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The art of the digital proposal: Bring your fundraising cases to life
Journal of Education Advancement & Marketing,
3
(4),
340-350
(2019)
Abstract
Today’s donors are savvy, innovative and dynamic — and the fundraising proposals gift officers submit to them should be the same. Readers will learn how to go beyond the standard Word document by creating digital fundraising proposals that are as exciting and creative as their students, faculty and institution. Interactive maps, clickable charts and animated and photographic elements will bring proposals to life, truly impress donors and potentially increase fundraising. In this paper, fundraising professionals will get tips to consider which donors will gravitate to which proposal formats — Word documents, designed pieces and PowerPoint presentations (PPTs) or interactive webpages. They will learn the interactive and visual elements that make a digital proposal compelling and explore some tips and tricks to crafting lively digital proposals without deep web coding skills. And they will receive coaching on how to think digitally about how a proposal can be conveyed electronically to the right donor.
Keywords: proposals/proposal writing; grants/grant writing; fundraising websites/webpages; responsive design; digital/electronic; web coding
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
David Manning joined Northeastern University in 2012 to support both the Leadership Relations and Advancement Communications teams. His interest in all things marketing and design steered him towards the communications team full time in 2013. His ever-evolving job includes design, web development, marketing research and digital outreach. Manning cut his teeth in the political arena as a campaign coordinator and manager for a handful of municipal, state and congressional campaigns. He operates on the belief that a team must stay agile in the face of change — and his love for Advancement Communications is renewed with each challenge. David received his MBA from Northeastern University in 2017 and continues to blend his business education with design savviness.
Noelle Shough directs a group of dedicated and creative writers, designers and video producers who make up Northeastern University’s Advancement Communications team. Together, they develop campaign collateral, appeals, proposals, websites, videos, brochures, speeches and more. Last year, her team wrapped up fundraising materials for Northeastern’s completed Empower campaign, which raised US$1.4 billion for students, faculty and research at the university. Noelle is a graduate of the University of Vermont and started her writing career in health care publishing before moving to higher education.
