2023 Wrapped: Themes, Bright Spots & Priorities for Next Year

I'm posting this month’s newsletter a little late because I spent last week on a glorious babymoon, relaxing and eating for two in Mexico! 🙏

I have now officially been writing The Good Stuff for three years. No matter when you signed up, thank you for reading.  

Here are the most popular editions of 2023:  

How to Audit Your Supporter Journey

Written with ChatGPT: Nonprofit Digital Advertising Tips

M+R 2023 Benchmarks: My Key Takeaways

Fundraising Copywriting Tips Part 1 and Part 2 

As I wind down work for the year, a few themes have bubbled to the surface for me. In no particular order:  

1. Nonprofit marketing and fundraising are uncharted territory. 

You may have been tuned in alongside me when Jon and Becky (We Are For Good) interviewed Seth Godin for the Nonprofit Marketing Summit. Seth pointed out that, unlike consumer brands, nonprofits don’t have a tried and true formula because we’re out here trying to solve problems that have never been solved before. It's a lot more experimental than optimizing sneaker sales.

So let's remind ourselves daily that this work is a great experiment. I consumed countless podcasts, webinars, and virtual conference sessions this year and can confidently report that nobody has it figured out. The nonprofits that are growing and thriving—the charity:waters of the world—have research and testing baked into their ethos like a warm, gooey center. They're constantly conducting donor research and testing messaging variations, webpage layouts, ad creatives, and more. They're fully embracing the experimental nature of the work. Digging new holes is the only way to strike gold.

2. Most nonprofits don’t know their donors. 💔

Now that I’m celebrating ten years of full-time work in the nonprofit sector, I can sadly report with confidence that a minuscule percentage of nonprofit teams know their donors. In light of the philanthropic psychology certification I just completed, this is a huge problem. It's like driving around with your windshield fogged up.

In this analogy, a broken tech stack is like a busted defroster. And a lack of consistent, high-quality donor research means your wipers aren't running, either. Nonprofit teams are missing the best opportunities to learn more about donors’ motivations and values. And I'm convinced that knowing these people on a deeper level is the only road to marketing and fundraising success.  

3. AI is changing everything, whether you "use" it or not.

Earlier this year, there was a mad dash to “learn” ChatGPT and other generative AI tools. Now, all of the tech companies that fuel or work have had a chance to bake generative AI into their platforms. Tools like Canva are on another level compared to six months ago. I’m learning about new AI-powered fundraising platforms all the time that can scrub your historical data and tell you who is the most worthy of a phone call or who is most likely to make a monthly gift.

Sure, we should still experiment with tools like ChatGPT to make our work more efficient, and we should keep paying attention to the ethical ramifications. But you're "using" AI countless times every day at this point, whether you realize it or not, and you will continue to reap the benefits whether actively or passively.

If I worked in-house at a nonprofit right now, these would be my 2024 priorities:

• Donor research and listening 
• Fixing any tech stack entanglements that are preventing me from mapping and tracking the donor journey
• A/B testing across all digital channels all the time
• Exploring AI-powered fundraising tools to work smarter, not harder

But before we officially move on from 2023, let's take a moment. Jot down for yourself: What were the top five bright spots in your year of hard work? Here are mine:   

🐱 Raising $80,000 for Neighborhood Cats’ Maui wildfire relief fund with a single iPhone video and a $7,500 ad spend. These heroes have already rescued 357 cats from the burn zone! 

⚕️Conducting insightful user research for the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners to improve their Lyme disease education materials and marketing. 

🌎 Developing a research-informed tagline and messaging platform for The Adventure Project (still behind the curtain). 

🗺️ Leading survey research and annual campaign strategy for the Institute for the Study of War. 

⭐ Uniting the Year-End Dream Team to help more than 20 nonprofits ace their campaign planning and content.

🤓 Receiving a certificate in fundraising copywriting from the Institute for Sustainable Philanthropy. 

Learning is always my #1 measure of professional success, and I learned a ton this year. If you learned a ton, you won. I look forward to reconnecting with you in 2024! I will be back online for two-ish months before we welcome our baby boy.  

Happy holidays to you and yours,

-Caroline

P.S. Want my feedback on your year-end fundraising content before the most lucrative week of the year? Sign up for a $250 one-hour review session. I’ve got a few spots open next Monday - Wednesday!