Nonprofit Connections newsletter of the North Carolina Center for Nonprofits

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February 2025

Green and teal graphic with lightbulb icon. Text: Tip of the Month: Adapt fundraising strategies

Tip of the Month: Fundraising


Our new Tip of the Month series shares simple, practical advice inspired by our Principles & Practices guide to help you strengthen your organization, connect with your community, and reach your mission.


Check out this month's actionable tips for adapting fundraising strategies to effectively navigate and sustain change.


You can also join The Blackbaud Giving Fund's Holly Ivel on March 11 for an inside look at corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs and workplace giving and volunteer programs and how they can become sustainable funding streams for your nonprofit.

Your Voice Matters


Policies at the state and local levels directly impact nonprofit funding, operations, and the communities we serve. That’s why it’s critical to stay informed and help shape the conversation. Here are a few ways to tap in and stay tuned.

Black woman speaking into a megaphone beside text: Join the policy conversation during the 2025 Nonprofit Policy Conversations.

Join a Nonprofit Policy Conversation in your area. These in-person gatherings bring together nonprofit leaders and local officials to discuss key policy issues that affect our sector and communities. Stay tuned for upcoming dates and locations.


Catch up on what’s happened since the Trump administration took office and the NC legislature convened last month. This nonprofit public policy preview also highlights legislative priorities for the year and nonprofit sector issues that are likely to be in play in 2025.


Stay current on presidential executive orders and how they affect nonprofits. Quick on the heels of the executive order to freeze federal grants, the National Council of Nonprofits developed this chart of executive orders that they continue to update as well as share nonprofits' stories of how EOs are impacting our work and the people we serve.

Graphic of press conference with several speakers standing at and near a podium with bystanders and reporters facing them as they listen and film. Text: 2025 State of the Nonprofit Sector Survey now live! Share your voice today!

Complete the Nonprofit Finance Fund's 2025 State of the Nonprofit Sector Survey. This annual survey gathers data about timely sector issues like federal funding, workforce and staffing, implications of political events, and the importance of racial equity in nonprofit finance. Responses help us and other nonprofit advocates make the case to policymakers, funders, and other decision makers for solutions and investments that benefit nonprofits and the communities we serve. Take the survey by March 7.

The Center works closely with the National Council of Nonprofits and other state associations across the country to influence policy at all levels and across all branches of government. Your membership makes this work possible. Not a member? Join now.

Close up of hand stacking wooden blocks, each with a healthcare-related icon. Text: Nonprofit Association Health Plan Information Session: March 7, 2025.

Health Insurance for NC Nonprofits


Health insurance is one of the more challenging benefits for nonprofits to offer their staff. Through our new partnership with Marsh McLennan and Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC, nonprofits now have options to offer health insurance, among a menu of other benefits and coverage for their employees, through our Association Health Plan. Join the free information session on March 7 to get more details and answers to your questions. You can also fill out an interest form for more personal follow up.

Member Benefit: Learn about various Center money-saving partnerships that provide Center members with additional options including retirement plans and healthcare to fortify your employee benefits packages.

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Colorful paper cut-outs of people in profile to the right of a download button and text: Small Nonprofits, Big Impact | Talent Challenges and Opportunities (report)
Watermark logo of Angel Oak Creative beside text: New episode of Nonprofit State of Minds (podcast) with Ivan Canada, President & CEO of the North Carolina Center for Nonprofits

Team Building & Deepening the Bench


Center President & CEO Ivan Canada was the kick-off guest on the new season of longtime partner Angel Oak Creative’s Nonprofit State of Minds podcast. With partnership and teamwork more important than ever, Ivan talks about North Carolina’s nonprofit sector and the Center’s role in bringing people together. He shares that our organizations, communities, and sector have faced challenges, but we’ve also collectively built a supportive ecosystem with diverse partners and a roadmap for change. Now is the time to continue this momentum to create a bigger space for collaboration, strategic thinking, and the shared responsibility of moving our sector forward. Listen in.

Extreme close up of desk with open laptop, lined notepad, and black pen. Text: Nonprofit Management Institute, April 15-May 20, 2025.

Bolster your team spirit by developing your own leadership and management skills as part of the spring cohort of the Nonprofit Management Institute. Beginning April 15, nonprofit executives, managers, and board leaders will meet over six weeks to learn from expert facilitators and each other on best practices and better strategies for board governance, program design and evaluation, strategic planning, financial management, fundraising, and human resources. Join the roster!

Image of central processing unit which appears like a digital brain with concentric rings around it. It's surrounded by computer screens with various images as though they are streaming by.

Leverage AI Effectively


Getting serious about AI? It can enhance so many areas and functions throughout your organization. However, it does come with concerns. Check out Apparo’s AI for Social Good Playbook for everything from what it is and why to use it to developing AI strategies, protecting your organization’s security, and popular AI tools and training. Then learn how to leverage AI to interpret your data, streamline your processes, and boost your strategic impact.

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Help us test a new website feature

Meet Al! If you have a question or need help finding anything on our website, open the conversation icon on the bottom right of any webpage and chat with our experimental artificial intelligence customer service agent. Then let us know how it goes!

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Photo of conference attendees sitting around tables, seemingly amused by and enjoying what a presenter said or did. Text: NonprofitConsultingConference.org in Asheville, NC on September 16-18, 2025.

What We're Reading


Upcoming Training


Thank You, Supporters!


We appreciate the support of these new businesses in Business Finder, our online directory of businesses and consultants that work specifically with nonprofits. Check them out or promote your services.

eCIO

AKG Business Solutions

Welcome, New Members!


We appreciate the members of our growing nonprofit network. Your support and partnership make it possible for us to educate, connect, and advocate for and with nonprofits across North Carolina.

Breastfeeding Family Friendly Communities

CaroNova

Center for Death Education

Charlotte Roller Derby

Coastal Carolina Disaster Resiliency Agency (CCDRA)

Companion Animal Clinic Foundation

Cool Spring Downtown District

Creative Kids Foundation

EMBRACE (Embrace All Latino Voices)

Emmy Cares

Family Connects International

Hayti Reborn-Justice Movement (HR-JM)

Heart Beats Community Café

Henderson County & Thermal Belt Habitat for Humanity

Jane's Fund

Kinston Strong

Lands and Waters South

Matthews Playhouse

Middle East Refugee Aid (MERA)

Mountain Valleys Resource Conservation & Development Council

Nippon Club of the Triangle

Peace Garden Project

Polk Referral Center

Reconciling Communities

The Ruffian Foundation Cat Sanctuary

Seaforth Performing Arts Foundation

Sol Nation

Springclean

True Ridge

Wildflower House

Woodshed Arts

Zealous Empowering Nurturer (ZEN)

North Carolina Center for Nonprofits
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