By having the full picture, we can make better long-term strategic decisions on who to contact, what to ask of them and how best to contact them. And, most importantly, it helps us be able to talk with donors about their relationship with SJCS based on accurate information.

Loree Lipstein

April 13, 2021

This short report breaks down how community-based nonprofits, like the organizations that largely comprise the Thread community, or our “Spool” as we like to call it, fare against broader trends and best practices during the all-important end-of-year (EOY) giving season

Loree Lipstein

March 25, 2021

In our experience, when nonprofits fall down in their fundraising, it’s often a function of poor operations. In their eagerness to raise the dollars needed to make their budgets, they don’t take the time to properly set their systems and train their people.

Loree Lipstein

February 26, 2021

We need to talk about a donor’s/funder’s connection to the community, the collective. The work that we do is not only made possible by donors; it’s made possible by a full-on community of staff, partners, other funders, volunteers, board members,

Loree Lipstein

January 14, 2021

Over the past year, Thread has seen one conversation finally begin to get the serious consideration it has long deserved but not gotten: diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in fundraising specifically.

Included in the job responsibilities of a fundraising consultant is the expectation to stay current on the conversations,

Loree Lipstein

January 13, 2021

In a year like 2020, it’s been the determination and good humor of our Spool that has inspired us to do more and be better.

Join us as we pass around our gratitude for everyone who made 2020 memorable in all the good ways.

Loree Lipstein

January 12, 2021

At Thread, we are also thankful for sew much! With that very on-brand giggle now out of our system we offer this message of thanks.

On behalf of the entire Thread team, thank you for being an important member of our Spool.

Loree Lipstein

December 1, 2020

When you sit down to write, rather than asking, “What will make people give to us?” you should ask, “What are people saying about themselves when they give to us?”

Thread: What was this certification course and why did you want to take it?

Loree Lipstein

October 7, 2020

The rub about writing general operating support grants, especially to loyal, repeat funders year after year, is that they cover the essentials of your organization, and the essentials of your organization don’t typically change very much year to year.

So how do you write a general operating support proposal that sounds refreshed when the bulk of your content is stable and evergreen to your nonprofit’s mission and work?

Loree Lipstein

October 5, 2020

The value of an anniversary is in creating a communal opportunity to pause and recall all the experiences and change that have happened since the last moment of reflection.

Way back in February,

Loree Lipstein

September 24, 2020