50 Fresh & Easy Fundraising Tips: A Free Guide for Nonprofits

What’s inside the fundraising guide?

This guide, which you can download by completing this quick form, is designed to provide actionable tips that even solo nonprofit teams can implement.

Each tip is organized into five key sections, covering all the essentials of fundraising:

• Storytelling – Learn how to craft stories that connect and inspire action.
• Communications and Messaging – Discover ways to hone your message and reach supporters where it matters.
• Donor Retention and Stewardship – Keep your current donors engaged and coming back.
• Fundraising Strategies – Fresh approaches to events, monthly giving, and unique giving levels.
• Making Tech Work for You and Your Community – Tips for leveraging tech to optimize donations and expand your reach.

After reading through the guide, I’m amazed at how many simple, yet brilliant tips there are. My contributions can be found in the last section on tech (page 35), where I share a simple—yet commonly overlooked—recommendation for your website’s donation button.

Side note: I think this entire guide could also be used as a checklist on “50 things to double check” before launching your end of year campaign!

Guide, Engage, Thank: Bonus Tips for Creating an Impactful Donor Experience Online

As the year-end giving season quickly approaches, your website is one of the main places where donors will learn about your nonprofit—and decide to give. To make the most of this traffic, block out time this week to review your website. Refresh your images, test the donation process, and ensure every element reflects your brand’s style.

In addition to MemoryFox’s valuable fundraising tips, here are a few extra strategies to optimize your online giving experience:

• Keep your visuals consistent: Each communication—whether it’s an email, social post, or donation page—should reflect your brand fonts, colors, and style. You don’t have to slap your logo on everything (and nor should you!), but consistent visual cues reinforce your nonprofit’s credibility and help donors recognize and remember you.
• Use color as a compass: Simple tweaks to your design elements, like donation buttons, can significantly impact your donor’s experience. Keep these buttons clear, visible, and aligned with your brand colors to naturally guide users toward giving. Avoid going overboard with accent colors; instead, treat them as a compass, visually directing donors to the next best action step.
• Thank you page: If you use an online giving tool like Fundraise Up, consider setting up a redirect that goes to a simple thank you page. On this page, include a short video from your founder or executive director thanking them for donating and add links to follow you on social media. This video does not have to be polished, and can be as impromptu as your leader in the office or a central area of your nonprofit. This is a great way to humanize your brand and give donors a soft introduction to your leadership team before they start receiving emails or thank you notes from them!