Drive Meaningful Change with One Integrated Comprehensive Solution

What are Giving Days?  A Giving Day is a dedicated day (usually 24 hours) that brings together fundraising, supporter engagement, social networks, and awareness to create a targeted multichannel campaign. One of the things that makes giving days unique is their time sensitive nature which helps create a sense of urgency so supporters will be moved to action. Some examples are: Worldwide Day of Giving, and Giving Tuesday, which is the most popular.   Read more »

Without an implementation plan, your organization could be rolling out big changes with no clear direction leading to stressed-out employees and inadequate outcomes. Here are some steps to take before your implementation process.  Read more »

Many organizations have been saddled with outdated, proprietary legacy systems that deliver as many nonprofit technology challenges as they do solutions. With Blackbaud ending support for Luminate CRM this summer, many nonprofits now question whether Luminate Online will serve their online giving needs now and into the future. Changing any technology solution can be a tough decision to make and knowing what to consider and where to start can seem overwhelming. Here are some things to think about:  Read more »

Running a nonprofit is difficult enough without keeping track of donors, streamlining fundraising, and managing your donations. Doing all those critical tasks by hand or using generalized software is possible, but it’s not ideal. Instead, choose a nonprofit CRM for your organization. The right nonprofit CRM platform, or customer relationship management software, can offer many advantages, help you run your organization, and maximize your relationships with donors. Today, let’s explore how to choose the right nonprofit CRM for your organization. Read more »

CRM or customer relationship management software is one of the best tools nonprofit organizations can leverage. With CRM software, you’ll better understand your target audience and manage your long-term relationships with your donors.That said, every nonprofit has its own needs. Whether you’re looking for CRM software for the first time or are considering switching from your current software to a new platform, you need to know what features to look for. Today, let’s break down the essential features of nonprofit CRMs – by the end, you’ll know how those features can benefit your objectives. Read more »

Employee giving campaigns managed underneath Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs translate an employee’s philanthropic passions into impact. These campaigns provide meaning to the workplace and demonstrate a company’s values to the public. Both companies and nonprofit organizations can manage these campaigns. Federated organizations may run these campaigns on behalf of their corporate partners. Traditional nonprofit organizations may partner directly with a corporate partner. Hospital networks may even manage employee campaigns that contribute to hospital foundations. If you’re ready to implement an employee giving program, or experiment with a new campaign type, here are five campaign ideas to try: Read more »

Strong, thriving nonprofits require great leaders.  This includes not only the CEO or Executive Director of the organization, but also skilled leaders in all areas, including programs, development, communications, and operations.  While leadership comes in many different forms, here are five key traits every nonprofit leader should cultivate in order to be successful: Read more »

Nonprofit organizations work tirelessly to secure and build corporate support through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs. These programs offer a unique blend of initiatives including corporate contributions through a foundation, cause marketing initiatives, or sponsorships. Nonprofit organizations secure other forms of corporate support by way of corporate employees through matching gifts, volunteer grants, skills-based volunteering, or employee giving programs. Read more »

Nonprofits investing in automation have increased in the last few years due to the pandemic. Organizations are working smarter not harder with fundraising platforms that free up time to focus on more strategic initiatives. Business automation has become more advanced allowing for easy cross-collaboration between all departments. Where can business automation be applied at your organization? Read more »

Today’s social and environmental challenges require cross-sector collaboration to drive effective and meaningful change. Corporate-nonprofit partnerships through initiatives such as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) offer a tremendous opportunity to leverage each partner’s unique strengths and work toward a collective goal. Prior to engaging in a partnership, it’s critical that nonprofit organizations along with their corporate partners consider their shared purpose. Read more »

Leadership is much more than providing direction and guidance to team members, as well as training and delivering feedback . It's a job that requires hard work and a diverse set of abilities. If you’re a leader, you know it can be a difficult job. Read more »

Organizations that adopt a next generation-driven donor engagement strategy can expect a whole new level of participation as this generation brings their personal connections and passions to the causes they care about. Read more »

Over time, your continued request to donate to your cause may fall on deaf ears.  That's why it’s important to sprinkle in other ‘asks’ to your supporters. These asks offer opportunities to educate and inspire further involvement with your cause. Through this process, you receive additional insights on your donors including their communication preferences or their capacity or willingness to give their time. These interactions serve as signals that inform future asks. Read more »

Individual giving is the lifeblood to nonprofit fundraising. As a nonprofit grows its individual donor base, it develops a pool of supporters upon which it can cultivate for sustained giving. Read more »

Here are some of the biggest philanthropy trends to watch out for this year, along with tips on how to leverage the trends t o strengthen your fundraising strategies .   Read more »

For too long, nonprofits have been held hostage to slow-moving, proprietary systems creating numerous challenges and preventing innovation.  These challenges create friction for donors, hinder internal collaboration, and underutilize IT staff. Ultimately, these legacy systems increase costs and threaten the security of nonprofit systems.  Despite these challenges, there is another world in which nonprofits can harness a vertical cloud solution: Read more »

CRM Software Defined CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management and it’s digital technology for managing customer data and relationships. The goal of CRM is to improve your relationships with your customers or donors in the nonprofit world. Read more »

One solution for event management. A different solution for peer-to-peer fundraising. Yet another solution for marketing. Does this nonprofit technology mishmash sound familiar? Read more »

What is Artificial Intelligence?  Artificial intelligence (AI) is the ability of a computer, or a robot controlled by a computer to do tasks that are usually done by humans. Artificial intelligence (AI) makes it possible for machines to learn from experience, adjust to new inputs, and imitate intelligent human behavior.  Some AI applications you may recognize include advanced web search engines (ex. Google), recommendation systems (used by YouTube, Amazon, and Netflix), understanding human speech (Siri and Alexa), and self-driving cars (ex. Tesla).  Read more »

StratusLIVE, the leading provider of cloud-based solutions for nonprofits, foundations, and workplace federations, announced today that Autism Speaks recently implemented its nonprofit CRM, StratusLIVE 365, to support their vision for a world where all people with autism can reach their full potential. Read more »

Active listening is a powerful skill, and it’s something we strive for at iWave. By listening to our clients and partners, we have learned about the need to ensure wealth screening, prospect research and fundraising is efficient and effective for their teams. From there, we commit to continuously identifying gaps and opportunities to improve our product and services. And since our focus is helping to make the researcher and/or fundraiser’s job easier, we take all feedback very seriously. One path we’ve taken, thanks to the  advice of our clients and partners, is to integrate iWave with other software applications you… Read more »

In today’s world of limited resources, many nonprofits are collaborating with other organizations for skills, resources, and contacts. Recent surveys conducted by the BridgespanGroup and the Patterson Foundation reveal that 91 percent of nonprofits engage in some form of collaboration.  Read more »

Your organization secured a budget for nonprofit technology and chose a provider after a lengthy selection process – well done! However, the work isn’t over quite yet! Now’s the time to prepare your organization for the implementation process. At StratusLIVE, we have a 100% implementation success rate, so we’ve learned a thing or two about the process and some common pitfalls to avoid. If you consider these common mistakes prior to embarking upon this process, you’ll set your team and organization up for success. Read more »

Without an implementation plan, your organization could be rolling out big changes with no clear direction leading to stressed-out employees and inadequate outcomes. Here are some steps to take before your implementation process.  Read more »

  Most companies already practice some form of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the communities they work in, either through direct donations and sponsorships or employees volunteering for local charities.  While CSR can be beneficial to your business, you shouldn’t design them as a method to increase profits.   Read more »

Planning Your Campaign The first step in an online giving campaign is to start with a plan. Decide what is it that you're fundraising for: Maybe you want to raise 5,000 dollars to build a food pantry for students or raise 10,000 for a scholarship fund. Use this goal to set up the framework for your peer-to-peer campaign. Next set an activity timeline. Planning will keep your team aligned and your campaign organized for maximum impact. Make sure everyone knows dates and what to expect. Have a kick-off date to track activities and to motivate your team and supporters.  Ideas for… Read more »

Donor activation is critical for a successful peer-to-peer fundraising campaign. In this post, we’ll outline three audiences to target for your next peer-to-peer campaign. We’ll also provide suggestions to encourage your donors to participate because peer-to-peer fundraising is much more than launching a pretty campaign page. Read more »

StratusLIVE, the leading provider of cloud-based solutions for nonprofits, foundations, and workplace federations, announced today that The Army Historical Foundation recently selected its nonprofit customer relationship management (CRM), StratusLIVE 365, and online giving platform, StratusLIVE Ignite, to support their mission to honor the American Soldier. Kerri Kline, the foundation’s VP of Operations, described the importance of engaging Americans in the campaign to build and support the National Museum of the United States Army as the Museum’s official foundation. “The Army's history is our nation's history, so our foundation works hard to involve grateful Americans from across the country in our… Read more »

What is Peer-to-Peer Fundraising?  Read more »

StratusLIVE is proud to share that United Way of Greater Houston has selected StratusLIVE Ignite to facilitate their workplace giving campaigns and inspire individual giving. Read more »

Workplace giving campaigns have become the fundraising lifeblood for United Ways and other federated fundraisers. However, in an increasingly complex fundraising environment, it’s important to explore strategies to engage individual givers. Here are five ways to cultivate your donor base outside the workplace: Read more »

Many federated nonprofits have an overwhelming influx of data coming in, including information about their donors and supporters, and information from their affiliates, each with their own data and systems.    Read more »

Have you been curious about cryptocurrency and how it would work for your nonprofit? A few charities have started accepting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from their constituents. Here’s what you need to know about cryptocurrency: Read more »

What does CRM stand for? CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management and it’s digital technology for managing customer data and relationships. The goal of CRM is to improve your relationships with your customers or donors in the nonprofit world. Read more »

StratusLIVE, a leading provider of cloud-based solutions for nonprofits, foundations, and workplace federations, announced today a major upgrade and expansion of the StratusLIVE Ignite Online Giving Platform. Read more »

Authenticity, purpose, and connection… these themes were reflected in our most read blog posts published this year. Read more »

It's that time of year when donors are inundated with year-end fundraising appeals, and nonprofit organizations struggle to have their messaging stand out. By offering new fundraising ideas, your donors will be excited to create meaningful holiday traditions.  Read more »

The need for digital engagement opportunities for donors will only increase in importance. If your organization has yet to respond to the needs of today's donors, it’s difficult to know where to begin. Read more »

Donor-centric fundraising is not a new phenomenon. Popularized by the fundraising expert, Penelope Burke, donor-centric fundraising responds to donor needs while it increases donor loyalty and gift amount. Read more »

To accurately set expectations and goals for future fundraising initiatives, it’s important to evaluate your campaign history and create a habit of data analysis. This approach along with identifying trends both within and outside your industry and researching donor expectations will ensure you prepare for the future while you realize your own organization’s success. Read more »

The age of the digital donor is upon us. This progression presents opportunities and challenges for the nonprofit industry. Those organizations that peek into the future to identify trends and remain relevant will more aptly respond to their donors’ needs. Read more »

A year spent apart along with an increasing reliance on digital tools to connect leave most of us longing for more genuine togetherness. This longing may include belonging to a community that reinforces our ideals, supports our values, and inspires us to work together toward the greater good. Read more »

Is your nonprofit keeping up with digital fundraising challenges? In today's challenging and competitive environment, nonprofits are adapting and evolving the way they operate and serve their communities by using the power of integrated, donor-focused technology. As innovative technologies develop, nonprofits are embracing change in order to take themselves to the next level.  Read more »

Ted Lasso is taking the world by storm with his positive, can-do leadership style – a breath of fresh air in our current environment. Read more »

Is it just us, or has the terminology ‘nonprofit impact’ become trite and meaningless? The very nature of nonprofit work creates ‘impact,’ but how? Is it quantifiable or just a feeling? Read more »

CIOReview Magazine selected StratusLIVE as a most promising Microsoft Solution Provider in its July, 2021 edition. This is a listing of the 50 top companies that are at the forefront of providing Microsoft software solutions and transforming businesses. StratusLIVE is the only provider included in the list that focuses on solutions for nonprofit clients. Read more »

For many nonprofits, the pandemic added a jetpack to their digital transformation efforts. Although in-person events are returning slowly, nonprofit leaders must continue to invest in digital strategies to engage donors and improve fundraising efforts. In this part two of our webinar recap, we'll discuss the five digital strategies to fuel all-donor engagement. (Dig into part one of this series, here. )  Read more »

Hybrid events offer both in-person and digital experience options. These events provide flexibility for your attendees while they assist your organization in donor acquisition.  Read more »

In 2020, many nonprofits converted their marketing, fundraising, and operations functions into an all-digital environment instantaneously. Before you move full speed ahead into the remainder of 2021, it’s important to revisit and future-proof your digital marketing and fundraising strategies for the future. Read more »

As almost everything has turned to automation and a digital-first society, it can be easy to overlook an aspect of fundraising critical to the relationship with your donors - showing genuine and authentic gratitude. Read more »