5 Strategies for Unlocking Donor Advised Funds: What Nonprofits Must Know to Compete in Today’s Philanthropic Landscape

Published April 7, 2026

By Dwayne Ashley, CEO, Bridge Philanthropic Consulting, LLC.   We will always keep it plan and real about what’s happening in the sector that you need to know about. Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) have emerged as one of the greatest growth strategies for new funding and frequently misunderstood prospect opportunities in our sector. With more […]

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The Demographic Shift That Will Redefine Planned Giving Over the Next Decade

Published March 17, 2026

By Brantley Boyett, President & Co-Founder, Giving Docs   Planned giving has always been shaped by demographics. But over the next decade, the donor landscape is going to change more dramatically than it has in the last fifty years, and legacy programs will need to evolve with it. Three forces are converging: Americans are living […]

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Optimizing Decay

Published March 9, 2026

By Ben Miller, Senior Vice President of Data Science and Analytics, Bonterra Tech   What would an additional $150 billion in annual giving make possible? Consider this: closing America’s entire food insecurity gap, funding the difference between what food-insecure families have and what they need, costs an estimated $32 billion a year. The jump from […]

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Campaigns Are Not the Magic Cure-All: What Every Nonprofit Leader Needs to Know

Published March 2, 2026

By Barbara O’Reilly, CFRE, Founder and Principal, Windmill Hill Consulting   Campaigns hold a special kind of allure in the nonprofit world. They’re bold, they’re visible, and when they work, they can transform an organization’s trajectory. But after years of working in-house and consulting with nonprofits of all shapes and sizes, one thing is clear: […]

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How to Personalize Your Nonprofit’s Fundraising at Scale

Published February 2, 2026

By Sarah Tedesco, Chief Operating Officer and Part Owner, DonorSearch   As a nonprofit fundraising professional, you’ve likely heard the gist of why you should personalize donor communications many times. Your supporters want to know that they’re integral members of your organization’s community and partners in your mission-critical efforts, so your interactions with them should […]

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You’re Not Buying Paper Towels: Why Closed RFPs Fail Nonprofit Leaders

Published January 12, 2026

By Jim Bush, CEO, Winkler Group   If you’re buying paper towels, a closed RFP makes sense. You define the specifications, solicit bids, compare prices, and select a vendor. The product is standardized. The risk is low. If one supplier disappoints, you switch the next year. Campaign planning and strategic planning are not paper towels. […]

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How Patrick Lencioni’s The 6 Types of Working Genius Transforms the Way Nonprofit Teams and Boards Work Together

Published December 3, 2025

By Michelle Cramer, CFRE, President & CEO, Cramer & Associates   It was February 23, 2021, and I was doing one of my favorite things, listening to a podcast while getting ready for the day. The episode was from At the Table with Patrick Lencioni, one of my favorite authors and the brilliant mind behind […]

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What I Learned in My First Year as a Fundraising Consultant

Published November 24, 2025

By Bente Weitekamp, Senior Consultant, JGA Counsel   A little over a year ago, I made the transition into full-time consulting after spending 25 years as a fundraiser. It has been a year of both opportunities and rewards—marked by upheaval across the nonprofit sector, but also by the privilege of walking alongside leaders and organizations […]

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What the 2025 Bank of America Study of Philanthropy Means for Nonprofits—and How BWF Can Help

Published November 17, 2025

By Dennis Prescott, Senior Vice President, BWF       The 2025 Bank of America Study of Philanthropy, produced with the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, offers an up-to-date look at how affluent Americans are giving, volunteering, and thinking about impact. The headline is clear: Generosity remains strong, but the landscape is changing. […]

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