The AFP International Conference on Fundraising, or AFP ICON 2019, is coming up March 31 to April 2 in San Antonio. Winspire will be in attendance, so come visit us at Booth 124! We love meeting new people, visiting nonprofit partners and collaborating on innovative ways to support your organization. Plus, we'll be giving away a 5-night luxury hotel stay to one lucky visitor! For more specifics about the event please visit the AFP event homepage.

Doesn't it feel like this year just began? Yet Halloween, the end of Daylight Savings and even Thanksgiving are right around the corner. With nearly one third of all nonprofit donations occurring in December alone, it's important to execute a strategic year-end giving campaign that maximizes your impact over the next two months.

What a whirlwind 2017 has been so far! We're just one quarter in, and already we have developed groundbreaking resources in the world of event fundraising. In a recent Winspire News survey, the majority of readers (52 percent) noted a desire for more visual content, like webinars and infographics. We've since added 3 new webinars to the Webinar Library all about best practices to maximize revenue from live auctions and fund-a-needs. Another 33 percent of readers indicated an interest in audio content - namely podcasts - so you can continue fundraising education on your own time. As a result, we launched a brand-new podcast in January called Events with Benefits.

Today we are very proud to announce the launch of the podcast Events with Benefits, Winspire's first foray into the world of podcasting! Together with co-hosts Renee Zau from DonationMatch.com and benefit auctioneer Danny Hooper, each week we aim to bring nonprofit staff, volunteers, event planners, PTOs and more a wide variety of cutting-edge insights into the world of event fundraising. The first 3 episodes are available free on iTunes and EventswithBenefits.com. Check out the sample topics and special guests we have on deck for the first 10 episodes... Fundraising Auctions with Jim Nye the Auction Guy, professional fundraising auctioneer Golf Tournaments with Holly Kennedy, CEO and co-founder of Kennedy Golf Tournament Legal Considerations with Mary Tovella Dowling, attorney at For Purpose Law Group Partnerships with Parker Pike, member of Board of Directors of San Diego Nonprofit Association Perseverance with Lynda West, nonprofit coach and mentor Thinking BIG with Noah McMahon, founder and CEO of Anonymous Auction Timeline Tips with Scott Robertson, professional fundraising auctioneer Mobile Bidding with Debby Roth-Bush, Relationship Marketing Manager at GreaterGiving Donor Development with Carlos Leija, Chief Development Officer at Orangewood Children’s Foundation Are Charity Auctions Dying? with Nelson Jay, professional fundraising auctioneer Each episode is 30 to 40 minutes long, making it the perfect way to brighten your daily commute, pass a lunch hour and gain a treasure trove of new ideas for your next event. To learn more, listen to the first few episodes and subscribe, click below: For more on how to listen to a podcast, the complete list of our first 10 special guests and topics, and...what exactly is a podcast?...read on. What is a "podcast"? A podcast is simply an audio file published on the Internet. There are countless podcasts spanning hundreds of categories from business to entertainment to true crime (ever heard of NPR's runaway hit Serial?) and more. In our case, Events with Benefits is all about nonprofits and fundraising.

Giving Tuesday—the latest iteration of post-Thanksgiving spending days (think Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday)—is a global online movement dedicated to giving back. The occasion puts the spotlight on generosity, inspiring people around the world to invest in causes they believe in. Since its inception in 2012, more than $55 million has been raised to support over 10,000 participating organizations. On November 29th, 2016, your nonprofit will get the unique chance to engage a wide range of supporters with a Giving Tuesday campaign, setting the bar for the holiday giving season to come. There's only 41 days (6 weeks) left until the big day! Is your organization ready? Check out today's infographic to see the huge impact Giving Tuesday has on global philanthropy, then get 4 quick strategies for nonprofits of any size to tap into its momentum.

You've got enough on your plate with planning your upcoming charity auction, so it's easy to forget some of the tax and compliance standards that are required to run a legitimate fundraising event in your state. Such standards include charitable solicitation registration requirements, special event insurance, documentation for each transaction, accounting requirements and even specific regulations regarding sales tax. The following infographic lays out a few of the key items to bear in mind as you plan your next charity auction event.

Late last month, Travel Weekly revealed its list of 2014 Readers Choice Award winners. More than 9,000 industry voters, including Travel Weekly readers and industry professionals, selected the best airlines, destinations, hotels, cruise lines and theme parks. Las Vegas topped the list as the Best U.S. City, while Hawaii was selected as the #1 state to visit.

Fundraising is a tough business. When you rely on individual, voluntary contributions as your main source of revenue - as Nonprofits do - it can be a constant challenge to keep sustainable sources of funding coming in. These fundraising issues are exacerbated by the fact that Nonprofits across the country struggle to find qualified candidates to build and develop their fundraising programs, leaving many Nonprofits falling short of the financial commitments they need to fulfill their mission.

By Sylia Obagi Director of Operations, Annenberg Foundation Posted at HuffingtonPost.com Most nonprofit leaders don't think of income generation as their top priority. Their purposes to serve, they reason. Raising money is secondary. This kind of thinking is one of the biggest mistakes a nonprofit can make. Without a strong fundraising culture, nonprofits often lurch from one financial crisis to another. Many fail to thrive. In spite of good ideas and sometimes great potential, some simply die.

Winston & Winnie slacking by the pool. By Alyce Lee Stansbury on tallahassee.com It’s summertime and the living is easy — or so it used to be. Early in my fundraising career, I looked forward to summer because the fundraising work slowed down and I had time to reflect, evaluate, organize and plan. Those days are over. Fundraising has become a steady 12-month blur of events and campaigns. Today, all the nonprofits I know are actively fundraising on a year-round basis. That said, summer is still a good time to position your nonprofit for greater fundraising success. Here are a few suggestions.

New guidelines for ethical fundraising from the Direct Marketing Association Nonprofit Federation (DMANF) define transparency and a clear mission statement as critical aspects to a successful nonprofit strategy. It all comes down to building a foundation of trust with donors, who expect the organizations they support to operate at high standard of ethics, regardless of financial results.