Feeling stretched thin? Learn the three levels of fundraising, quick cash, scaling, and sustainability, and where small nonprofits should focus first.

There's a version of grant writing that lives in a lot of people's heads: you find the right opportunity, you write a compelling application, you hit submit, and the money shows up. If only! Anyone who has done this work knows the truth is a lot less transactional and a lot more relational.

Grants, like individual giving, are fundamentally about relationships. And once you start treating them that way, everything about your approach starts to shift, in a good way.

As you’re examining new ways to get funding pumping through the metaphorical veins of your nonprofit, the options are myriad. On the flip side, potential donors have many choices when it comes to methods of giving, and one increasingly popular selection, especially among older, high-income Americans, is a donor-advised fund (DAF).

Fundraising and development are part of the core work that makes nonprofits sustainable. Established nonprofits will consider a Capital Campaign to secure funding for a tangible goal at some point in their life cycle. Capital campaigns are fundraising plans to raise money for specific large ticket items like buildings, properties, remodels, and to start endowments. These campaigns are usually carried out over longer periods of time (think multiple years).