StratusLIVE

The hardest gap in fundraising isn't acquisition. It isn't renewal. It's stewardship. I had the privilege of presenting "The Stewardship Gap: Turning Acknowledgment Into Relationship" at SYNC 2026 last week, and the conversation that followed confirmed something I've believed for years: most organizations have strong programs to get the gift and strong programs to renew the gift — and almost nothing happening in between. A receipt is not stewardship. An auto-generated thank-you email is not stewardship. Stewardship is a proactive calendar of touchpoints tied to donor milestones, impact updates, and genuine recognition — the moments that make a donor feel seen between the asks. If your CRM is sitting on years of donor history and you're only using it at solicitation time, you're leaving the most important work undone. What's one stewardship touchpoint you could add this quarter that has nothing to do with asking for money? #DonorStewardship #Fundraising #NonprofitLeadership #SYNC2026#StratusLIVE

Three days. A room full of nonprofit leaders. One ocean view. StratusLIVE User Conference, SYNC 2026, is officially in the books, and I'm still processing everything we shared at Virginia Beach last week. Our theme, Beyond Data: AI for Human Connection, wasn't just a tagline. It was the through-line of every keynote, every breakout, every late night conversation at the bar. Because the organizations doing the most meaningful work in this sector right now aren't the ones chasing the shiniest tech. They're the ones using their data to see their donors more clearly, serve their missions more faithfully, and build relationships that outlast any campaign. To every client who traveled to be with us: thank you. You make this community what it is. Now, back to work. The real proof of a great conference is what happens in the next 90 days. #SYNC2026 #NonprofitTech #Fundraising #Stewardship #StratusLIVE

Final day of SYNC 2026. This week reminded us why we do this. Yes, we have spent time demoing features and sharing roadmaps, but to sit across the table from the people using our platform every day and hear what matters to them is why we planned this. The energy this week has been incredible. The questions have been sharp. The feedback has been honest. And the community in this room has made it clear that the nonprofit sector is ready to move forward with purpose! Thank you to everyone who joined us in Virginia Beach. You made this week incredible! Now we go build.

We've kicked off SYNC 2026 today in beautiful Virginia Beach and the conversation centers on a question nonprofit leaders are asking everywhere right now: how do we put AI to work without losing what makes this sector human? Today we are exploring connected intelligence across the donor lifecycle, what the modern fundraising ops team actually looks like, how to rethink prospecting with data signals instead of gut instinct, and why workplace giving deserves a bigger seat at the strategy table. Three days of real conversations with the people doing this work every day. We are ready!

The StratusLIVE team is at SERC 2026 in North Charleston this week. We're here to connect with United Way professionals and talk about what's next for nonprofit technology, integrated CRM, AI-driven fundraising, and workplace giving. Come find us if you're attending. We'd love to hear what your team is working on.

18% revenue growth. 33% higher average gifts. In one year. That was the National FFA Foundation's first year after replacing 14 disconnected systems with StratusLIVE. The growth did not come from a new campaign strategy or a bigger team. It came from finally having clean, unified donor data with the tools to act on it. We published the full case study breakdown on the blog. If your organization is managing constituent data across multiple platforms, this one is worth the read: https://hubs.ly/Q048G8-H0

#nonprofittechnology #NonprofitCRM #FundraisingLeaders #StratusLIVE #Nonprofitinnovation

The energy at Great Rivers Conference is exactly why we do this work! We are here connecting with United Way professionals and nonprofit leaders from across the region, and we came with something to share: a first look at Ignite Give at Work, our brand-new workplace giving experience. Pilot access is open exclusively to conference attendees, so find us if you want in. Joining us today is Ryan St.Peter from Dotdigital, walking through what a seamless integration between Dotdigital and StratusLIVE CRM looks like in practice. Two platforms built for nonprofit engagement, working together without friction. Find the StratusLIVE team on the floor. We'd love to connect.

The clock is ticking: Microsoft Fundraising and Engagement is retiring on December 31, 2026. No extensions. No further updates. Just a hard deadline. For the thousands of nonprofits still running on F&E, that deadline is closer than it feels and fundraisers know Q4 is the worst possible time to be mid-migration. We put together a complete guide covering everything you need to know: what Microsoft actually announced, your realistic migration options, how to evaluate any replacement, and a step-by-step process for moving to a Dynamics 365-native nonprofit CRM without disrupting your year-end fundraising. The organizations starting now have 9 months to do this right. The ones waiting until Q3 will be scrambling. Read the full guide here: https://hubs.ly/Q045D-j90