CommitChange Blog
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Leading with Values
In this age of rapid technological change, accelerating climate crisis, and political instability, it’s more important than ever for mission-driven organizations to consider the implications of the decisions we make every day. Here at CommitChange, it’s our privilege to help the nonprofits who use our platform grapple with the ethical challenges of doing good in…
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Diving Deeper Into Giving Tuesday
My advice to nonprofit professionals is to create a “fundraising ecosystem,” and Giving Tuesday is the perfect vehicle to do so. Giving Tuesday is a short-term, standalone campaign with massive branding recognition and a way for a wider supporter-base to discover your nonprofit. Instead of treating your social media presence as a one-stop promotion shop…
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Fundraising Lessons: Food Banks
We’ve been working alongside food banks since 2012 and have seen hundreds of different fundraising strategies along the way. Core social service nonprofits tend to be the most resource constrained because operational efficiency translates into lives affected, but that can lead to a culture of perpetual desperation — which can trap development teams in cycles…
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How Radiotopia Raised $750K in Annual Recurring Donations
One of my favorite examples of sustainable fundraising is Radiotopia, a nonprofit that funds the operational costs for podcasts like 99% Invisible, Criminal, and The Heart. They launched on Kickstarter in 2014 and raised over $620,000 in one-time donations; then they realized that Kickstarter wasn’t going to be sustainable for ongoing fundraising. They reached…
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Fundraising Events Redefined
Since 1997, San Mateo Police Activities League (PAL) has provided recreational, educational, and leisure activities thousands of San Mateo youth. Supported by a volunteer board of directors and a staff consisting of police officers and city employees, PAL is building a stronger and safer community through San Mateo’s most valuable asset: kids. CommitChange recently spoke with Fund…
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Donation Processing Guide for Nonprofits
Example donation processing systems for nonprofits. L to R: CommitChange, Ejoinme, and unknown. Overview: Collecting Donations Online Nonprofits raise over $20 billion every year from individual donors and that number is growing rapidly as internet usage becomes ubiquitous and smartphones proliferate, even among older supporters. In the midst of this cultural upheaval, it’s critical that…
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Donation Processing Best Practices
Note: This article assumes you have a basic understanding of online donation processing. If you’re brand new to the concept, read our Donation Processing Guide for Nonprofits. Donation processing is a surprisingly complex subject, and one of our biggest ongoing challenges here at CommitChange. By focusing rigorously on the giving process, we’ve been able to increase…
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The Shifting Landscape of Supporters: Harnessing the Power of Storytelling Across Generations
As the donating power of Baby Boomers shifts to the wallets of younger generations, the landscape of nonprofit supporters is naturally changing. It logically follows that nonprofit fundraising strategies need to evolve in response to this new landscape. It is important to adopt practices that allow donors to utilize mobile devices to make donations, for…