In today’s @AvalonFYI dispatch, the GivingTuesday countdown is on! Plus, nonprofit texting strategies, the value of clean data, a look at strategy in action, and more!
Dear friends,
Today, we are officially 6 weeks out from GivingTuesday. I love this part of the fundraising year, when we all come together to hit milestones, meet deadlines, and make the most of donors’ spirit of gratitude and generosity during the holidays. Thank you and kudos to the Avalon team for their incredible work to prepare our clients for year-end, and for the many ways they support and celebrate each other. I am already inspired, and we’re just getting started.
Merger Update
Avalon continues building a seamless team with Faircom New York. We’re focused on strengthening collaboration across agencies, clarifying how we work together, identifying opportunities to share expertise and capabilities, and ensuring we continue to deliver great work for our clients throughout the process. One exciting development is our flexible, private office space at The Malin in Washington, DC, which gives us a new home base for meetings and other gatherings.
At every stage, what stands out most to me is our common ground: a deep commitment to our people and clients, and a genuine passion for the missions and organizations we are privileged to support. Those shared values give us an incredible foundation for the work ahead.
Avalon Out and About: Find Us and Say Hello!
• October 22: VP Lisa Caldwell, VP David Lothamer, and AD Meredith Jones will attend the DMAW Multi-Channel Innovation Summit.
• October 26-29: COO Kerri Kerr, SVP Jackie Libby (presenter), VP Dara Igersheim, VP Will Griffiths, VP Kristen Dlesk, and VP Tom Reinecke (presenter) will attend the American Museum Membership Conference.
• October 26-29: VP Rebecca Shapalis will attend the Association for Animal Welfare Advancement Annual Conference.
• October 28: VP Lindsay Marino Long will moderate Behind the Byline, an Avalon webinar featuring nonprofit sector journalists and communicators. Join us to learn what they are hearing, what deserves more attention, and what they’ll be watching in the months ahead. Registration for this online event is free and open to the public.
ENCC DC
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to nonprofit texting. At this year’s ENCC DC conference, VP of Digital David Lothamer joined Cari Maslow, Interim VP of Annual Giving and Development Services at National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP), to share NTHP’s peer-to-peer texting (P2P) pilot and plans for broadcast texting. Together, they challenged common assumptions about P2P versus broadcast texting and shared practical advice for nonprofits looking to build or expand their own texting programs. Thank you to Engaging Networks for a terrific conference that covered everything from AI to advocacy to creative techniques for growing and engaging audiences. Our team had a great time catching up with digital fundraising colleagues, and we are excited to advance these conversations and ideas with our clients.
ENCC DC highlights: Dinner with David Lothamer, NTHP colleagues, and Evan Kieber of NPCA; David presenting with Cari Maslow of NTHP; and a partner dinner with the Engaging Networks team.
We ❤️ Clean Data
In a recent piece for The NonProfit Times on how AI amplifies bad data, Richard Geiger cites a study by Coastal, which finds that 72% of organizations report new data challenges like accuracy, accessibility, and trust after AI adoption. The problem is that many nonprofits don’t have strong, ongoing data practices to build on. As a result, AI embeds and iterates errors, inaccuracies, and other weaknesses that already exist. He writes that data hygiene may be an “unglamorous” requirement, but it is the foundation for every opportunity AI presents. Avalon has championed these practices for decades because, long before AI, clean data was always imperative. It is the backbone of donor stewardship, campaign success, reporting, analytics, and strategy. Data hygiene does require consistent effort and attention, but it is mission-critical for fundraising and an investment that will always pay off.
Strategy In Action
Earlier this month, Avalon team members joined our clients at International Rescue Committee in New York City for a planning retreat. The gathering brought together team members and agency partners to kick off FY27, step away from the day-to-day, brainstorm fresh ideas, identify opportunities for improvement, and align priorities for the year ahead. Thank you for having us!
ENCC DC highlights: Dinner with David Lothamer, NTHP colleagues, and Evan Kieber of NPCA; David presenting with Cari Maslow of NTHP; and a partner dinner with the Engaging Networks team.
