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Mixtape Communications Marketing Strategies for Nonprofits

We help nonprofits make a big impact with their marketing without the burnout. Our blog is your friendly guide to everything about nonprofit marketing and strategy, even if you’re working with a small team. Best of all, it’s grounded in over a decade of experience from your friends at Funraise.

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Productivity Hacks for Small Nonprofit Teams with Big Mission Goals

Small nonprofit teams are basically superheroes without capes, right? You're juggling fundraising, strategy, communications, and about seventeen other roles while trying to change the world. Here's the thing: you don't need a bigger team or budget to multiply your impact. You just need smarter systems that work as hard as you do. In this guide,…

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Data-Driven Insights

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Data-Driven Insights

The Mixtape Framework for Measuring Qualitative Mission Impact

If you've ever struggled to explain how your nonprofit changes lives in a board meeting or grant proposal, you're not alone. Sure, numbers are easy. Served 500 families, raised $200K. But what about the mom who finally felt heard? The teen who discovered their voice? Those transformative moments are your real mission impact, and they…

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Data-Driven Insights

Understanding Donor Analytics: Metrics That Actually Build Impact

Looking to make sense of your donor data without drowning in spreadsheets? Here's the thing: most nonprofit leaders get buried in numbers that don't actually tell them much. But when you track the right metrics, you'll finally understand what's working, which donors are sticking around, and where your next big opportunity lives. In this guide,…

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Data-Driven Insights

Why is Data Important for Nonprofit Organizations

If you're running a nonprofit with a small team, you've probably felt that familiar tension between wanting to do more good and drowning in spreadsheets. Here's the thing: data doesn't have to be overwhelming or reserved for organizations with fancy analytics departments . In our experience, the right approach to data actually reduces burnout while…

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Digital Fundraising

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Digital Fundraising

How to Reduce Friction in Your Online Giving Experience

Picture this: someone lands on your donation page, inspired and ready to give. But then they encounter a clunky form, too many fields, or a confusing checkout process. They hesitate, close the browser, and your opportunity evaporates. Sound familiar? If you're a nonprofit marketer working with a small team, every lost donation stings. The good…

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Digital Fundraising

Optimizing Your Mobile Giving Page for Maximum Conversions

Look, if you're reading this, you probably already know mobile giving matters. But here's the thing: knowing it matters and actually optimizing for it are two very different beasts. We've found that most nonprofits are missing huge opportunities simply because their donation pages weren't built with thumbs in mind. So let's figure out how to…

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Digital Fundraising

Innovative Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Techniques to Try in 2026

Peer-to-peer fundraising? It's not just growing anymore. It's evolving into something we barely recognize from a few years ago. The top 30 U.S. P2P programs pulled in $1.14 billion in 2024, up 3% from 2023 , with 2.5 million participants proving this model's got serious staying power (Nonprofit PRO). But here's the thing: traditional walk-a-thons…

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Donor Psychology

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Donor Psychology

Guide to Donor Retention for Nonprofits

Looking to keep your donors around for the long haul? You're in the right place. Donor retention is honestly the secret sauce of sustainable fundraising , but here's the thing: most nonprofits are way better at finding new supporters than keeping the ones they've got. In our experience working with small nonprofit teams, smart retention…

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Donor Psychology

How to Create Donor Pyramid to Maximize Donor Engagement in Your Nonprofit

If you're running a small nonprofit team, you know the feeling: you're juggling acquisition, retention, major gifts, and somehow supposed to grow revenue—all without burning out. Here's the thing: the donor pyramid can be your strategic friend here . It's basically a visual fundraising model that segments donors by giving levels, engagement, and potential, helping…

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Donor Psychology

The Psychology Behind Recurring Giving: Why Supporters Stay Committed

When a donor clicks "make this monthly," something pretty interesting happens beyond just setting up an automatic payment. They're actually entering into a psychological contract that taps into habit formation, identity, and all sorts of cognitive triggers that can keep them engaged for years. And here's the thing: understanding why supporters stay committed to recurring…

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Email and Multi-Channel Campaigns

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Email and Multi-Channel Campaigns

How Often Should You Email Your Donors? Expert Insights

Finding the right email frequency for your nonprofit can feel like you're constantly second-guessing yourself. Send too many, and you risk annoying your supporters. Send too few, and they might forget you're out there doing amazing work. Here's the thing: there's no one-size-fits-all answer. Expert recommendations range from 1-2 emails per month to 3-5 per…

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Email and Multi-Channel Campaigns

25 Best Nonprofit Email Marketing Tips to Win Your Whole-Year-Round Giving Season

Look, we're all a little tired of treating email like it's only for December panic mode, right? Here's the thing: email marketing has quietly become the workhorse of nonprofit fundraising, delivering an average ROI of 4200% (yep, that's $42 back for every dollar spent) (Funraise). But the real challenge isn't just sending emails. It's building…

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Email and Multi-Channel Campaigns

The Ultimate Nonprofit Email Campaign Checklist for 2026

You know that sinking feeling when you send an email campaign and crickets? We've all been there. Email might not be the flashiest marketing channel out there (sorry, TikTok), but it's still the workhorse of nonprofit fundraising. The thing is, inboxes are more crowded than ever, and your supporters are getting bombarded from every direction.…

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Ideas

17 Grassroots Fundraising Ideas for Community Nonprofits

Look, if you're running a nonprofit with a small team, you've probably felt that ache of wanting to do more but wondering where the budget's going to come from. Grassroots fundraising is basically your secret weapon here. We're talking about mobilizing everyday supporters through scrappy, creative tactics like community events, peer-to-peer campaigns, and local partnerships.…

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Leadership

Productivity Hacks for Small Nonprofit Teams with Big Mission Goals

Small nonprofit teams are basically superheroes without capes, right? You're juggling fundraising, strategy, communications, and about seventeen other roles while trying to change the world. Here's the thing: you don't need a bigger team or budget to multiply your impact. You just need smarter systems that work as hard as you do. In this guide,…

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Leadership

10 Mistakes Nonprofit Leaders Make When Managing Volunteers

Volunteer management can be the secret sauce that amplifies your nonprofit's impact, or it can become one more exhausting thing on your already overflowing plate. We've worked with enough nonprofits at Funraise to spot the patterns that lead to high turnover, frustrated volunteers, and staff burnout on both sides of the equation. So let's walk…

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Leadership

What is Compassion Fatigue? Understanding Burnout in Nonprofit Sector

Working in nonprofits means you're carrying others' pain alongside your own already-full workload. Look, it's a beautiful calling, but here's the thing: there's a real cost. Compassion fatigue is what happens when prolonged exposure to others' suffering drains you emotionally, physically, and spiritually. It hits nonprofit workers particularly hard through what's called secondary trauma. In…

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Marketing

Social Media Benchmarks and Statistics for Nonprofits

You're working hard on social media, posting regularly, trying to keep up with every platform. But here's the question that probably keeps you up at night: is any of it actually working? Without benchmarks, you're basically guessing whether your efforts are moving the needle or just eating up your already limited time. Here's the good…

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Marketing

Impactful Mission Statement for Nonprofits (Write Draw Act Framework)

Your mission statement isn't just a sentence collecting dust on your website. It's the compass guiding every program, fundraising appeal, and volunteer conversation you have. For nonprofit leaders working with lean teams, crafting a mission that actually moves people (and resources) can feel overwhelming. That's where the Write Draw Act Framework comes in—a practical, three-step…

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Storytelling and Communication

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Storytelling and Communication

50 Creative Campaign Name Ideas for Your Next Big Initiative

Naming a campaign probably isn't the first thing on your to-do list when you're already juggling a million other tasks. But here's the thing: a catchy campaign name can be your secret weapon. It's not just about sounding clever. The right title sparks donor excitement, boosts social shares, and makes your cause stick in people's…

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Storytelling and Communication

Why Character-Driven Stories Resonate More Than Data in Nonprofit World

If you've ever stared at a spreadsheet of campaign metrics wondering why donors aren't responding the way you hoped, you're not alone. We get it. In our experience working with nonprofits, there's this constant pull toward data because it feels safe, measurable, and board-meeting-friendly. But here's the thing: character-driven stories cut through the noise by…

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Storytelling and Communication

Storytelling for Nonprofits How to Make Your Mission More Relatable

Looking to make your nonprofit's mission stick in people's minds? Here's the thing: donors scroll right past statistics, but they'll stop everything for a good story. We've found that the real difference between a forgettable appeal and a campaign that actually converts comes down to making your mission feel personal, not just important. In our…

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Technology and AI

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Technology and AI

Prompt Engineering for Nonprofit Managers

Look, if you're running a nonprofit with a small team, you already know the drill. The to-do list never ends, donor emails need that personal touch, social posts are staring you down, and don't even get us started on grant applications. AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Funraise AI promise to help, but here's the…

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Technology and AI

How AI is Transforming Marketing Automation for Small Nonprofits

Look, we've all been there. You're running a nonprofit with a team so small you could fit everyone in a minivan, and somehow you're supposed to create marketing campaigns that compete with organizations that have entire departments. It's exhausting just thinking about it. Here's the thing, though. AI-powered marketing automation is actually changing this game…

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Technology and AI

AI-Assisted Donor Research: How to Work Smarter in 2026

Why AI Changes Everything for Donor Prospecting Remember when donor research meant drowning in spreadsheets for hours, manually digging through wealth indicators, and basically crossing your fingers that your gut feeling about major gift prospects was actually right? Yeah, those days are fading fast. In 2026, AI-assisted donor research has turned that exhausting grind into…

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