The newest Blackbaud Luminate Online® Benchmark Report provides unique insight to online fundraising during its meteoric rise in 2020. Learn more about the shift to email engagement, how one-time online giving changed nonprofit revenue composition, and the steady march of sustainer donors. Joining the podcast today are report analysts Mike Snusz, Rachael Ahrens, and Deb Ashmore of Blackbaud’s Professional Services team as well as Erik Leaver, Principal Customer Success Manager. They also share their predictions for the next big online fundraising opportunity in this new guide.

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

• Background on the Luminate Online Benchmark Report
• The difference between this year’s report and previous reports
• Increases in online one-time giving
• Growth in number of gifts, but not the amounts of the gifts
• Growth in first-time online donors
• When the biggest spikes occurred
• Lessons learned from 2020
• Growth of email fundraising and engagement
• Growing sustainer programs
• How data is segmented in the report
• Lessons learned from different sizes of organizations
• Takeaways from the metrics
• The reliability of open rates

Resources:

Blackbaud Luminate Online Benchmark Report

Quotes: 

“Ultimately, I always like to have nonprofits know that the best benchmarks are your own.”

“Be prepared for emergency giving.”

“Those that grow the fastest have the most robust direct acquisition strategies.”

We are now just a little more than a month from GivingTuesday is getting closer all the time, you don’t need to stress if your organization hasn’t yet developed its plan. Today, Blackbaud’s GivingTuesday experts Matt Connell and Jackie Zimmerman join the podcast to talk about the value of Giving Tuesday, how organizations can start planning now for a successful day, and the GivingTuesday campaigns have inspired them.

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

• Why Matt and Jackie value Giving Tuesday
• What organizations should do if they don’t yet have a plan for Giving Tuesday
• Tips and tricks for GivingTuesday
• Content strategies for GivingTuesday
• Examples of successful GivingTuesday campaigns
• Resources that can help organizations with GivingTuesday

Resources:

Giving Tuesday Toolkit

Giving Tuesday Webinar Series

Quotes: 

“While we should be giving every day of the year, let’s make sure that we especially give on this particular day of the year.” –Jackie Zimmerman

“If this, again, is your first experiment with it, you’re not the first people experimenting with it.” –Matt Connell

“Giving Tuesday is the day I make sure that my matching gift is used up for the year.” –Matt Connell

Digital communications have become ever more important over the last year and a half, and visual storytelling is a critical part of an effective strategy. Visual images help supporters visualize and understand what the organizations are doing, and how their contributions make a difference.

That's why today we are bringing back an ever relevant episode originally recorded at bbcon 2018 featuring Ira Horowitz, the founder of Cornershop Creative. Listen in to hear what Ira has to say about why visuals matter in storytelling, how to demonstrate to donors that they can be the heroes of the story, and how to match copy with the right visuals for maximum impact. 

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

• Why visual storytelling matters to fundraising
• Ways that organizations can make donors the heroes of the stories they’re telling
• Resources that organizations can use to get the visual images that they need
• Matching the right copy and content with the right visual images
• How to test and fine-tune a story over time
• How to make use of imagery even when an organization has limited staff or resources
• How visuals can help make data more comprehensible
• Examples of great visual storytelling

Resources:

• Ira Horowitz
• Cornershop Creative
• Blackbaud University: Multimedia Storytelling