The Giving Garden, launched this month, is the first book written by Sandi Frost Steensma, Founder of Kennari Consulting. With over 30 years of experience in fundraising and public service, Sandi offers a unique and comprehensive perspective and valuable insights for...
Compensation & Benefits Survey from Michigan Nonprofits Association (MNA) – Ends May 31!
The Michigan Nonprofit Association has partnered with Association TRENDS to conduct a confidential compensation and benefits survey. It is FREE to participate, and all participants will receive a significant discount on the final report later in the summer of 2022....
Spring Cleaning Your Database
Does your database spark joy? Are you a “clean it now” type of person? Or are you a procrastinator? Your database system is only as good as what you put in there. Regardless of your current data cleaning regimen, we have some guidelines to keep in mind while...
Intern Spotlight: Marissa Acevedo
Meet Marissa Acevedo! Marissa is a senior at Grand Valley State University, graduating this month with a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Communications with a minor in Psychology. Marissa Acevedo, Kennari Spring Intern, 2022 My time with Kennari Consulting has...
5 Ways an Administrative Team Member Can Save Time for Your Organization
What will jumpstart your fundraising efforts? Is it leadership? Board involvement? A seasoned Development Director? Well -- all of these components are great, but without a sharp administrative staff person, your efforts can lag and become easily bogged down. We know....
A Conversation with Kennari President & CEO, Laura Kruisenga
Laura Kruisenga, Kennari President & CEO (left) with the Kennari Consulting Leadership team.
Key Benefits of a Feasibility Study
If you are in the midst of defining and discussing a new campaign, feasibility studies can help identify the factors that can lead to its success. A feasibility study is an assessment that determines the level of potential support for your campaign and/or project....
5 Ways to Strengthen Your Board’s Role in Philanthropy
The board is often the most critical piece in moving any nonprofit forward. We often hear from staff: “our board doesn’t do anything!” while on the other hand, we often hear from board members: “I don’t know what they want!” The various skillsets and perspectives that...
Exciting News from Kennari!
On February 2, Kennari Consulting celebrates its 15th anniversary and its commitment to its mission; to change the face of philanthropy, moving nonprofits of all sizes to greater capacity and meaningful impact within the communities they serve. This year the...
Intern Spotlight — Dorokasi Nizigimana
Meet Dorokasi Nizigimana, a Senior at Cornerstone University majoring in Business Administration with a minor in Marketing. Dorokasi just wrapped up a two-semester internship with Kennari. My experience with Kennari Consulting has taught me many valuable concepts,...
A few key takeaways from this year’s Giving USA report
The Giving USA Report is the longest running annual report on U.S. charitable giving, and is published by the Giving USA Foundation. It is researched and written by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. In 2020, $471.44 billion was contributed,...
Read Muskegon keeps the big picture in view with fundraising pivots
Over the past two years of the pandemic, one of the messages Kennari has championed most ardently is that this is the time to prioritize new approaches and innovation in fundraising. Nonprofits have faced numerous and varied challenges over this period so it is...
Campaign Phase Communication
When your organization decides to take the exciting step of launching a campaign, it’s hard not to talk about it! After all, campaigns aren’t a regular occurrence at organizations, and they can be totally transformative. In order to maximize the support around the...
Planning Your Annual Donor Communications
The subtitle for this month’s roundtable could be “Building Stronger Relationships with Your Donors,” because your communications strategy is a critical piece of donor relationship development. To maximize your communications for the greatest impact, you need a plan...
Website Best Practices That Will Make Your Donation Forms More Effective
Guest Blog: Abby Jarvis, Nonprofit Education Manager, Qgiv Many nonprofits raise up to 50% of their annual revenue during the month of December. The end-of-year fundraising season is a whirlwind for fundraisers; there’s so much to do! That’s why we recommend planning...
With Matching Gifts, Everybody Wins!
Nothing gives your fundraising a boost like a great matching or challenge gift to inspire donors. As fundraising consultants, Kennari regularly suggests adding a match or challenge to clients’ fundraising design and the reason is simple: everyone wins! The lead donor...
Maximizing the Impact of Your Year-end Appeal
We learned a lot of lessons in 2020, especially in how we communicate with donors. We became more reliant on technology than ever, and online giving grew the most it has ever grown. But this also means we lost some personal connection with our donors. Gaining that...
Getting Back to In Person Events
Many nonprofits are making plans for in person fundraising events - and there are great resources out there for making the shift back. Mobile Cause recently came out with "8 Strategies to give donors confidence attending in-person events" and the list is full of good...
Solving Four Challenges with Recurring Giving Programs
We love a great recurring giving program! Why? They are easy for donors to set up. Donors rarely cancel their recurring gifts. In fact, donor retention is higher for recurring donors. According to The Nonprofit Recurring Giving Benchmark study, recurring donors have...
Is Your Organization Fundraising Legally?
Nonprofits need a "license to solicit funds" in many states. Soliciting is very broadly defined. Basically, if the organization is communicating with anyone directly (mail, email, peer-to-peer campaign, social media, etc.) and there is any kind of opportunity to...