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As I write this, it’s been a week since the election and based on what our clients are saying and feeling, we’re all working very hard to understand this new world, and to figure out how this new political paradigm will affect us, personally, culturally and within the sector.  We know that individual, public and institutional funding will be impacted, but we can’t tell yet in what ways. The road ahead is uncharted territory, but history can give us some potential insights.  In my experience, the non-profit sector flexes to meet society’s needs, and philanthropic investment follows change. When Bill Clinton and Al Gore won the White House, I was working for an international conservation organization; donors presumed that with an ally in power their support wasn’t as necessary and, as a result, donations to our organization dropped.  Conversely, when the pandemic hit, philanthropic investment rushed to meet the increased need, especially in the human services sector.  In both cases, the fix was to lean into our donor relationships even more purposely and meaningfully.  Your donors support you for one reason: they care.  Meet them there.  Demonstrate how that caring creates change, supports people, builds our community. Be transparent, direct, and also cautiously hopeful.  Help them to understand how this larger societal change is affecting your organization’s ability to serve its mission but also share your solutions and invite them to be a part of that work.  I think, most importantly, we need to take care of ourselves.  We fundraisers and leaders carry a lot of weight on our shoulders.  We take it personally when we can’t serve our constituents as much as we hoped…. or if our organization is struggling financially. After all, raising the resources needed to carry on and thrive is our day-to-day. So, give yourself some grace.  Yes, keep working hard, being creative and doing the things you do to make a difference, but also recognize that life is about change, opportunities and challenges, and the test of us is how we meet the moment and persevere.  It's going to be an interesting road ahead with too many twists and turns to count, but Ostara will still fight for change and will continue to support each of you as you do too... together.

Do your fundraising reports make sense, at a glance? Do they help drive helpful discussions? Good dashboard reports can bring your results to life, educate your board and peers, and save you time every month.    From my 20+ years of building trackers and dashboards for all purposes, I have come to appreciate the power – and limitations – of bringing data into discussions. Here are my tips and the approach I take with clients:    Know your audience . What level of detail is helpful? Appropriate? Where do you want this audience to focus their energy in response to the data? Typically, fundraising dashboards are for regularly reporting to the board, a campaign committee, or an executive team.  Choose the metrics that matter . Dollars raised is the king, but that’s not the only way to prove success! My top four, which take effort to track but are worth it, are:  Donor retention : Measuring the number of last year’s donors making a gift this year is extremely useful. Set strong targets based on your past performance, and tailor your efforts with your renewing donors.  New Donors : The volume of donor acquisition is a sign of future fundraising success, especially when paired with good retention. Focus on a number of new donors to acquire each quarter and invest in the kinds of outreach and giving opportunities that will get results.  Response rate and average gift . In the high-volume world of annual appeals, even modest improvements in these metrics can make a big difference. Make sure to use custom donation links and business reply envelopes that allow your gift processor to code gifts as a response to the right appeal.  Asks and proposals made.  You can’t control if a donor makes a gift, but you can be sure you are pro-actively doing your part. Though most of your time may be spent relationship-building, it can be challenging to hold oneself accountable to execute on the critical step: asking. If you are committed to a certain number of major asks or proposals this year to ensure results, record the asks and tally the activities against a goal to demonstrate the efficacy of the hard work you do.    Measure progress against a goal!  Most reports tell you a result, but how does your audience know if a result is good ? Always measure against a goal, or at least performance over the prior year-to-date. Even better, set quarterly benchmarks so that you can identify when you are off track in time to course correct. Goals should be broken into buckets that are easy to track – so be sure your gift coding structure (Campaigns, Appeals, Designations) matches up with your goals and annual plan strategies.     Make it snappy . Especially when reporting to a board, ensure you are building awareness and trust by demonstrating (a) the scope of the development team’s efforts, and (b) that you have a solid system for tracking results. But don’t drown them in numbers – every report should be short and highly visual, have a few key takeaways, and pivot easily to the conversation you should be having: what can they do to help ?    Make it easy . Staff should not have to spend crazy amounts of time manually creating a report every month, and leadership should support their own needs by settling on the right metrics and investing in an appropriate reporting solution. If a fancy 1-click “AI generated” dashboard sounds like a fantasy, don’t fret. A well-written CRM report, or a custom Excel-type tool that takes standard CRM reports and generates a dashboard on a repeatable basis is entirely within reach for an average user, with a little help.    Are you ready to build a better dashboard? Many clients have made big strides in their reporting by investing in a professional data review and a custom dashboard project. You will gain clarity around your goals and strategies, alignment with your leadership, and useful hard skills to empower you to take control of your data. Reach out to The Ostara Group for a discussion about your reporting needs anytime, we would love to help.

In 2024, GiveBIG raised over $11 million for 1,429 nonprofits in Washington and GivingTuesday raised $3.1 billion for nonprofits across the U.S. But, numbers aside, our clients frequently ask us if the return on investment into these campaigns are worth the effort. As GivingTuesday approaches, we were curious to learn how organizations in our community approach these campaigns and the tactics and strategies they’ve found useful.  Through a survey of our network of past and current clients we found these common themes:    One third of our clients shared they only promoted one of the campaigns, primarily participating in GivingTuesday.   GivingTuesday often conflicts with their year-end giving campaigns.   The fundraising space seems crowded and noisy during these campaigns, with larger nonprofits attracting the majority of funding.  Limited staff capacity and resources led many smaller organizations to opt out or minimally participate - finding the extra effort outweigh the low return and the extra work.   A number of respondents shared they passively participate and send out minimal communications to promote the campaign(s).    A key takeaway from the survey was the challenge of limited resources and low ROI. To help your organization prepare and stand out, here are prioritized tips and strategies for GivingTuesday 2024 and GiveBIG 2025:   Use Digital Communications Strategically   Email is a cost-effective tool that played a major role in GivingTuesday 2023, accounting for 55% of total revenue, with an average of five emails sent during the campaign. A multichannel approach—combining email with social media—keeps your organization front and center before and during campaign days. Plan an email and social media schedule that highlights your goals, potential impact, and compelling stories. For optimal engagement, consider sending emails at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., catching your audience when they start their workday or after dinner. Organizations using this timing earned an average of 28% more than those that did not. Let your donors know about the campaign and share match details a week in advance, and again the day before to capture their attention.    Urgency-Driving Language   To boost engagement, use urgency-driving tactics like countdown clocks, thermometers, compelling graphics, and videos that emphasize deadlines. In your emails, highlight match opportunities and clearly convey the impact of each donation, turning the process into a meaningful investment in your mission. Keep supporters engaged on social media throughout the campaign by using Instagram Reels and Facebook Stories for shout-outs, progress updates, and reminders about matching deadlines.   Target Mid-Level Donors   If GivingTuesday or GiveBIG overlap with your annual campaigns, leverage these events to engage mid-level donors. Segment and tailor your messaging to highlight their unique role in supporting your mission, using matching incentives, impact equivalencies, and graphics that showcase how a mid-level gift can significantly boost your organization’s impact.     Compelling Creative   The power of storytelling lies in its ability to connect with the audience on a human level. Sharing stories helps donors see themselves as a part of your work and how their contribution impacts someone else. Share pictures or video clips in your email communications and on social media to demonstrate the impact of your organization and create a compelling story that motivates donors to give. Use this as an opportunity to highlight the community and people you serve and share their testimonials. This doesn’t need to be professionally done – you can repurpose footage from a previous year’s mission video or have a staff member or volunteer snap some pictures or clips on their phone. The goal is to connect with your audience on a deeper level and inspire and activate your donors to give.    Keep Track of More than What You Raised   Reviewing your campaign data lets you know what you need to change to get better results. You can use these campaigns as an opportunity to analyze your campaign metrics to determine what is working well, identify areas that could be improved upon and adopt a data driven fundraising approach going forward. When analyzing your donations post campaign, we suggest looking at:    Donation page and overall website traffic.  Email open rate, click through rate and unsubscribe rate.  Conversion rate.  Average donation amount.    This will help you identify how donors made their way to your giving page, how well your messaging is resonating with your audience, and what strategies can be adjusted to better engage your audience. You may find your emails generate less traffic than your social media posts or incorporating video testimonials increased giving. This gives you a better idea of where to focus your energy for the following year.     If you choose to participate in GivingTuesday this year or GiveBIG 2025, think of these campaigns as an opportunity to test out new communications strategies, reach a wider audience and build new or deeper relationships with those who choose to give. If you would like to talk through your GiveBIG, GivingTuesday, or annual fund strategies, the Ostara Group is always here!

As a nonprofit, it’s crucial to know whether your programs are making a real difference. To do that, you need to measure impact—but it’s not enough to just look at the numbers. You also need to understand the personal impact your organization is creating. That’s where combining quantitative and qualitative data comes in. By using both approaches, you get a fuller picture of how your organization is changing lives and creating lasting impact. There are several ways organizations can start building out core metrics and evaluation processes. A great place to start is by defining a Theory of Change (ToC) for your organization and for each program.  ToC is a tool that lays out how your nonprofit’s activities lead to your intended long-term outcomes. It’s like a blueprint that shows the connection between what you do and the outcomes you want to achieve. For example, if your ToC is designed to reduce homelessness, you can show how your shelter and ongoing support services are helping people find employment, permanent housing, and ultimately, financial stability. When measuring impact, it’s important to track both the “hard data” (quantitative) and the “personal stories” (qualitative) that help you understand the full scope of your impact. Measuring Quantitative Impact Quantitative data is all about numbers — the outcomes you can measure and track over time that demonstrate your ToC. These are useful for showing the scale of your work and for reporting to funders, stakeholders, and the communities you serve. For example, if your nonprofit is focused on education or workforce development, your quantitative data can include: Education Programs Participant Demographics:  Track the number of unique individuals served and their demographics (e.g., race, ethnicity, gender identity, free/reduced lunch status).  Participant Outcomes: These can include pre- and post-program gains in ELA/math, GPA, standardized test scores, and high school graduation/college enrollment rates. Workforce Development Programs Participant Demographics : Track the number of unique individuals served and their demographics (e.g., race, ethnicity, gender identity, age, disability status, income status). Participant Outcomes : These can include outcomes like the number of FTE/PTE job placements, year-over-year job retention rates, number of employers, and employer industries. Measuring Qualitative Impact Qualitative data goes beyond the numbers to demonstrate the personal impact of your organization’s work. Below are some ways you can collective qualitative data.  Interviews and Focus Groups Talking to people directly — whether through interviews or focus groups — gives you insights into the personal experiences and transformations that numbers can’t capture. For example, if your nonprofit is education-focused you can interview teachers to get insights on your program’s impact on individual student learning or facilitate student focus groups to ask them how their confidence, grades, or goals have changed because of your program. Surveys Surveys are great for gathering feedback. We recommend using a mix of measurable and open-ended qualitative questions. For measurable qualitative outcomes, you can use a Likert scale to gain insights on your program’s impact:  The program increased my confidence in my ability to excel academically. Selection options: Strongly Agree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, Strongly Agree The interview skills I developed in the program helped prepare me for job interviews. Selection options: Strongly Agree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, Strongly Agree On a scale of 1-10, how likely are you to recommend this program to others? Selection options: 1 (very unlikely) – 10 (very likely) For open-ended survey questions, you want to make sure your questions generate answers that capture and demonstrate the personal impact of your organization’s programs. These can include a wide range of questions, including: How has the program helped you achieve your goals? What positive changes have you experienced through the program? What was the most valuable part of the program? What can we improve on to make the program better? Case Studies If you have the time and capacity, creating detailed case studies for individuals who have gone through your program can also demonstrate your short- and long-term impact on the individuals you serve in a way that statistics alone can’t express. For example, a case study might follow one of your participants through their journey from their first day in your program to graduating high school or securing a job.  Combining Quantitative and Qualitative Data: The Best of Both Worlds The real power comes when you combine quantitative and qualitative data. Numbers tell you the “what” of your impact, and qualitative data reveals the “how” and “why.” For example, if your workforce development program helps 80% of participants find work, qualitative data might show that participants feel more confident, valued, and optimistic about their futures. Funders and stakeholders will appreciate the hard data, but personal stories will help them connect emotionally to your mission. Tracking impact isn’t just about collecting data – it’s about understanding how your work is making a real difference in people’s lives. By measuring both the numbers and the stories, you’ll get a much richer view of your program’s effectiveness. This balanced approach not only helps you prove your success but also guides you toward continuous improvement, making sure your organization is always learning and adapting to better serve your community. Ostara specializes in helping nonprofits capture, track, and convey their key heart and head metrics. Contact us today to discuss your organization's unique needs!

Your case statement captures the need, logic, and heart of your capital campaign all in one place. It is a persuasive piece that serves as the foundation for creating campaign donor appeals, grant applications, and other campaign materials.  An effective case statement gives a compelling summary of why your organization exists and deserves philanthropic support; and then lays out your campaign vision, why your cause matters, and how donors can support you. Here are the key components of an effective case statement. 1. Determine your audience Before drafting your case statement, understand who your target audience is. Are they long-time supporters, new prospects, or community leaders? How much backstory and context do they need about your work? What are our shared values, interests, and priorities? What is their understanding of your work? Why do they care about your cause? How can you frame your message to align and resonate? Is there an opportunity for you to inform and enrich their perspective in a positive way? Be sure to tell affirmative stories and focus on positive solutions.   2. Illustrate community need This isn’t about what your organization needs - it’s about the needs of the community you serve. What challenges is your community facing? This is a great opportunity to use external data and facts to persuasively illustrate complicated problems and add credibility. This is especially important if your audience is unfamiliar with or even misinformed about your issue area.  3. Why us & why now? Position your organization at the forefront of addressing your identified community needs. Why is your approach the best solution to address the current and future community needs? Discuss your organization’s track record of success for meeting community needs and how, through this campaign, you will be able to better address them now and in the future. Create a sense of urgency! Why can’t this wait?  4. What’s our plan? This is where you get into the concrete, actionable details. What programs, services, spaces, or funding are you adding or expanding? Why is this plan best for addressing need and maximizing impact? What are your timeline, project, and partnerships?  5. Showcase the Impact Illustrate the positive outcomes of the campaign. Explain how the project will make a difference in the community or for the beneficiaries of your organization. How will the lives of individuals be transformed? Use testimonials, case studies, metrics or success stories to demonstrate the potential impact and the value that will be created for the community. How will the world be different because of the campaign? 6. Call to Action A strong Case for Support should always end with a clear call to action. Why do you need their support to make this vision possible? Why now? Encourage potential donors to take specific steps, whether it’s making a donation, attending an event, or volunteering. Make it easy for them to take action by providing clear instructions and contact information.  7. Refine & Revise As you develop your case, test it with key stakeholders to check that it is effective. Continue to refine your case to be clear, simple, and affirming. An iterative process will help you develop a strong, effective case statement that you will rely on for the entirety of your campaign! Need support developing your case statement? Ostara's seasoned team can work with you to craft an effective and compelling case. We'd love to hear from you - drop us a note .

The power of storytelling lies in its ability to connect with the audience on a human level. Sharing stories helps donors see themselves as a part of your work and how their contribution impacts someone else. The Edmonds Food Bank , an Ostara client, has done an incredible job of engaging their community through their social media efforts. Their Marketing and Communications Manager has completely revolutionized their social media strategy and has significantly increased their following by developing unique content that engages, entertains, and informs the audience of their organization’s work without always asking for donations. One day the food bank received several pallets of carrots that were delivered for distribution, but they looked past their prime and were droopy, having lost moisture while in transit. The Marketing and Communications Manager filmed their Distribution Manager as they conducted an experiment to try to save the produce. They filmed staff soaking the carrots in water and then did a taste test to show how the carrots perked up and regained the crunch, extending the life of the carrots that may have otherwise been discarded. They posted the video to social media and asked followers to share similar tips they know of. The point of the video was to show how the food bank often receives food that is not in the best condition, how they worked to revive the produce and shared how many families would ultimately benefit from having access to the produce. It was one of the highest viewed videos, had high engagement with followers and was widely shared.   Another great example of engaging content from this organization - a staff member took her convertible to pick up a food drive donation and when she returned to the food bank her car was completely full. She arrived with the top down; food piled up as high as it could be safely stacked. Another staff member pulled out their phone and filmed a video of the car pulling up to the building entrance and then volunteers helping to unload the car. This video, and the accompanying content, demonstrated the need for food donations as demand for food assistance continues to increase, shared how many families the food bank could feed with this single donation, highlighted a community run food drive giving recognition to the donor and provided information on opportunities to host your own food and fund drive and engage in volunteer opportunities.   As you think about creating content for your organization remember, not everything has to be professionally done and perfectly polished. Sometimes the most compelling and engaging content stems from something that may feel ordinary to you, but would be interesting to your audience.

The Ostara Group is in the early stages of planning a fall workshop on major fundraising campaigns - capital, endowment, or comprehensive. We are reaching out to our community to help inform our planning and are asking folks to respond to the below quick survey. Those who submit responses prior to July 18th will receive an early invitation with discounted registration, plus a 1-hour complimentary virtual consulting session in 2024 on your topic of choice. Thank you for your valuable input ! Community Input Survey

This article was written by James Perez. He is no longer with Ostara, but we want to preserve this piece so that you can learn from him and from the work he did while part of the Ostara team. Jose Marti, a Cuban poet, and writer, once wrote  Patria es Humanidad  which, in the context of the poem, translates to “Humanity is the only nation.” As COVID-19 continues to inflict damage on our health and the health of our families and communities, I look to Jose’s words as a reminder that we are fighting for something much bigger than ourselves. Recently my fiancé sent me an article about  Captain Tom Moore , a 99-year-old British man that decided to fight and support for something bigger than himself and in his own unique way. Captain Moore pledged to walk 100 laps around his garden (fancy British speak for a back yard) by his 100th birthday. With the assistance of his walker Capt. Moore walked 10 laps (about 27 yards) each day and set a goal of raising £1,000. All of the money raised would go to support the U.K.’s National Health Service Charities, a group of charities that support the staff, volunteers, and patients of Britain’s health care services. In four days, Capt. Moore met his financial goal, which he then changed to £5,000. By April 16th, Captain Moore met his walking goal, which he later changed to 200 laps. Fast forward to the stroke of midnight April 30th, 2020, the last seconds of Capt. Moore’s birthday. As his JustGiving campaign page closes, the final tally is released…£32,796,405 from over 1.5 million unique donors. Let me write that one more time but in long-form. Thirty-two million seven hundred and ninety-six thousand four hundred and five. All raised in support of the men and women on the front lines of the worst public health crisis of our generation. I still find myself getting misty-eyed thinking about this. Captain Moore’s true talent was not in some fancy campaign slogan, glossy one-pager, or perfect pitch. I see his success falling into two categories: a clear and well-defined mission and the undying belief that humanity, society, our community, whatever you want to call it, are inherently compassionate and, when called upon, will act. COVID-19 has a never-ending list of horrors that it brings to our lives, but that same life-threatening public health crisis has shown us what community means and the ability for one to be galvanized. Of course, people are reading this saying, well, what about people buying extra toilet paper or masks and selling them for extreme profit! Yes, those people exist, but I choose to put my energy and focus on people like Captain Tom Moore. Many of my clients asked in the first days of the stay at home order what they should be doing. Our answer slowly morphed into a very simple response of “call your donors and just talk, make sure they are safe and healthy.” Fundraisers are first and foremost relationship builders and managers. When I was a major gift officer, I never saw my role as asking people for money; I saw my role as a facilitator. If a prospective donor spoke about a general interest in education and believed that access to quality education would be an equalizer, then I would present to them the idea of supporting or starting a scholarship fund. Philanthropy is not sales; we do not provide you with a tangible commercial item. Philanthropy offers something far greater, a transformational impact on the community by a community. One of my biggest hopes coming out of this crisis is that we 1) see the ability of a motivated and compassionate community 2) find ways to galvanize them that don’t include a public health crisis. For more stories of hope from our community, be sure to check out the  Ostara Instagram page . Every Monday we’ll be highlighting a different nonprofit in our community and how you can support them during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are here for you and we will walk with you as you navigate this situation. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you would like to discuss how to shift your fundraising event plans, how to respond to funder inquiries about programs and services, how to manage remote work for your teams, or to navigate fears with donors or volunteers.  We’re here to connect.

This article was written by JeeYoung Dobbs. She is no longer with Ostara, but we want to preserve this piece so that you can learn from her and from the work she did while part of the Ostara team. Have you ever been in a room with a board as they are wrestle with the decision to launch a big campaign fundraising effort? I find you can tell a lot about how the campaign will unfold based on their discussion. Board members are the leaders of the organization and campaign ambassadors. Their attitude about the campaign sets the tone from the start for staff, volunteers, donors, and the community. A campaign means shouldering additional responsibilities across an organization. I get curious about the campaign’s ability to reach a successful conclusion when I hear things like: “Can the staff raise the campaign goal?”  “How can we find new donors to support the campaign?”  “We have a lot going on in our organization. Can we outsource the campaign to a committee or consultants?”  Read: Campaign Fundraising is not your jobRead: We don’t think our long-time donors will step up with significant gifts.Read : We aren’t willing to make this campaign our top organizational priority. These questions can reflect an unwillingness to change or expand their commitments beyond the standard board role.You can help your board better understand their role in a campaign and set a strong example for other volunteers and community members by considering a set of strategic questions. Every board should grapple with the answers to these questions before voting to move forward with a campaign, which is often a significant investment of resources.  How would this campaign further our strategic goals and mission? How will this campaign transform our community with lasting change?  Are we willing to individually and collectively stretch for this campaign in terms of time, talent, and treasure?  What tactical steps will we take to make sure the campaign is our top organizational priority? Are we willing to make investments in staff and organizational capacity to support this campaign? Are we willing to share the opportunity to support the campaign among our current donors and network of friends, family, and colleagues? If we vote not to move forward with this campaign, what would happen?   If a board decides to move forward with a campaign, there’s one more question to consider: are we willing to put in the very real, often frustrating, but ultimately rewarding work to accomplish our goal?These questions should make staff and board members feel uncomfortable. A campaign is an extraordinary phase in the life of an organization. A campaign requires major evolution in how board and staff think about and approach fundraising. This change can be difficult but can ultimately lead to a higher caliber of annual fundraising thanks to the investments and expertise devoted to the effort. More importantly, a successful campaign can truly change lives for the better, transforming organizations to meet the complex needs of our communities. We are here for you and we will walk with you as you navigate this situation. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you would like to discuss how to shift your fundraising event plans, how to respond to funder inquiries about programs and services, how to manage remote work for your teams, or to navigate fears with donors or volunteers.  We’re here to connect.

This article was written by James Perez. He is no longer with Ostara, but we want to preserve this piece so that you can learn from him and from the work he did while part of the Ostara team. Who remembers Isaac Newton’s first law of motion… For those of you that did not use the internet to search for it, Newton’s first law of motion says that an object at rest will stay at rest unless affected by an outside force. Maybe because my father, a manufacturing engineer, used to try and get me to do physics problems for fun, this has been one of my personal and professional mantras since my teens. Newton is giving us really great life advice. If you do everything the same as you are doing now, nothing is going to change. If you don’t want things to change, great! If you are looking for change…something needs to give. One of the first things I teach clients in development coaching workshops is that you are more likely to be abducted by aliens while hanging out with Sasquatch, than you are to receive an unsolicited, out-of-the-blue gift of any size from an unknown person. A large number of organizations wait for the donor, funder, foundation, corporate partner, or even paid member to contact them about making a gift. The next thing I reflect on with coaching clients is whether they are currently “putting out a fire” with their funding requests or are following a donor strategy that was compiled at a team meeting. Most, but not all, fall into that first category. This is passive and reactive fundraising, and it is  not  where we want to be. We want to be dynamic and proactive.A dynamic and proactive fundraiser splits their portfolio into thirds: Solicitation  – whom am I asking this year? Cultivation  – whom should I ask next year and how can I cultivate that relationship? Stewardship  – whom did I ask last year and how can I maintain a relationship with them? This fundraiser spends their time reaching out to their solicitation segment to set up donor meetings to put together well researched and crafted proposals that demonstrate the donor’s interest and where it aligns with the vision of the organization. Dynamic and proactive fundraisers take the strategic vision laid out by the Executive Director and Board, identify key funding priorities, and cultivate prospects who have expressed interest in those areas. They reach out, invite, encourage, and inform the donor of the progress within their area of interest. Finally, they spend time stewarding the donors in their portfolio that made a gift the previous year, actively sharing impact reports and updates. The dynamic and proactive fundraiser must be set up for success by the organization as a whole. Funding priorities must be laid out in a strategic plan or an annual development plan, somewhere that is easily referenced and can be recited on the spot. When we fail to create a big picture framework, we run from fire to fire, leaving our development teams mentally, physically, and psychologically exhausted. If we keep putting out fires, we will never have the time to step back, write a plan, and galvanize a new future. We will stay in motion down the same path unless a force affects a change. In human terms, a relationship will stay motionless unless we reach out. The message is simple –if you don’t ask, they won’t give. Without a vision for the future, you only exist for tomorrow, which will not inspire a donor. Newton may have written the laws of motion three hundred years ago, but I think they are just as relevant today and can be applied directly to our profession. If you’d like to learn more about how you can apply these principals to your development plan, check out our new cohort learning program. During these sessions, participants will learn and gain confidence in understanding the foundations and essential principles of fund development. Registration is now open!  Click here  for more info.

We would love to hear how your organization has been adapting to provide services to your clients and how we can support you during this time. Please reach out to us online here . Once again Spring has sprung! And all I can say is, thank goodness!  After 2+ year of a global pandemic, a social justice reckoning that is both long overdue and nowhere near its completion, and a world very nearly gone mad, it feels like we all need a bit of extra sunshine in our lives these days. So, like I do each year at this time, I’d like to share a little Happy Ostara message. I’ve been asked the meaning of Ostara countless times, and for me, it’s both personal and profound.  But when I named this company in 2009, I never imagined how much its significance would resonate today, thirteen years later.   You see, Ostara is about new beginnings.  Making a fresh start. Weathering the hard times and embracing the new period of growth that will surely follow. (Given what we’ve all been through, and are still going through, I’d say we’ve certainly earned a bit of an emotional reprieve.) So, I encourage all of you to take a moment, take a breath, and acknowledge how alive you are and how much what you do every day means to those in your community.  It’s important, difficult, and transformational work.  It can, and often does, take a toll.  But it can also uplift, engage and energize us.  It’s a new world today.  There are new paradigms, new technologies, and new opportunities around every corner.  There are also challenges the likes many of us have never experienced before. These challenges are not lost on us. We didn’t just skate through these two years unscathed.  Many of our long-time clients know that we’ve had our own opportunities for change. But we’re leaning into this change with our eyes, and our hearts, wide open.  We’re re-focusing and re-doubling our efforts to meet the needs of our clients as they navigate this new world.  In the coming months, you’ll see announcements about new Ostara team members, and new Ostara service offerings as we do the same.  We hope you reach out if you need help, or if you just want someone to run an idea by.  We’ve always made it a significant part of our company ethos to be here for you.  If you know anything about Ostara, you know that. What tomorrow (or even later today!) might bring, we can’t know for sure.  But we can support each other.  We can help each other.  We can create new beginnings for our community, our families, our world.  Let’s make that happen…together. Happy Ostara!

National Limerick Day, May 12, 2022 And now for a word from Ostara To our clients both near and afar-a Who are taking the reigns And planning campaigns, We offer this brief Magna Carta: (Article I: Leadership) Your leadership must be prepared, Committees shall duly be chaired, All will give in good measure Their time and their treasure And networks be happily shared. (Article II: Community) Begin with your deepest investors And community messaging testers To ensure there’s potential And those influential To be your best friends and connectors (Article III: Core Assets) Neglect not your staff and your culture Your fundraising infrastructure Your plans and your mission Your values and vision All under a skillful conductor If you’re wondering “what’s our potential?” “Do we have everything that’s essential?” Our team’s seen it all And we’d welcome your call To discuss our approach and credentials.