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Abstract

Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) serve public interests through education, health, environment, and community services. Community-based NPOs like Out Our Front Door (OOFD) promote sustainability and local engagement through biking adventures while encouraging environmental awareness and cultural appreciation. To enhance its long-term impact, OOFD is revising its fundraising strategy by collaborating with the University of Chicago Alumni Relations and Development (ARD), considering the health and environmental advantages of biking. The goal of the project is to support OOFD in exploring fundraising strategies by creating a comprehensive resource library. As effective fundraising is vital to nonprofits’ survival, this project also addresses the growing need for donor-centered strategies, staff training and leadership engagement. A thematic analysis was conducted to identify patterns from both academic sources and survey responses from comparable NPOs, which serve as supplement insights from the current industry. Responses from 12 organizations reveal social media (91.7%) and email campaigns (83.3%) as the top fundraising tools, with Facebook being the most popular social media platform. The identified fundraising strategies include donor segmentation and diversified fundraising, and while online platforms provide visibility, they need to be used strategically. Additionally, personalized donor engagement and regular contact help improve retention. Emerging trends include peer-to-peer fundraising, a focus on recurring donors, and integrating volunteer engagement into donor pipelines. The shift of engagement towards mid-level donors highlights the need for relationship-based fundraising and long-term donor stewardship for sustainability. The final resource library included curated materials such as articles, webinars, platforms, and toolkits, targeting both beginner and advanced levels to help OOFD board members and volunteers improve fundraising effectiveness. Overall, the project serves as a resource center for members to access information on different fundraising strategies to improve the organization’s sustainability.

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