The big year-end fundraising push is around the corner—the single biggest fundraising opportunity of the year! With all the bustle around the holiday season, however, it can be easy to fall behind on your planning. These techniques will show you how to effectively reach the hearts and wallets of donors during this time of utmost generosity.

(Editor's note: This post was originally published in November 2015 and has been modified in November 2016 for timeliness and relevance.)

Months of planning + weeks of promotion = a single day of giving. That’s what a #GivingTuesday campaign equates to for nonprofit marketers. As you prepare for your campaign launch and everything else leading up to the big day, don’t forget to say “thank you” when it’s all over.

#GivingTuesday 2016 is just two weeks away. And if you happen to be a nonprofit marketer, it's probably safe to assume that by now you've already set your goals, developed your strategy, and are putting the finishing touches on your campaign.

Whenever I do research for the Contentuity360 Blog, I’m always looking out for the latest and greatest digital marketing trends to share with my nonprofit and higher ed audiences. Over the past year, one of the most popular strategies I see showing up in search results for the long tail keyword ‘next big thing in marketing’ is (wait for it)…

Even with so many content formats to choose from, nonprofit marketers all too often find themselves working within a limited scope of content because—lets’ face it—creating and maintaining a diverse content mix can be challenging.

This Contentuity360 blog post was previously published in the Bloomerang Blog on June 6, 2016. 

There’s much debate out there as to whether or not nonprofits need an email newsletter AND a blog. After all, both content formats can accomplish many of the same objectives including donor communication, cause education, fundraising campaigns, event announcements, impact updates, success stories, etc. Not to mention the fact that a lot of resources are required (e.g., time and money) to generate enough high quality contentto support both an email newsletter and a blog.

As marketers, we share a common experience.

We get the urge to step outside of the endless loop of go-to marketing strategies and tactics in search of fresh, unconventional ideas. Sometimes even successful campaigns and thriving marketing programs can start to border on humdrum when you get into a cycle of rinse and repeat.

Propelled by the rise of social media and content marketing, visual content and storytelling have become two of the fastest emerging content trends over the last five-plus years. And when combined, visual content + storytelling can pack a powerful punch for brands fortunate enough to have access to both high quality visual assets and compelling stories to tell.

Coming up with a diverse content mix for social media can sometimes be a challenge. Just ask any marketer with day-to-day responsibility for content planning and generation. Granted, a content calendar is a tremendous help with planning content themes and visualizing how your content will be distributed throughout the week, month, or even year. But can we have a moment of truth and admit to ourselves that our content calendars don’t always take into account the creativity or resourcefulness required to keep our audiences fully engaged?