Starting a private foundation provides a lasting opportunity for philanthropists to donate consistently to a nonprofit and make an impact on causes they’re passionate about. If you’re considering starting a foundation or want to learn more about them, we’ll cover the basics and discuss all the important elements you’ll need to consider before diving into the process.

What is a foundation?

Instead of collecting donations from individual donors to launch their own programs and initiatives, private foundations act as the donors by giving grants to other nonprofit organizations to fund their operations. They can also provide scholarships to individuals in certain circumstances. 

Foundations are private 501(c)(3) organizations, meaning they operate independently from the government but still retain a nonprofit tax-exempt status. To qualify as a private foundation, organizations must have a defined purpose, such as:

• Charitable
• Educational
• Scientific
• Religious
• Literary

Foundations are often started by a family or small group of people with a shared charitable interest, but they can also be started by a corporation. For example, Google provides grants for nonprofits for free advertising space to help them get their message out to wider audiences.

How do you decide to start a foundation?

Before making the decision to start your own foundation, do extensive research on the process and legal requirements. Evaluate both the benefits and costs of starting a foundation, and take stock of your existing resources. Consider the following information while deciding if you should start a foundation: 

What are the benefits of starting a private foundation?

Individuals and companies start foundations for a variety of reasons, but all foundations offer the unique ability to: 

• Create a significant and long-lasting personal impact on the causes you care about.
• Honor an individual or your family by creating a legacy foundation in their name.
• Maintain legal control over your operations.
• Access tax benefits, including tax-exempt status for your organization and individual tax deductions.

Consider how much you value each of these benefits and if you would be able to reap similar benefits from donating to nonprofits alone. 

How much money is needed to start a foundation?

Private foundations obtain funds directly from an individual, family, or corporation, instead of from a pool of individual donors. Therefore, to start a corporation, you need to have a sizable amount of funding available in your budget to set up the foundation’s endowment. Endowments are the funds your foundation uses to make grants and cover operating costs.

How to start a foundation

Ready to dive deeper? If you’ve determined that you have the resources, passion, and commitment to start your own, follow these steps for starting a foundation:

1. Define your mission and goals. Determine a clear purpose for your foundation and exactly who you want to help. Think about what you want to accomplish and what types of organizations you want to fund. 
2. Understand legal requirements and regulations. Research the difference between trusts and nonprofit corporations and what’s needed to establish each. Then, decide which type of foundation best fits your needs and goals. Generally, trusts have less legal requirements, but nonprofit corporations offer more flexibility. You may decide to hire a dedicated legal team to advise you on complex legal and financial matters.
3. Identify potential trustees and staff. How personally involved do you want to be in your foundation’s day-to-day operations? Identify qualified staff members to help you run your foundation, along with the individuals who will serve as trustees. 
4. Apply to get an Employer Identification Number (EIN), then apply to become a 501(c)(3) organization. You’ll need to complete both of these formal applications to obtain your foundation’s legal 501(c)(3) status before you begin making grants. 
5. Set guidelines for using your endowment. Determine internal requirements for how your foundation will invest its endowment funds. For example, consider setting an annual minimum amount of funds that should stay in your endowment and a minimum amount that should be given out as grants.

Once you’ve set up your foundation legally, you can start getting familiar with the grantmaking process and considering how you want your foundation to appear to the public. Follow similar strategies for branding and marketing as other nonprofits use to ensure a positive, authentic reputation. 

Additional Resources

• Nonprofit Catalog – Read up on more nonprofit essentials by exploring our Nonprofit Catalog.
• Grantmaking: Everything New Foundations Need to Know – Read up on grantmaking best practices to see how foundations make a difference with their donations. 
• 3 Methods for Measuring Your Nonprofit’s Investment Success – Learn about how nonprofits measure success and calculate their return on investment. Foundations can use the same strategies to determine how effective their spending is.

Both nonprofit and for-profit organizations around the world depend on marketing to communicate with their donors or customers. Strong marketing allows organizations to create meaningful touchpoints with new audiences. One of the reasons marketing is such a powerful tool is that it’s highly adaptable to your organization’s needs.

Without marketing, it would be very difficult to connect with the people who share an interest in your nonprofit’s mission. Cultivating that base of support is essential. Donors, volunteers, and mission ambassadors are the foundation of a successful nonprofit.

Let’s get started by discussing how nonprofits can use different marketing channels to reach their audiences.

What is nonprofit marketing?

Nonprofit marketing is using marketing strategies and campaigns to raise awareness, reach existing and prospective donors, and fundraise to help an organization further its mission.

Marketing can be carried out through a variety of media channels. Social media platforms, email, and video ads are a few ways messages can be distributed online. The internet is one of the most common ways to reach supporters, but don’t discount the value of other channels as well. Nonprofits also find success running campaigns through other channels like direct mail, radio ads, or print ads. The specific channels you choose to employ depend on your audience and your goals for the campaign.

The most effective way to leverage marketing is by creating one integrated marketing strategy so your organization can reach its supporters across a variety of channels. This approach is also helpful for pinpointing the channels your supporters use the most.

What are the benefits of nonprofit marketing?

While marketing can be a significant investment of time, effort, and funding for many nonprofits, it also provides a wide variety of benefits to both the nonprofit and those they serve. Let’s dive into a few reasons marketing is valuable.

Nonprofit marketing can help:

• Spread awareness. Nonprofit marketing spreads awareness of a nonprofit’s mission, its brand, and the specific ways it furthers its mission. It’s a chance to directly communicate what your organization does and why. Just increasing the number of people who are aware of the organization can attract new donors and volunteers, and this is especially true when considering the international reach of digital marketing.
• Raise funds. More awareness means an organization has a better chance of attracting new donors and volunteers, increasing an organization’s ability to meet its fundraising goals. Marketing is also a useful way to engage current donors and volunteers, motivating them to continue to support your organization. Promoting a specific fundraiser through sending an email or by posting on social media to existing followers is one example of how you might make the most of your nonprofit’s marketing efforts.
• Promote programs. Marketing doesn’t just reach the donors and volunteers who help further your nonprofit’s mission. It can also be used to directly reach potential beneficiaries the organization might be able to help. Marketing materials can contain information about specific programs and how those in need can take advantage of them

Intentionally crafting a marketing strategy for your organization sets your organization up for success by giving you the means to attract and retain supporters.

How can organizations get started with nonprofit marketing?

Don’t let getting started with nonprofit marketing overwhelm you. Gaining a better understanding of your audience gives you the tools to implement a valuable plan. To kick off a successful nonprofit marketing campaign, there are a few key steps to follow:

1. Research. Organizations should make sure they understand important internal and external factors before planning a marketing campaign. This involves analyzing the current market landscape as well as looking into peer organizations to understand their strengths and weaknesses. As part of this evaluation, nonprofits should also take stock of their existing donors’ traits to create a better constituent experience through a more personalized marketing experience.
2. Define a target audience. After researching their existing donors, nonprofits should compare this donor data against their goals in order to choose a target audience that is interested in their cause. This is a good way to spur an organization’s expansion and growth.
3. Develop strategies. Choose strategies that resonate with your nonprofit’s chosen target audience. Determine which channels will suit your target audience and choose which mediums will speak most to them. Consider methods such as emotional photos or videos, impactful statistics, and storytelling.
4. Create the campaign. During this step, your nonprofit should create concrete deliverables that align with the strategies you outlined earlier in the campaign. This might mean creating pieces of direct mail or graphics for social media, for example.

Consider working with a marketing agency that specializes in helping nonprofits. Partnering with an agency with knowledgeable staff and years of expertise in marketing can help you create a strong marketing campaign that will deliver impactful results.

Meaningful Nonprofit Marketing

Nonprofit marketing is an essential part of maintaining and growing a nonprofit. It allows organizations to reach their intended audiences, leading to more donors, volunteers, and supporter engagement. Organizations should take the time to learn more about their field and intended audience so they can use that information to create a robust strategy and meaningful marketing campaign.

This valuable tool is accessible to almost every organization. Nonprofits of any size can use marketing, which might look like launching a free social media campaign or working with an agency to market on every available channel. Marketing at any capacity can help your organization grow and reach new supporters.

Additional Resources

• Nonprofit Catalog – Read up on more nonprofit essentials by exploring our Nonprofit Catalog.
• Using Both Online and Offline Fundraising Strategies: 5 Tips – Learn more about how multichannel marketing can aid your fundraising efforts.
• Placing Your Constituents in the Center of Your Omnichannel Program – Gain more insight into how to steward and engage your nonprofit’s constituents.

With an estimated return of $36 for every $1 spent, email has an unbeatable ROI compared to other marketing channels. This channel allows you to connect with your entire contact list, create personalized outreach through segmentation, and ultimately push your mission to new heights. But to leverage this marketing channel, you need the right email addresses first.

An email append will allow you to find the most accurate contact information for everyone in your contact list. That way, your messages are delivered to your supporters’ inboxes successfully. There’s an entire world of data appending, but we’ll focus on how appending email addresses specifically can enhance your marketing.

What Is An Email Append?

Email appending is a marketing process that requires using known constituent data (such as names, phone numbers, and social profiles) to identify individuals’ current email addresses.

Using an email append services provider is the most efficient, reliable way for digital marketers to verify and update email addresses for their contacts. Professional providers have access to large databases of contact information. You’ll share your constituents’ data with the provider, which they’ll then use to match each individual to their most recent email addresses.

Why Should You Append Emails?

Email addresses are only beneficial if they’re accurate. Otherwise, your messages won’t be successfully delivered to supporters’ inboxes.

HubSpot estimates that email marketing databases degrade by about 22.5% every year. People occasionally make typos or use fake email addresses when filling out forms. Plus, your supporters may get locked out of their emails, change emails, or pass away. Appending emails is the most reliable way to correct any mistakes and fill in gaps within your contact list.

Ensuring updated contact information will also enable you to:

• Increase your deliverability and open rates.
• Re-engage lapsed donors you’ve lost contact with.
• Reduce manual labor necessary to correct incorrect emails.
• Protect your IP sender reputation. Outdated email addresses are often reclaimed and used as spam traps, which can result in you getting added to a blocklist if you’re not careful.

Regularly appending emails will enrich your database, empowering your team to reach and retain your supporters. Depending on your data append provider, you might also be able to pull other helpful information, like social profiles, postal addresses, and employer data. In turn, you’ll create stronger contact profiles and open your team up to additional engagement opportunities.

Best Practices for Email Appends

Having accurate contact information is only useful if you have a solid plan for pulling and leveraging it in your marketing. Start outlining your approach for ethically appending and using the updated contact information you’ll receive. Let’s look at a few tips for getting started!

Only append emails for existing supporters.

NPOInfo’s guide to email appends states, “You should only ever append email addresses for people who have previously connected with your organization, whether they donated, signed up for your newsletter, or registered to volunteer. You want to make sure you’re leveraging email appending ethically.”

Pulling contact information for people who have never even heard of your organization can damage your reputation. So stick to only doing so for past and existing supporters.

Follow anti-spam laws.

On the topic of ethical marketing practices, make sure to respect when supporters opt out of your email communications. After all, anti-spam laws and opt-in rules still apply when you append emails.

If you send emails to people who opted out of or never signed up for your email list, you can wind up in some serious legal trouble. So before reaching out to any emails you appended, double-check that those individuals opted into your email communications. Otherwise, you risk damaging your reputation and relationships with supporters.

Regularly conduct email appends.

Get on a good schedule with your email appends, whether that’s monthly, quarterly, or bi-annually. This will make sure your CRM is always as complete and accurate as it can possibly be. Your organization’s off-season is the perfect time for this.

Let’s say you’re ramping up for a big fundraising campaign. The last thing you want is a sky-high bounce rate due to inaccurate email addresses. Before you launch your campaign, devote time to conducting email appends. Aim to wrap up about a month before your initiative’s official launch, giving your team plenty of wiggle room to get everything squared away.

Know how different types of organizations leverage email appends.

As with any marketing practice, it’s best to tailor your email append strategy to your organization’s priorities. At the very least, you should follow up with anyone you’ve been unable to reach via email once you receive your results.

Beyond this, Double the Donation’s email appends guide highlights these examples that you can emulate:

• Environmental nonprofits can align their marketing practices with their mission. Eliminate unnecessary paper waste and opt for eco-friendly email outreach.
• Schools can stay connected with alumni as they acquire new email addresses from new jobs and graduate schools.
• Cultural organizations like aquariums, zoos, and museums can send new exhibit and event information to members and past visitors.
• Political organizations can email information about important issues, allowing voters to review the information on their own time rather than texting or talking on the phone.
• Any nonprofit can use business email appends to identify corporate giving opportunities.

Knowing how your organization will leverage contact information will empower you to make the most of your appended email addresses. Think carefully about your plans ahead of time, so you can start reaching out as soon as you receive your email append results.

Additional Resources

Nonprofit Catalog – Read up on more nonprofit essentials by exploring our Nonprofit Catalog.

Phone Appends: A Nonprofit’s Data Enrichment Guide – You can append contact information other than email addresses. Build out your supporters’ profiles by appending phone numbers, too. This guide covers everything you need to know.

The Beginner’s Ultimate Guide to Nonprofit Marketing – Learn how to create a foolproof marketing plan and make the most out of your appended email addresses.

Most nonprofits earn a significant amount of their annual revenue during the last months (if not the last few days) of the year. According to NPOInfo, nonprofits receive 17-22% of their total annual fundraising in December. If you also factor in Giving Tuesday, it’s obvious that organizations need to have solid plans in place for approaching donors toward the end of the year to secure the necessary funding.

Creating an effective giving strategy requires knowing why supporters are motivated to give. If you understand that piece of the puzzle, along with how to make a reasonable ask, you can use it to target your efforts in more specific ways. Honing in on this information will help you run successful fundraisers all year and figure out how to make the most of year-end giving.

What is year-end giving?

Year-end giving is the spike in charitable giving that happens during the last few months of the year. Since people are often more willing to give during this time, in part because of the holidays, it’s a good opportunity for nonprofits to take some extra time to refine their messaging strategy. The Tuesday after Thanksgiving, otherwise known as Giving Tuesday, has proven to be a particularly fruitful donation day in the past few years.

How can my nonprofit prepare for the year-end giving season?

It’s never too early to prepare for the year-end giving season. Having a solid strategy in place will allow your organization to see greater success while experiencing less last-minute stress. Let’s dive into a few ways your nonprofit can prepare.

Create a multichannel strategy.

Use multichannel marketing to communicate with supporters on multiple platforms such as email, social media, text, direct mail, and more. Spreading your message across multiple platforms helps you reach different audiences and build brand awareness. It also creates more touchpoints with supporters who encounter multiple messages on different platforms, providing more opportunities for them to act on one of your calls-to-action.

You can begin building your nonprofit’s digital strategy by:

• Putting together a uniform brand guide ahead of time.
• Creating a social media posting calendar.
• Refreshing your website in advance.
• Personalizing online communication.

Finding effective ways to reach your supporters online can elevate your organization’s fundraising efforts. This is especially true since the #GivingTuesday trend began, boosting the visibility of nonprofits and charitable giving near the end of the year.

Partner with a marketing consultant.

If you’re interested in trying a new marketing strategy for the year-end giving season, consider partnering with a nonprofit marketing consultant. Hiring an expert in the space will provide access to professional insights into your current fundraising strategies and help your team navigate the challenges associated with running a new fundraiser.

A marketing consultant will also be able to analyze and offer a customized approach for your organization.

Train your fundraising team.

Staying up to date on current trends in the nonprofit sector can help your organization raise funds in new and profitable ways. Working with your team to improve their fundraising skills prior to the year-end giving season can help your nonprofit secure more gifts and successfully follow up with donors at the start of the new year.

Encourage your team to attend relevant nonprofit webinars, listen to professional nonprofit podcasts, and take courses to improve their fundraising skills. Attending conferences prior to the year-end giving season can also be an accessible way to learn about ongoing developments in the nonprofit world.

Additional Resources

• Nonprofit Catalog – Read up on more nonprofit essentials by exploring our Nonprofit Catalog.
• Nonprofit Marketing: A Guide for Amplifying Your Mission – Learn more about building a nonprofit marketing plan and different channels you can use to reach supporters.
• Best Nonprofit Podcasts to Level Up Your Cause – Explore these podcasts so you can hear more from nonprofit experts on topics ranging from fundraising to marketing.

With a strong digital presence, your healthcare organization can connect with new patients, provide educational resources for the public, and even drive donations for your mission-driven cause. Explore the basics of healthcare website design and the tools you need to bring your digital presence to life. 

What is a healthcare website?

According to Morweb, a healthcare website is a digital hub that serves your target audience. Whether you’re a doctor’s office, disease prevention organization, or nonprofit advancing women’s health in your local community, you’ll need a way to connect with your patients, clients, or constituents online. Plus, a website can help people unfamiliar with your organization learn more, sign up for your services, or otherwise get involved. 

The exact content and resources your healthcare website will offer the public depends on your function in the community. For example, a health nonprofit will need a robust online donation page to advance its mission forward, while a doctor’s office will need a private patient portal to securely book appointments. To narrow down your content, reflect on how your website fits into your broader strategy to connect with the public. 

Common resources that healthcare organizations provide to their target audience through their healthcare website include:

• A “Contact Us” page to help the public connect with your organization
• An “About Us” page to provide background information on your organization and its purpose
• A blog to provide updates on your organization and increase your brand visibility
• Patient portals for signing up for appointments, paying bills, and more
• Directions to your different facilities 

These resources will help your existing constituents develop strong relationships with your organization and allow prospective constituents to better understand your organization’s role. Over time, remember to review and refresh these resources so they stay up to date. This will ensure that your website features factual information so users don’t get frustrated by following the wrong directions to your office or emailing an outdated address. 

How do I design a healthcare website? 

Even if you don’t have previous web development experience, designing a website doesn’t have to be difficult. The right tools and strategies can get you started. Let’s take a closer look at how you can build a beautiful website in just a few steps. 

Choose a healthcare-specific CMS

While you can build your healthcare website from scratch, this process is time-consuming and requires extensive coding knowledge. Instead, work with a content management system (CMS) with healthcare-specific features. A CMS, or website builder, is a user-friendly interface that provides all the features you need to bring your site to life, from building secure patient portals to developing a blog. 

Incorporate your healthcare organization’s branding

Branding sets your healthcare website apart from the crowd and boosts your digital visibility. Use your CMS to easily add in your organization’s visual brand elements like your color scheme, fonts, tone, and impactful images that relate to your mission. Branding gives a unified feeling to your healthcare website and boosts your organization’s credibility. 

Prioritize intuitive navigation

An important component of web accessibility is prioritizing smooth navigation. This means that users should be able to find the content they’re looking for without doing too much digging. Make your healthcare website easy to navigate by adding the following elements:

• A navigation menu with workable links to your most important web pages
• Clear headings and subheadings to organize your content
• Minimalistic design to avoid clutter

If your organization accepts donations to help keep your doors open, call attention to your donation page using bold call-to-action buttons. Many of your supporters will be navigating to your website specifically to donate, so this streamlines the process of giving to your cause. 

By keeping these tips in mind, you’ll be well-prepared to create a comprehensive healthcare website for your audience! 

Additional Resources

Nonprofit Catalog – Read up on more nonprofit essentials by exploring our Nonprofit Catalog

6 Types of Nonprofit Web Design and When to Use Them – Use this guide to dive deeper into web design to perfect your digital presence. 

Graphic Design for Nonprofits: What To Know & 9 Free Tools – Learn how to make beautiful graphic designs to enhance your website.