Doing Good.

Of the millions (billions) of things people searched for in 2022, one category stands out that deserves our attention… How to Help.

So many people in the United States were actively searching for how to help those in need that it became a trending topic. That’s great. Period full stop. 

It’s been a marketer’s debate on monthly giving: do you send supporters a tax receipt each month to remind them of their gift, or just a single rolled-up tax receipt at the end of the year? Are those extra touchpoints harmful or helpful? Mastercard has published some new regulations on recurring transactions that make the case for a monthly reminder.

Our colleagues returned from the 17th Annual Bridge to Integrated Marketing & Fundraising Conference energized. Many commented on how refreshing it was to attend an in-person event once again — to see familiar faces and make new connections, to hear new ideas and learn from dynamic sessions.

Here are fast takes from three THDers about their experience:

We recently sat down with Linda Williams, EVP, Chief Strategy Officer, for her perspective on how fundraising is changing and why. She highlighted several catalytic societal trends and industry mindset flips. Here's her take on an evolution that’s shifting fundraising into “marketing to raise funds.”

Wendy Orleman has joined THD as vice president, client strategy, bringing over 20 years of experience leading strategy for nonprofit and commercial clients. We sat down with Wendy to hear how she will be helping clients grow and create meaningful social impact in her new role.

As we developed our content series on the RFP process, we've had some thoughtful exchanges on the topic both internally and with clients. We recently asked our team:  What is one question you’d add or one change you would make to the RFPs we typically receive that you think would result in a better response?  We are sharing four ideas here as thought-starters for your process:

We launched an unscientific poll series on LinkedIn several weeks ago to tap into the nonprofit zeitgeist about Requests for Proposals (RFPs). The season for issuing and responding to RFPs is beginning to rev up, as many organizations evaluate partner relationships in the early months of the year for mid-year contract renewals.

The RFP process is a notoriously laborious and lengthy undertaking for both requesters and responders; we were curious to learn how colleagues on the client and partner sides of the nonprofit world felt about it. As 2021 came to a close, our survey series sparked lively discussions with clients and among our Account Teams internally. Here are some of the musings that could improve the experience for all parties.

My iPhone’s “control center” serves up a daily sampling of photos from my photo library, taking me back in time to pictures of vacations, graduations and reunions, birthdays, and weddings captured “On This Day,” sometimes many years ago. These strolls down memory lane are an invitation to revisit the past, but it’s not the oldest photos that give me pause lately — it’s revisiting photos from just one year ago. 

In case you missed the 2021 Nonprofit Federation Winter Conference hosted by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), or are looking to refresh what you learned, we are happy to share the Thought Leadership presentation we delivered with our partner, Feeding America.

THD’s Chief Strategy Officer, Linda Williams, and Feeding America's SVP of Digital & Direct Marketing, Liz Nielsen, discussed Feeding America's growth in the last year and meeting the moment of the Covid-19 pandemic.