An online community platform, Hivebrite services the education, alumni & nonprofit sectors. Nonprofits benefit from a community platform since they rely on their volunteers and community to reach their constituents. Through content management, events, and data analytics - platforms like Hivebrite make it easier for charities to communicate with both their donors and volunteers.

In Use:

Branding themselves as the “most powerful solution for community managers” - the platform aims to help their clients engage with their members easier and more efficiently. Customers can utilize three major solutions within the Hivebrite platform. Hivebrite features a data management solution where clients can important and export member data; an event management tool with automated emails, ticketing, and online payment; and a communications management tool which comes with a CMS feature and an RSS feed. In addition, users have access to a branded community mobile App through the App Store and Google Play.

Technology Used:

Hivebrite is a cloud-based solution that can be accessed from anywhere on a user’s mobile, tablet, or desktop computer from the office or while on vacation.

Hivebrite also boasts a number of integrations including Salesforce, G-Suite, and Blackbaud – which makes it easier for charities to ensure their donor and volunteer data is up-to-date. The community platform also integrates with social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Ease of Use:

Users should take advantage of the training that the platform offers. According to users Hivebrite can take time to acclimate to. Hivebrite offers In-person training, virtual webinars, and assets to learn how to navigate the platform. Users can also utilize email, phone, and chat support, access Hivebrite’s FAQ and Knowledge Base if they are having any issues.

Recap:

Hivebrite is a community platform that nonprofits can utilize to stay connected to both their donors and volunteer, strengthening their engagement with their community. Among many other features, a subscription to Hivebrite includes the ability to process payments, create branded donation pages, and organize events.  According to Marie-Christine V’s review on G2, a tech marketplace – Hivebrite, “ interacts in a new way, stimulates engagement, makes it possible to capture the value of a community…” She goes on to say, “The potential of cooperation and reciprocity makes it different from, for instance, LinkedIn.”-

Advantages

• Many users appreciate the support that Hivebrite gives them
• Hivebrite is customizable when it comes to the branded pages and reporting and analytics
• With a “turn on/turn off” feature – Hivebrite allows nonprofits to only use the tools they need at no additional cost.

Disadvantages

• Price is not noted on their website
• While Hivebrite has an arsenal of assets available to learn how to use the platform, an IT professional may need to help you set up the platform
• There are limited integrations

My Opinion:

Many comments and reviews are from users that are happy with their subscription to Hivebrite. They note the ability to customize branding pages, the number of available features, and the support team.

The lack of pricing on their website indicates to me that it is probably expensive, but it’s worth viewing a demo of the product if your nonprofit is looking for a community management solution.

Coming onto the scene in 2015, Blackthorn.io became a Salesforce partner in 2016. As a native app - Blackthorn’s technology sits on top of Salesforce creating a seamless, secure connection. Salesforce users who utilize any native app like Blackthorn can rely on real time and accurate reporting with no integration with Salesforce needed since native apps were created in Salesforce specifically for Salesforce users.

In Use:

Blackthorn employs an array of solutions to help Salesforce users engage with their clientele. With roughly two hundred Blackthorn customers identifying as nonprofits, Blackthorn helps charities of all different sizes take advantage of a robust solution that enables their users to manage events, process payments, comply with data laws and communicate through a SMS messaging app. All within Salesforce’s ecosystem.

While Blackthorn has received accolades for all of their solutions – they are most well known for their event management and payment processing tools. Nonprofits who opt for the event management solution enjoy customizable registration pages, auto-generated event URLs, and integrations with Strike, Zoom, and Doculink to securely share invoices. The app is also mobile responsive, and attendees can check in to events using their mobile device. Living in Salesforce, nonprofits don’t have to worry about data not transferring over or duplicate entries when uploading contacts.

Pricing begins at $575 per month for the payment module and $875 for the event solution. Charites and nonprofits do receive a discount.

Ease of Use:

One reason that Blackthorn.io is easy to use is that there are no bulky spreadsheet uploads or need to sync databases. Data is updated in real time and is always accurate. You’ll never have to wonder why you have ten people registered but only 8 people uploaded to Salesforce.

Blackthorn is also “easy to use” by design. “If you have to read a document, it’s already too complicated,” Matt Frank, Blackthorn’s Director of Technology Evangelism & Product Marketing said on a call. Ease of use is not only important to Frank but Blackthorn as a whole. They believe that “software shouldn’t require an expert to run it.” With many nonprofit organizations relying on volunteers who wear many hats – this is ideal.

Customer representatives are on hand to help users navigate the solution or day-of-event troubles. They have people on staff 24/5 but they are able to have representatives available to monitor and track issues should an event occur on the weekend. They have worldwide coverage from North America to South Asia and Australia.

Technology Used:

Blackthorn.io is a cloud-based technology. The only exception is the event solution that incorporates a mobile check-in application for in-person events.

Recap:

Blackthorn is an event management solution that is considered a “native app” to Salesforce – or a solution that sits on top of Salesforce’s technology. With Blackthorn, users can run an event seamlessly while never leaving their Salesforce instance. This allows the users to feel confident that their data is secure and accurate. They also have a payment and compliance solution and a solution for SMS messaging.

Advantages:

• Offers a seamless connection for Salesforce users
• Integrates with Zoom, Doculinks, and Stripe
• Is mobile responsive and has a mobile check in for events

Disadvantages:

• It’s expensive – even with a discount for nonprofits
• There are only three templates to choose from when creating an event page
• Only for Salesforce users

My Opinion:

Originally, I thought this would be a tool for only large nonprofits because of the price. While I appreciate that Blackthorn gives nonprofits a discount – I still can’t see many small nonprofits being able to afford such a high monthly payment. With only three templates to choose from when creating an event page – there are cheaper options available.

That being said, Blackthorn.io’s biggest advantage is that it’s a native app to Salesforce and many users have commented on how easy it is to navigate. Like Matt Frank, I agree that any nonprofit solution should be easy to use because volunteers wear many hats.

Combining different tools and technologies, Golden, a volunteer management software empowers nonprofit organizations to manage volunteer activities from the creation of the event to the execution, and finally to reporting statistics and analyzing data through various automation capabilities and integrations.

In Use:

Steve Sherrill, COO of Golden emphasized the importance of integration. Sherrill who has been with Golden for the past five years stated - “We believe very strongly in interoperability of technology platforms. All technologies that a nonprofit use should talk to each other to have a coherent and cohesive view of their constituents across all different activities…” It’s important to Sherrill and Golden that charities view their fundraising goals and volunteer retention rates in one place.  

A main focus of Golden is automation. Golden is equipped with push notifications to remind volunteers that they signed up for an event, QR codes for easy check-in or digital waivers for volunteers who sign up on site saving nonprofits time – as these would otherwise be manual tasks. To put this in perspective - Golden was able to save the Midwest Food Bank over 400 hours per chapter per year due to automation and volunteer engagement.

In addition to the dashboard that nonprofits can login to, charities can also utilize a mobile app to feature volunteer opportunities. Prospective volunteers in the area can sign up using the app. 

Golden varies in pricing. According to Sherrill- “Smaller organizations can access advanced features for as little as $25/month, whereas CRM integrations start at $75/month.” He also noted that additional branding and customizable packages are available upon request. Advanced features include email automation, statistics, digital waivers, and access to their mobile responsive app.

Ease of Use:

– Golden’s primary clientele are nonprofits so they understand the need for easy-to-use solutions. Often a nonprofit only has a few volunteers to manage fundraising, donor retention, and volunteer recruitment. Having a tool like Golden makes it easier to for small to medium nonprofits to see their data in one place. As the nonprofit organization gets larger and integrates with CRMs, it does get a bit more complicated – but users will have access to resource centers, a customer support team, and real time chat during business hours.

Furthermore, the dashboard that charities use to track their progress and events is easy to use. The mobile app allows volunteers use to sign up for volunteer opportunities and push notifications to remind them of an event.

Technology Used:

While on its own, Golden – is a great volunteer management software, they really shine in their ability to integrate with popular CRMs. In this way, charities can see their data all in one place. Among the CRMs that Golden integrates with are Kindful, Salesforce, and Blackbaud.

The mobile responsive app is also available on both Apple and Android devices.

Recap:

A volunteer management software, Golden allows nonprofit organizations to save time and money by automating processes and procedures associated with volunteering. Golden users have access to a mobile app where volunteers can sign up for an event; send push notifications to remind volunteers about the event and digital waivers that volunteers can sign at the time of arrival.

Their backend dashboard also has the ability to integrate with a charity’s CRM to analyze fundraising goals, view donor retention rates and manage volunteers all in one place.

Advantages:

• Free 30-Day trial for Community and Professional plans
• Push notifications, digital waivers, and other tools and features to save charities time and money
• Integrations with the top CRMs like Blackbaud and Kindful
• Customizable and branding opportunities available

Disadvantages:

• Customer service isn’t available 24/7 for events after working hours
• Mobile app could be more intuitive for both charities and nonprofits

My Opinion:

There are many features that nonprofits can benefit from by signing up for Golden. They can automate emails and reach their constituents for fundraising and volunteer opportunities. With the ability to try out the software with a 30-day free trial – you can’t lose.

As the software matures, I would like to see more access to customer service. If I was organizing an event on the weekend and something went wrong with digital waivers or checking in volunteers there wouldn’t be any way for me to contact Golden because their customer service representatives only work during business hours.  

I’d also like to see the mobile app improved. It’s a great idea to feature volunteer opportunities in the area but I’d like to see the app be a bit more intuitive. I don’t live close to Florida but yet I was getting in-person volunteer events in Florida. It’s also discouraging when you sign up for the app wanting to help your community and you don’t see any events in your area. 

Otherwise, Golden is a great opportunity for a nonprofit to fundraise and connect with their volunteers and donors. It’s easy to see that Golden put a lot of thought into creating their software. It shows with the added tools and features that their customers can utilize.

In person events have slowly made a comeback as organizations opt for in-person events versus the virtual events we’ve seen for the past few years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As the number of events increase – nonprofit organizations need a way to sell, keep track-of and report on ticket sales. Ticket Tailor, an event ticketing platform enables businesses and charities to sell tickets to events, galas, auctions, and webinars through their website.

In Use:

Ticket Tailor works by giving organizations a space to sell tickets online to upcoming events both in-person or virtual. With Ticket Tailor – a nonprofit can build a landing page where attendees can register, create re-occurring events (such as workshops or webinars), and accepts major credit card payments as well as direct payment such as PayPal or Stripe.

Many features in the solution are customizable such as the URL, order confirmation page and the checkout form – allowing charities to brand their assets and promote their organization.

On the day of the event – tickets are easy to use on mobile devices and charities get access to a scanning app making check-in seamless. Using an app called Tazotix – a charity can review statistics of those who have checked in while filtering by ticket type.

Pricing won’t break the bank either. Ticket Tailor is committed to nonprofits and charities offering them a 20% discount.  There is also an option to pre-pay credits in advance for $0.26 per ticket. Forgot to purchase pre-paid credits? In that case – users pay just about $0.65 per ticket sold. Funds are deposited into a charity’s account through Stripe or PayPal and registrants have the option to pay by major credit card. Ticket Tailor does not charge a fee if the event itself is free.

Technology Used:

Ticket Tailor integrates with many different technologies that enables it to run smoothly. Attendees can pay online with Apple or Google Pay while charities can take payment using Stripe, PayPal or credit cards.

A feature that the platform offers users is the ability to create a registration page for the event where attendees can purchase tickets. The URL is customizable and integrates with WordPress. There are options to embed the event registration page into the charity’s website and share on social media directly from the platform’s dashboard. Charities can also create customizable links so they know how the attendees heard about the event whether it’s from the charity’s newsletter, an email campaign, or advertising.

After the event – it’s important to collect, digest, and report on the data that the event generated. With Ticket Tailor – users have access to an analytics dashboard that shows how many tickets were sold, how many tickets were redeemed, and total revenue. They also have an integration with MailChimp so they can transfer attendee data into their CRM instance for later use.

Ease of Use:

Ticket Tailor has numerous videos that walks a user step-by-step through the creation of an event.  A user can select the date of the event, input the venue, upload graphics while also setting parameters around the number of tickets sold. There is an option to have types of tickets such as general admission and VIP tickets that differ in prices. Users can also set a ticket limit while having the ability to activate a waitlist or set transaction fees. Charities and nonprofits have the option to allow their attendees to make a donation and/or pay the booking fee. So instead of the charity paying the $.65 platform fee per ticket – donors can incur the cost.

Besides how-to videos, Ticket Tailor offers a free trial, chat features, and email. What they don’t seem to have is a call center.

Recap:

Ticket Tailor is an event ticketing platform that gives charities and nonprofit organizations a 20% discount. The platform is more than just a place to sell tickets and offers users various tools and integrations.

A nonprofit can benefit from the platform from the time the registration page goes live –  all the way to post-event data collection.

Advantages:

• There is no fee for free events
• Charities and nonprofit organizations receive a 20% discount
• Numerous features help keep nonprofits on track throughout the lifecycle of the event
• Easy to use platform with helpful videos and chat features
• Option for donors to give an additional donation or incur the booking costs of each ticket

Disadvantages:

• There doesn’t seem to be an emergency number to call in case there are problems during the event
• Downloading post-event data can be a challenge for some users
• Ticket sales can only be transferred using Stripe or PayPal – and not directly to a bank account

My Opinion:

I would look into Ticket Tailor if I was hosting an event. It seems like many of these features have nonprofits in mind like the ability to have donors donate an additional amount to the charity and/or incur the booking costs for the nonprofits. 

Post-event I like that there is a specific analytical dashboard. While it may not be as robust as its competitors – I think it includes the “must-have” data points.

Nonprofits are organizations owned by shareholders and with no intention to earn profits. Rather, they seek to gain revenue to distribute for programs, grants and other support systems in society. While nonprofits are not required to earn profits by law, they have financial reporting systems at their disposal that helps them understand and report their financial statement. With auditing being a requirement of nonprofits, just like the for-profits, auditors and grantors, as well as the board of directors, might demand reports concerning the nonprofit’s financial health and the viability of the courses they are participating in. These financial documents are key to every nonprofit in the US.

1. Statement of financial position (SOP)

The statement of financial position (SOP) is a document that reflects the overall position of a nonprofit at a particular moment. It shows the snapshot of the nonprofit’s finances - listing assets in order of liquidity and the speed at which they can be converted to cash- and the liabilities in their order of length of obligation. This document is prepared at the end of the fiscal year, although some bigger nonprofits or those with extensive financial changes may choose to do it quarterly or monthly. The assets listed include cash and equivalents like gift cards, grants receivable or depreciable furnishing or equipment. On the other hand, the liabilities include grants due, accounts payable or debts.

2. Statements of activities

This document shows the revenue and expenses of your organization over a given reporting period. It shows that a nonprofit is a good steward of donations and works to accomplish its mission. The statement of activities shows how your net assets change over time, increasing as revenue comes in and reducing when you pay expenses. This statement is a nonprofit equivalent of an income statement for for-profits. The statement of activities distinguishes between permanently restricted, unrestricted and temporarily restricted activities in a nonprofit.

3. Statement of financial expenses

As implied by its name, the statement of functional expenses lists a nonprofit's expenses by their function, like the program, fundraising and administrative expenses. It also lists expenses by their type, which can be rent, utilities, salaries and benefits. It shows the balances that your nonprofit maintains between funding programs and staff. It also shows the administrative expenses and how a nonprofit attract competent and qualified staff. The costs can be in two or more categories at the same time.

4. Statement of cash flows

This financial statement provides a picture of the cash that comes in and out of a nonprofit in a given period. The period can be a year, a quarter, a month or on demand. It provides aggregate data on all cash inflows that a nonprofit receives from its operations and external investment sources. Furthermore, it includes three features of a nonprofit, which includes operating activities, investing activities and investing activities. The operating activities include unrestricted funds raised in a nonprofit through fundraising activities or cash from fee-for-service operations. Investing activities include expenses or earnings from purchasing or selling equipment or other long-term equipment. On the other hand, financing activities include aspects such as earnings from bond issuance.

5. Annual report

Instantaneously, nonprofits have enough information about finances not included in the statements above. This is where the annual report comes into play. The report can be useful in communicating your nonprofit’s fiscal health in more detail. The information in the annual report includes attendance records for fundraising initiatives or community events, lists of donors and their donations, and discussion regarding the nonprofit's mission and activities, such as successes in lobbying, volunteer support and others.

Most organizations plan for the unexpected, but not many planned for a global pandemic that would trigger an instant shift to remote work, and the massive amount of extra IT equipment and devices that this sudden transition required. According to one of our research reports, 97% of 600 global enterprises surveyed had to purchase new IT equipment. Now, with the vast majority of businesses having readjusted their operations back to “normal,” many employees have found their way back to the office, but enterprises are still dealing with the pandemic’s IT aftermath, among which is device redundancy. So, what can be done with all of the extra devices now that workers are back in the office?

One way that enterprises can deal with this redundancy is by partnering with non-profits for charitable giving in order to help underserved communities; however, there are important considerations on both sides, such as data security best practices and a sustainability mindset, that need to be factored in to make these partnerships blossom and achieve successful results:

• Finding the right fit -- Enterprises with redundant technology tend to be most motivated to contribute to non-profit organizations whose purpose and operations are synergistic with their corporate goals. For example, The Turing Trust, a charity that provides IT resources and training to schools in sub-Saharan Africa, is a non-profit that we as a business chose to partner with to support their cause. But there are a number of charities worldwide – e.g., World Computer Exchange (WCE), Computers with Causes, Cell Phones for Solders, etc. – that can be a match for various types of organizations seeking to meet the technology needs of underserved communities, from education groups to geographies where computer access is limited. One way that enterprises and non-profits can identify synergistic matches is through organizations that help charities in need find the specific equipment for donation – the Technology Donation Platform of the National Cristina Foundation is one such company.

• Ensuring data security in the enterprise – When enterprises consider donating equipment, they must consider how to keep their own data secure. It may seem like a time consuming process to go through and eradicate all the data on devices earmarked for donation, but there are automated ways of doing so. For instance, enterprises that use software like ServiceNow to manage digital workflows for their operations can set up a data hygiene checkpoint as a step that’s triggered in their automated workflows. If a device is classified as “redundant” by an employee, it can be part of a default automated checklist to mark the equipment due for data sanitization before its reused or recycled. This step also streamlines the process for equipment donations from the perspective of data security. With devices that are known to contain particularly sensitive information, there are extra assurances that can help enterprises avoid physical destruction in lieu of reuse, or in this case, donation. A software partner that can provide a data sanitization certificate with an audit trail will add peace of mind for the businesses giving away equipment. Destroying perfectly functional devices to maintain data privacy is an outdated method and should be reevaluated, especially as sustainable business practices remain top of mind with discussions about the growing e-waste problem and climate change.

• Bolstering data security at the charity level – To add an extra layer of security and to provide incentive for receiving donations, non-profits can also offer their own data sanitization assurances for device donations through software partnerships. For instance, The Turing Trust started out using freeware for erasing data from donated devices, but they were struggling to get interest from donor businesses as they were concerned about company data getting compromised. The non-profit then approached us to request free licenses, which we granted. The extra security measure helped donors feel more confident and more equipment donations started coming in. Since then, The Turing Trust has distributed more than 2,500 donated devices to schools across Africa. Enterprises that have excess equipment look favorably upon working with non-profits that can demonstrate advanced data security protocols.

There are many worthwhile charities that can leverage what we might consider out of date computers or assets that companies no longer need or use. Saving end-of-life hardware from landfill can not only benefit the environment from being spoiled by harmful chemicals and materials it can also help those underserved communities in many meaningful ways.

 Adam Moloney, CFO of Blancco

Developing a funding strategy for a nonprofit is a challenge that is sometimes hard to surmount. For a nonprofit to be successful, it must have a proper funding model that ensures it is liquid and can fund its operations, mission and vision. These models do not have to be general to be useful. A funding model is a methodological and standardized method of building a reliable revenue base to support an organization's core programs and services. Although many nonprofits seek funding from various sources, research has shown that 90 percent of the largest embraced funding models built around a single revenue source. Here are a few funding models you can consider for your nonprofit.

1. Heartfelt connector

Most nonprofits grow big by focusing mainly on causes that resonate with the current concerns of most people at all income levels. These organizations grow big by creating a structured way for people from all income levels and developing a structured approach. An example of such a nonprofits is Make-a-Wish Foundation. These nonprofits use the Heartfelt Connector funding model, which tries to build connections between the volunteers through fundraising events. Some of the causes that use this model are environmental, medical research and international causes. Questions asked when developing a heartfelt connector model include:

• Can the areas that are compelling about your company be communicated in a simple and concise manner?
• Have many people already shown that they will fund your cause in this domain?
• Does a natural avenue to attract and involve large numbers of volunteers exist?

2. Beneficiary builder

Some nonprofit organizations, like the Cleveland Clinic, get reimbursements for the services they provide to certain people. However, they rely on people that have benefited in the past from the nonprofit's services for more donations. Examples of Beneficiary Builders are universities and hospitals. Most funding for these nonprofits comes from fees paid by beneficiaries for the services offered by the nonprofits. Nonprofits will therefore try to build long-term relationships with people that have benefitted from the service to provide supplemental support; this brings about the name beneficiary builder.

3. Big bettor

This model is used by a few nonprofits, such as Stanley Medical Research Institute. Nonprofits using this model rely on major grants from a few people or foundations to fund their causes or operations. With this model, the primary donor is also a founder who wants to tackle a problem that they are deeply concerned with. Although these models launch with significant financial backing already secured, allowing fast growth, there are instances where an existing organization gets funding from one major donor who wants to fund a new way of funding a problem.

4. Public Provider

This fundraising model entails working with government agencies to offer essential social media services like human services, housing and education, which government usually defines and allocates funding. Nonprofits using the public provider fundraising model outsource service delivery functions in such instances but simultaneously establish requirements to receive funding. Those thinking of this model try to consider if their organizations are a natural match with more or large preexisting government programs if they can demonstrate that their organizations will do better and if they are willing to take better time to secure renewal of contracts regularly.

5. Policy innovator

Some nonprofits rely more on government money. They use this model to address social issues incompatible with the government's prevailing funding programs. The organizations convince the government funders to support alternative methods by presenting their solutions as more effective and cheaper than the existing fundraising methods.

The past decade has brought on a major change with corporate gifting, how companies perceive gifts, and the types of gifts their employees, vendors and clients enjoy. The proliferation of data through social media has helped refine superior methods to approach relationship management and how corporate gifting fits into this new paradigm. Here are five things companies need to consider with corporate gifting in 2022:

1. Relationship Building
   1. Gifting is about managing your relationships with customers, vendors, and employees.  Most commonly, companies wait until the holidays or a special milestone to give a gift and they need to do more than just that. If you’ve made the commitment to be an expert relationship manager, then you need to realize the opportunities to honor the most important moments in their life. This is how we create strong bonds: birthdays, new babies, anniversaries, sympathy gifts or even just because they need a pick-me-up. There is no better way to instill a positive connection to your recipient than acknowledging them and letting them know they are on your mind year-round.
2. Shared Experiential Gifts vs. Hard Goods 
   1. The experience of receiving a gift has become perfunctory with an abundance of water bottles and logo’d swag that will never be used. These are the types of cold and out-of-touch gifts that don’t build relationships. Conversely, when you offer someone an experience, they never forget that you remembered them.  Food gifts hit the top of the list for experiential gifts that allow the recipient to both delight over the process of opening the gift, but also allows them to share with family and friends, extending the shared experience to others.  Experiential food gifting is a magnificent way to actually grow your relationships with life events in mind.  Cakes make great birthday gifts and warm the soul.  Gorgeous gift baskets and gift towers have always been a mainstay for holidays, sympathy or just because. They’re all a thrill to receive and the treats never last long enough, but the memory of you sending  such a wonderful gift will resonate for years to come.
3. E-Certificates 
   1. The pandemic brought a major shift to the workforce—how are we to know where our vendors or employees are these days? Most of the time it's remote  or hybrid. Forward thnking companies have created gift certificate programs to allow them to email gifts to their clients, vendors, and employees. Recipients enjoy selecting their own gift in a branded portal, having it arrive when they want, and putting in their own delivery address— this way,  clients know it was received. 
4. JUST SAY NO… to GIFT CARDS!
   1. This is a trend that has flown the coop. If you’re managing relationships, then this is quite possibly the worst way to give a gift. Ten years ago, everyone was giving them, but now, we all appreciate gifts that have a little effort put into them. Nothing says, “I don’t know you and I don’t really care,'' more than a gift card. 
5.  Collect Data and Segment
   1. When working with a big list of clients, I highly suggest segmenting based on preferences. Get to know your recipients and create a journal of likes and dislikes. For example, what flavors are their favorite? Do they have a family to share your gift with? Are there VIPs on your list that deserve a bigger gift? The more information you know about your recipient, the more you can hone in on the perfect gift to send them and at the perfect time. 

Good relationship management will help people to be endeared to your brand! In order to do that, stop being one-sided with your gifting strategy: It’s not what you want, it's about what your employees, vendors, and clients want and what’s going on in their life.

Joe Dornoff is the President and Managing Partner of  BakeMeAWish.com. Prior to BMAW, Joe worked in advertising with JWT-NYC and then joined Rakuten.  With BMAW, Joe helped realize a fresh idea for a company that delivered birthday cakes nationwide. On a shoe-string, Joe launched Bakemewish.com and over the past 14 years has grown the company to be named by Newsweek magazine as the highest-ranked online bakery provider for consumers.  BMAW also made the Inc. 5000 list as one of the fastest-growing private companies in America. Joe uses his background and experience to create new gifts, including cookies, brownies, pies, towers, and fruit baskets.

You can now say “Alexa make a donation to_____” and have Alexa use your Amazon pay account to make a donation up to $5,000.  Currently, this program is only available to select charities that have been invited by Amazon. However, it is likely that this program will be a hit with both donors and nonprofits, so it is something that you should have on your radar for the upcoming year. 

Another high tech trend to watch for 2020 is the rise in giving via a blockchain platform. A blockchain platform is  a public ledger relying on globally distributed historical transactions to prevent tampering and fraud. 

Blockchain was designed to offer a higher level of transparency for transactions. Many donors wish to know that their donations are going directly to the charity that they have selected for the express purpose of funding a certain project. A blockchain giving platform can give them that piece of mind. 

BitGive’s GiveTrack is an example of one such platform. BitGive shares detailed real time information about the financial and project status of the charities that they work with that are accepting donations via GiveTrack.

Global Giving is a crowdfunding platform designed to help small nonprofits raise awareness and money. Global Giving is also a nonprofit, which means it understands what nonprofits need to run a successful fundraising campaign. 

Global Giving also understands that small nonprofits don’t have a large budget, so there is no application fee to join the  Global Giving platform. There is no monthly subscription fee, however Global Givings has a 3% transaction fee along with a sliding scale support fee of 5-12% of collected donations. 

The site offers a host of training and support options for nonprofits that join the platform. There are webinars, training libraries, workshops, one on one phone consultations or site visits.  The platform has tools like gamification and incentives to increase donations. 

The platform offers all the standard fundraising campaign tools, including metrics, donor engagement, social media integration. What it also offers is opportunities to partner with large companies for matching grants, or specific giving programs with the company.

know your audience in order to determine if live streaming is right for your nonprofit. The people you want to engage through a live stream have to be savvy enough to access your video feed so that they aren’t overwhelmed or frustrated by the experience. Beyond this point, your decision should come down to value—both to the viewer and to your organization.

If your organization is exploring adding a livestream to your next event there are a few things that you should consider. First, is your event the type of event that makes for a good livestream. 

The purpose of the livestream is to generate enthusiasm and excitement from those who are unable to attend in person. The event you are live streaming has to be visually interesting enough to keep your online viewer engaged. The most successful live streams are based on events that have an element of excitement to them. Is your event a fashion show? Will there be cute animals?--you can never go wrong livestreaming cute animals.  Also, if your event includes a celebrity guest that you know people who were unable to attend in person would love to see, 

After determining if your event is right for a livestream, it’s time to consider if your intended audience is right for a livestream. If your audience is comfortable using Twitch, YouTube or social media, if you chose to livestream via Facebook than live streaming is a good idea. If your audience is not comfortable with those platforms it doesn’t mean that you can’t do a livestream it just means that you may not get a huge return from the event. 

Next, it’s time to plan your livestream events content. Think of your live stream as the modern equivalent to a charity telethon-except instead of broadcasting on TV your using the internet. A telethon doesn’t consist of a single still shot of the action and neither should your livestream. 

Create a content script. If your are doing a fashion show consider doing interviews with the models or designers (or stores that donated the fashion). Have a host roving the audience,anything to spice up the broadcast. Remember you want to keep the excitement going. 

Many livestream apps allow your organization to collect donations directly from the livestream platform, so make sure your call to action is clear. 

EveryAction wants to be everything to every nonprofit. This cloud based platform offers fundraising, advocacy, organizing and digital all in one package. 

For fundraising, you can use the platform to create a simple donation page for your website. You can also use the platform to track major gifts, pledges and other donations. And, you can run an online auction with it as well. 

Get all your advocacy done with social matching and listening which lets you monitor and track influential supporters and it has an advocacy module that makes it easy for you to turn your advocates into donors. 

Organize your supporters with the built in tools to manage your volunteers and coordinate your canvassing or phone bank events. 

The digital portion lets you build multi channel ad campaigns. The platform includes data visualization tools so you can make use of all the various data sets that your organization accumulates. 

Nonprofits can make the most out the remaining giving days in the year, reports The Nonprofit Times. 

You’ve survived Giving Tuesday – and hopefully come out of it with a nice boost of donation revenue for your nonprofit.

Read article on The Nonprofit Times

New Story, a nonprofit that focuses on using tech to build affordable housing, plans on having 50 new homes erected a Mexico community by the end of 2020. 

A giant 3D printer built two houses in an impoverished, rural part of Mexico last week, breaking ground on what will be the first 3D-printed neighborhood in the world.

Read article on Fox 2 Now

According to the Biz Tech Magazine, integrated giving is one of several technology trends that will impact nonprofits in 2020. 

Nonprofits have a lot on their plates. Charitable giving took a hit last year, declining for the first time since the Great Recession, forcing organizations to do more with less.

Read article on Biz Tech Magazine

Mobile friendly devices help contribute to the success of #GivingTuesday, reports Biz Tech Magazine.  

Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday are all behind us, but the long Thanksgiving weekend isn’t over yet. Many will be digging deep into their pockets again today, but not for themselves—this time, it’s for Giving Tuesday. 

Read article on BizTech Magazine