issues such as the ability to accept online donations. That’s not to mention the challenge of talking about giving in the midst of turmoil.”

“This is a time for churches to use their cash reserves, if they have them. If they don’t have reserves, look at programs that are not being implemented because of the current situation and adjust resources accordingly,” said Stan Reiff, Professional Practice Leader for CapinCrouse’s Consulting Practice. “Start creating cash lists. For example, if your church building isn’t being used right now utility bills are likely to be lower, saving some cash. If ministries have a note, I’d encourage them to check with their bank to perhaps extend the loan. Cash reserves and liquidity are critical.”

“Our firm works with more than 1,500 faith-based organizations in 60 countries, more than 400 of which are churches representing more than 60 Christian denominations. As a firm, we are dedicated to serving their needs. We are committed to doing everything we can to support the Christian community,” said Brown. “We want them to know they are not alone.”

“One of the ways we will continue to support the faith-based community is through a series of complimentary webinars specifically designed to help church and nonprofit leaders, administrators, board members, and others adapt to the COVID-19 environment,” continued Brown. “The first webinar, Walking Through the Application Process for CARES Act and Payroll Protection Program Loans, is being held Thursday, April 2^nd at 2 p.m. EDT.”

The complimentary series will start with an in-depth discussion to help church and nonprofit leaders understand eligibility for coronavirus relief funds and step-by-step instructions on completing the application process. Future webinars will address how to understand an organization’s current state of financial affairs by calculating and understanding key financial ratios.

To register for the first webinar, visit: https://www.capincrouse.com/webinar-application-process-cares-act-loans/

At CapinCrouse, we have one focus: serving organizations whose outcomes are measured in lives changed. It’s the foundation our firm was established on, and the driving force behind all that we do. As a national CPA and consulting services firm, we have served mission-focused not-for-profit organizations, churches, and higher education institutions since 1972 by providing support in the key areas of financial integrity and security. This is more than a market niche for us; it is our primary focus and our mission. For more information, visit https://www.capincrouse.com.

Giving decreased nominally by 1.4 percent in 2019 compared to 2018, but remained 6 percent higher than in 2017, according to the Fundraising Effectiveness Project’s 2019Fourth Quarter Report. The losses in donations were focused during the months of April to June of 2019, where giving year to date was down 5.7 percent through June. The charitable sector spent the remainder of the year climbing out of that deficit before ending up at a total loss of 1.4 percent.

One of the biggest questions facing the nonprofit sector in 2020—especially for nonprofits not directly serving the victims of the Coronavirus—is if they can attract new donors and keep existing donors engaged. But the difficulty in acquiring and retaining first-time donors is highlighted in the 2019 report. The number of new donors in 2019—and new donors from 2018 who gave again in 2019—saw drastic drops of 5.7 percent and 6.4 percent respectively, trends that are unsustainable for the long-term success of philanthropy.

“In 2019, we continued to see the trend of donors not keeping pace with dollars,” said Mike Geiger, MBA, CPA, president and CEO of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP).  “While there was a modest decline in donations in 2019, the money raised in 2019 is still higher than 2017. What we saw in 2018, then, was a surge in giving, and in 2019, a correction. The real question ahead is what impact the coronavirus will have on giving in 2020.”

One highlight is that the overall retention rate—the percentage of all donors making a gift to the same organization in 2018 and then again in 2019—increased very slightly (0.03 percent) compared to last year’s rate. This number has been declining in recent years, and stopping that downward trend in 2019 is a good sign for the sector.

The overall repeat retention rate (existing donors who gave in both 2018 and 2019) was nearly flat, dropping by 0.03 percentage points to 61.3 percent. The new donor retention rate was also flat, falling 0.02 percentage points to 20.3 percent.

“Losses in new, first-time donors is not unusual, but nonprofits should focus their time and budget on retaining current donors,” stated Jim Greenfield, ACFRE, FAFP, member of the Growth in Giving Initiative Steering Committee and long-time advocate of fundraising performance analysis. “Not only is their retention rate higher but is accompanied by their higher gift revenues than first-time donors.”

Lessons learned from The Great Recession

A recent study by the Fundraising Effectiveness Project showed an interesting pattern between the US financial markets and giving during the great recession. This study showed that donations actually increased slightly and then finally declined 10 months after the start of the great recession, and that the greatest impact was on donation size, not number of donors giving.  Like then, it’s still important for nonprofits to continue fundraising operations as the needs of the greater community will likely only increase due to COVID19.

What the Future Holds

“As the entire world adjusts to the COVID19 pandemic, uncertainty is everywhere.” said Jon Biedermann, president of The Biedermann Group and treasurer of AFP's Growth in Giving Initiative. “The FEP data has been able to shed some light on what to expect with a declining stock market. A decline in donation size is imminent but should not be as drastic as the decline in the market.”

“While we don’t yet know the relationship with donors and a pandemic of this size, we have seen time and again that humanity shines brightest in our darkest days,” continued Biedermann. “All nonprofits, whether on the front lines or not, should continue to serve their missions and be confident that people will be there to support them.”

The 2020 Q1 Fundraising Report will reveal the impact of the coronavirus on nonprofits and will be available by May 15th.  To learn more and subscribe or download previous reports, please visit www.afpfep.org.

For decades, the success of nonprofits has been defined by the amount of money they raise from donors. In the age of technology, this is no longer the case. Apart from the amount a nonprofit can raise, the ability of particular nonprofit to adopt technology and use it in providing its services has proven to be a game-changer. Technology has helped in various aspects of nonprofit ranging from engaging potential donors, eliciting fundraising and enabling nonprofits to track their operations.  It goes without saying of course that for a nonprofit to claim to be successful, it must deliver on its mission and objectives that the organization was created to fulfil.

Emerging technologies can be crucial in both funding nonprofits and executing projects. It aids them in improving the efficiency of their operations, raises the mission impact, and enhances their competitiveness. However, although nonprofit leaders and their staff want to adopt technology, the dark side is that few of them manage to integrate it successfully into their strategy. This affects their performance and in the end, damages their fundraising potential. Regardless of these challenges, the potential of technology in nonprofit is great. Unlike for-profit organizations that depend on technology strategically to increase their profit margin, raise their market share and increase shareholder value, the nonprofit's mission uses it to create public value.

Multiple opportunities

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) have proven to be some of the leading technologies that organizations depend on. For nonprofits, AR and VR are useful in training staff and responders for different missions. They are used to train responders on how they should approach disaster areas that are dangerous. Without putting them in danger in real environments, VR gives volunteers experience that would otherwise be difficult to gain in a real work environment without getting hurt. This can help organizations to prepare themselves by developing plans on how to approach a disaster zone and in the process, save lives. AR allows workers to see possible problems by giving them critical information on disaster areas in real-time.

Drones are now advancing in their capabilities, and they are proving to be crucial in saving lives during disasters. In areas that are affected by disasters such as earthquakes, landslides and volcanic eruptions that can leave people trapped in buildings, drones can be used for surveillance and transport of medicine, food supplies and water. Drones can reach places that are inaccessible to humans and give real-time images that can be used in making critical decisions.

Drones aside, artificial intelligence is also making way into nonprofits. These technologies are useful in predicting the needs of different classes of people. As various devices continue being invented, the amount of data generated can be crucial if analyzed correctly and used to make decisions. With big data analytics, nonprofits can leverage data to optimize donations and find worthy causes to support. On the other hand, AI and machine learning are also helpful in predicting trends and directing their efforts there to increase donations. By analyzing data, nonprofits can identify vulnerable citizens affected by disaster and mobilize resources to suit their needs.

As other industries continue benefiting from technology, nonprofits are equally venturing into it to improve their relief provision. Failure to adopt new methods as a priority may adversely impact a nonprofit organization. Companies such as Microsoft have shown intention of expanding technology that supports disaster relief by donating millions of dollars to come up with platforms that not only help nonprofits in their missions but also aid in completion of different causes. Moving forward, technology is fast becoming one of the key defining features of nonprofits that will alter the landscape for the better.

Hosting kids at a summer camp can be an incredibly rewarding experience for campers, counselors, and camp coordinators alike. Whether your camp focuses on sports, art, education, chess, music, or just plain fun, summer camp can be an awesome experience — except for the paperwork. Processing registrations and payments, chasing documents, and gathering signatures can be a huge hassle.

The good news is there’s a better way. Online forms can streamline administrative processes and improve access to data for camp coordinators, saving time across the board. Free and affordable forms are available in a range of designs to provide a safe, secure, and private way to handle camp-related administrative tasks. Here are seven tips to consider when choosing an online form vendor:

1. Find online forms that are easy to set up. Setting up online forms might have required coding skills in the past, but that’s no longer the case. Free and affordable form builders are available to help camp coordinators without special technical skills set up forms in just a few minutes.

2. Use forms with automation features. Wouldn’t it be nice to get automatic email alerts when someone completes a registration form or send an automated response to let the person who submitted the form know it’s being processed? Automation features can make that happen.

3. Look for a customizable look and feel. Find an online form solution that has professionally designed templates you can use to achieve the look and feel you want for your camp. Look for forms that allow you to customize colors and fonts and upload your logo.

4. Use forms with built-in integration features. Do you use email marketing services, spreadsheets, or CRM software like Salesforce? If so, make sure your online forms offer third-party integrations so you don’t have to copy and paste data. Integrations also make sure your information stays up to date.

5. Find a form solution that lets you accept payments online. It’s a good idea to collect payments or deposits from interested people when they sign up their For that reason, look for an online form solution that allows you to collect payments via secure third parties like PayPal and Square.

6. Use forms that make it easy to collect signatures and documents. Chances are you collect ID photos, consent forms, etc., while registering campers. That means you need a form solution that lets you handle it all online, including file uploads and legally binding signatures.

7. Look for compliance features if applicable. If you need to collect sensitive information like medical data for campers, you’ll need an online form solution that complies with regulations such as HIPAA. Consider online forms that make sensitive data collection safe, secure, and compliant — and immediately available in an emergency.

Summer camp is all about fun and learning for kids, but the paperwork can be overwhelming for camp coordinators. Powerful online forms that are intuitive to set up while robust enough to offer all the advanced features you need can simplify your summer camp registration process. Best of all, you can find affordable or even free online forms to meet any camp coordinator’s needs.

So, if you’re looking forward to welcoming children to summer camp but dread dealing with registration forms and chasing down documents and signatures, take a look at online forms. With the right forms and third-party integration features in place, you can significantly streamline the paperwork, and that can make a camp coordinator a happy camper indeed. 

Chad Reid, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, JotForm

You can now say “Alexa make a donation to_____” and have Alexa use your Amazon pay account to make a donation up to $5,000.  Currently, this program is only available to select charities that have been invited by Amazon. However, it is likely that this program will be a hit with both donors and nonprofits, so it is something that you should have on your radar for the upcoming year. 

Another high tech trend to watch for 2020 is the rise in giving via a blockchain platform. A blockchain platform is  a public ledger relying on globally distributed historical transactions to prevent tampering and fraud. 

Blockchain was designed to offer a higher level of transparency for transactions. Many donors wish to know that their donations are going directly to the charity that they have selected for the express purpose of funding a certain project. A blockchain giving platform can give them that piece of mind. 

BitGive’s GiveTrack is an example of one such platform. BitGive shares detailed real time information about the financial and project status of the charities that they work with that are accepting donations via GiveTrack.

Global Giving is a crowdfunding platform designed to help small nonprofits raise awareness and money. Global Giving is also a nonprofit, which means it understands what nonprofits need to run a successful fundraising campaign. 

Global Giving also understands that small nonprofits don’t have a large budget, so there is no application fee to join the  Global Giving platform. There is no monthly subscription fee, however Global Givings has a 3% transaction fee along with a sliding scale support fee of 5-12% of collected donations. 

The site offers a host of training and support options for nonprofits that join the platform. There are webinars, training libraries, workshops, one on one phone consultations or site visits.  The platform has tools like gamification and incentives to increase donations. 

The platform offers all the standard fundraising campaign tools, including metrics, donor engagement, social media integration. What it also offers is opportunities to partner with large companies for matching grants, or specific giving programs with the company.

know your audience in order to determine if live streaming is right for your nonprofit. The people you want to engage through a live stream have to be savvy enough to access your video feed so that they aren’t overwhelmed or frustrated by the experience. Beyond this point, your decision should come down to value—both to the viewer and to your organization.

If your organization is exploring adding a livestream to your next event there are a few things that you should consider. First, is your event the type of event that makes for a good livestream. 

The purpose of the livestream is to generate enthusiasm and excitement from those who are unable to attend in person. The event you are live streaming has to be visually interesting enough to keep your online viewer engaged. The most successful live streams are based on events that have an element of excitement to them. Is your event a fashion show? Will there be cute animals?--you can never go wrong livestreaming cute animals.  Also, if your event includes a celebrity guest that you know people who were unable to attend in person would love to see, 

After determining if your event is right for a livestream, it’s time to consider if your intended audience is right for a livestream. If your audience is comfortable using Twitch, YouTube or social media, if you chose to livestream via Facebook than live streaming is a good idea. If your audience is not comfortable with those platforms it doesn’t mean that you can’t do a livestream it just means that you may not get a huge return from the event. 

Next, it’s time to plan your livestream events content. Think of your live stream as the modern equivalent to a charity telethon-except instead of broadcasting on TV your using the internet. A telethon doesn’t consist of a single still shot of the action and neither should your livestream. 

Create a content script. If your are doing a fashion show consider doing interviews with the models or designers (or stores that donated the fashion). Have a host roving the audience,anything to spice up the broadcast. Remember you want to keep the excitement going. 

Many livestream apps allow your organization to collect donations directly from the livestream platform, so make sure your call to action is clear. 

EveryAction wants to be everything to every nonprofit. This cloud based platform offers fundraising, advocacy, organizing and digital all in one package. 

For fundraising, you can use the platform to create a simple donation page for your website. You can also use the platform to track major gifts, pledges and other donations. And, you can run an online auction with it as well. 

Get all your advocacy done with social matching and listening which lets you monitor and track influential supporters and it has an advocacy module that makes it easy for you to turn your advocates into donors. 

Organize your supporters with the built in tools to manage your volunteers and coordinate your canvassing or phone bank events. 

The digital portion lets you build multi channel ad campaigns. The platform includes data visualization tools so you can make use of all the various data sets that your organization accumulates. 

Nonprofits can make the most out the remaining giving days in the year, reports The Nonprofit Times. 

You’ve survived Giving Tuesday – and hopefully come out of it with a nice boost of donation revenue for your nonprofit.

Read article on The Nonprofit Times

New Story, a nonprofit that focuses on using tech to build affordable housing, plans on having 50 new homes erected a Mexico community by the end of 2020. 

A giant 3D printer built two houses in an impoverished, rural part of Mexico last week, breaking ground on what will be the first 3D-printed neighborhood in the world.

Read article on Fox 2 Now

According to the Biz Tech Magazine, integrated giving is one of several technology trends that will impact nonprofits in 2020. 

Nonprofits have a lot on their plates. Charitable giving took a hit last year, declining for the first time since the Great Recession, forcing organizations to do more with less.

Read article on Biz Tech Magazine

Mobile friendly devices help contribute to the success of #GivingTuesday, reports Biz Tech Magazine.  

Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday are all behind us, but the long Thanksgiving weekend isn’t over yet. Many will be digging deep into their pockets again today, but not for themselves—this time, it’s for Giving Tuesday. 

Read article on BizTech Magazine