Recently, 21 Kennari Consulting clients shared results from their 2018 Year End Appeal. They represent organizations of various sizes and across several sectors. Though this data is not meant to be compared to an “official” study coming from Blackbaud or Network for...
Roundtable Round-Up: Top Prospects and Cultivation
Gift cultivation is just like growing your own garden: roses will need different attention than daisies. Just as donors become engaged with your organization through different channels, their needs are different in terms of stewardship and cultivation. This means...
Intern Spotlight – Emily Veldman
Meet Emily Veldman! Emily just finished up earning her Business degree from Hope College and is hoping to enter into the world of nonprofits by working on the development side of things. She is looking forward to staying in the Grand Rapids area, contributing to and...
Round Table Round-Up: Ways to Impact Giving at your Evening Event
Your evening event is an important element in your development program – and a rare opportunity to be face-to-face with your donors. Events are often costly and time consuming, so taking every opportunity to make the most of them is critical. Simply gathering donors...
Roundtable Round Up: Challenge & Match Gifts
How does Leverage work? As in physics, leverage is a simple tool to make your work more effective. It is loved by funders (those supplying the leverage), donors (those who meet the match), and of course, the organizations who receive them. Leverage uses a gift from a...
5 Tips For Choosing a New Donor Database
Every nonprofit makes a donor software decision at some point. Maybe you’re a small organization that has gotten by with spreadsheets to track contact information and have used your accounting tool for donations. Maybe you’ve been in a database for several years, but...
Campaign Completion: New Home Brings Grand Rapids Chamber Into the Future
When an organization determines their home doesn’t fit their work, it’s time to make a move! The Grand Rapids Chamber (Chamber) realized they needed an office space that could be a hub of activity and services for their members, so they reached out to Kennari...
Round Table Round Up: Lapsed Donors
While we tend to think of lapsed donors at the start of the new year, it really is a process that should be reviewed year-round. In fact, more than ever, lapsed donor strategies need to be in place to ensure the best retention rates possible. Did you know that donor...
Intern Spotlight – Quinn Kendra
Meet Quinn Kendra, a Senior at Grand Valley State University majoring in Public and Nonprofit Administration, with an emphasis in Community Development and Planning. Quinn interned with Kennari this fall and is anticipating graduation in the spring. 7 Things I...
National Philanthropy Day 2018
Kennari Consulting was a proud sponsor of this year’s National Philanthropy Day (NPD), presented by the Association of Fundraising Professionals West Michigan Chapter (AFPWM). Our own Steve Ozinga was the Chair of the event, working many long hours to ensure the day...
Strategic Plan Sets Course for Success at Ottawa County Parks Foundation
Kennari Consulting works with organizations of all sizes, focus areas, and passions. Ottawa County Parks Foundation is no exception! In 2015, a small group of Ottawa County, Michigan residents formed an all-volunteer committee with the intent to form a Parks...
Round Table Round Up: Event Follow Up – Maximizing the Benefits of Events
Though it often feels like getting through an event is a major hurdle, it's really what happens after the event that makes all the work worthwhile. Don’t let all that hard work go to waste! Here are some strategies for making sure what happens after your event keeps...
Round Table Round Up: Planned Giving – Why You Should be Doing This Now!
A generational transfer of over $59 trillion is underway through 2052. Approximately 97% of donors leave a planned gift to an organization because they care about the charity. Nonprofit organizations need to take steps today and build necessary infrastructure to allow...
Round Table Round Up: Board Recruitment and Onboarding
"My neighbor is a teacher so he likes kids, I could ask him to be on our board – I bet he would do it!” How many times have we heard something like this when we want to expand our board? All too often, a lack of processes and time leads to a board full of people who...
Round Table Round Up: Finance & Development Reporting
Overview of Financial Reporting All organizations have some kind of financial report that is shared with the Board of Directors and hopefully with the leadership of the organization. Making sure these reports are useful, comprehensive, and readable can be a...
Round Table Round Up: Year-End Appeal
Devoting time to your year-end appeal seems a difficult task when faced with an upcoming fall event season. However, with 30% of annual giving happening in the month of December and increased online giving (up 12% in 2017*), devoting time to your year-end appeal is a...
The Power of Events: Michigan Sports Academies Foundation
With a busy spring event season behind us, we congratulate all our clients who held events in the last few months. No matter the size or scope, you undoubtedly connected with people and raised needed funds for your organization. Each year you spend many hours...
Giving USA 2018
The Giving USA Foundation has conducted its annual survey determining sources of donations in the USA for more than 50 years. Below are a few of this year’s findings. For more information or to order a copy of the full report, visit givingusa.org. Overview Since the...
Round Table Round Up: Overview of Campaign Leadership & Volunteers
We all know that Capital Campaigns are a lot of work! You will need some support. Successful Campaigns rely on great leadership and volunteers to extend the reach into your current and prospective donor lists. Getting the right people in the right position will help...
Round Table Round Up: Making the Ask
Your major donors are an important part of your organization’s success. Making a Major Gift ask is the culmination of thoughtful planning and strategic actions. You will have the most success if you have worked through the entire process of building and implementing a...