Nonprofit Essentials | AI in Fundraising, Building Support for Cybersecurity, Exciting Grants Reform Proposal, and more

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In this month’s Nonprofit Essentials, we have articles for you on efforts promoting the ethical use of AI in fundraising, some resources for National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and an invitation to get involved (in a nonpartisan way, of course) in promoting civic engagement through Vote Early Day.

But first, we pause to express our gratitude to someone special: Amy Silver O’Leary. If you have enjoyed this newsletter over the past couple years – and picked up some knowledge and resources along the way – that is because of Amy. Her ears were always listening for the information you might need; her eyes scanning the horizon for emerging trends and new opportunities for nonprofits. Amy retired at the end of September, and we will all miss her. We hope you will join us now in saying a big “THANK YOU” to Amy as she begins her next chapter.

Continuing Amy’s practice, we invite you to continue to share what topics you want to learn more about and how this newsletter can best help you in your work.

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🔷October Essentials🔷

Responsibly Embracing AI in Fundraising

Everywhere you turn these days, there are new articles about Artificial Intelligence (AI). Some are about how AI is revolutionizing everything for the better. Some are about the dangers. Whether you’re yearning for or fearful of AI, there’s no denying it’s here to stay – and will grow more central. So how might we use this new tool in a responsible way? A new initiative called Fundraising.AI has crafted a Framework for Responsible Artificial Intelligence in Fundraising. This new framework can help guide your nonprofit as you experiment with how AI can aid your fundraising work, while still maintaining values of privacy, inclusiveness, and transparency. Tim Sarrantonio, one of Fundraising.AI’s steering committee members, shares more in this article, including an opportunity to learn more at an upcoming free virtual summit.

Learn more about the Framework for Responsible Artificial Intelligence in Fundraising

Build Support from Staff and Donors for Your Nonprofit’s Cybersecurity

NCN is proud to be a partner again in Cybersecurity Awareness Month. We’ve shared several cybersecurity tips and tools for small nonprofits in this space in the past. In this edition, we focus on something more important: building support internally from your staff and externally from your donors and funders. More than any tip or tool or technology investment, their support will make the critical difference in keeping your nonprofit secure.

How to build the support to secure your nonprofit.

Promote Early Voting

Civic engagement is not a single action; it’s an ongoing opportunity to help your community have their voices heard. If helping people register to vote is the first step, then the next step is encouraging those people to cast their votes to have a say in their own future. Most states allow registered voters to cast their ballot before Election Day. Join together in a nonpartisan manner on October 23rd to help people be #VoteReady. Check out the social media graphics you can use and voter tools for the upcoming elections.

Join as a community partner and get involved today!

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How proposed federal grants reforms could make life easier for your nonprofit

Newly proposed significant changes to the rules governing grantmaking using federal funds could correct longstanding challenges that have made it difficult for many nonprofits to seek and do work under federal grants. The changes could eliminate bureaucratic hurdles, make requirements easier to understand, eliminate excessively burdensome reporting requirements, and increase the amount these grants pay for the indirect costs that are essential to nonprofit operations.

Learn more about how these reforms, if adopted, could help your nonprofit.

📰 News & Resources

💵 Changes to Facebook/Meta fundraising tools: Meta, the corporate parent of Facebook, announced that effective October 31, it is changing how it will handle donations made using that platform. Most significant is that it will no longer cover the credit card fees on donations, forcing donors or the receiving nonprofit to pay the processing fees. Read more about the forthcoming changes and some analysis about the impact on nonprofits.
🎥 Learnings from Candid’s first year of short-form videos on social media: The team at Candid shared five tips for nonprofits that want to try your hand at using TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts to engage audiences to support your work. One key takeaway for us: to be engaging, videos need to exhibit energy. If someone just isn’t feeling it that day, postpone the recording. Read on for more of Candid’s tips for great videos.
🎓 Providing educational assistance benefits to your employees: As the nonprofit workforce shortage continues, some nonprofit employers are taking advantage of a temporary opportunity to provide educational assistance benefits to employees. Employers can make payments to help reduce an employee’s student loan debt on qualified education loans – without creating taxable income to the employee. The amount can go up to $5,250 per employee per year, under a pandemic-era provision that is effective through 2025. The enhanced benefit only applies to payments made after March 27, 2020 and must be paid by the employer to either the employee or a lender.

🗨️Your Voices

We began this edition by talking about how Amy was always listening to you, our subscribers. In that spirit, we are kicking off a new tradition in Nonprofit Essentials to feature your voices. Each month, we’ll ask you a question, seeking your insights on how your nonprofit is innovating or overcoming challenges so your insights can help nonprofits everywhere. Then, the following month we’ll feature one (or more) of your responses. Let’s all help each other.

So, for our first “Your Voices” question: “How is your nonprofit responsibly deploying Artificial Intelligence (AI) in its operations?”

Share your voice

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