Classy Academy, a New Online Training Platform for Nonprofits to Improve their Fundraising Prowess
Classy, a Public Benefit Corporation that develops fundraising software for nonprofits, announces the launch of Classy Academy, a free learning platform of on-demand courses designed to help social sector professionals best leverage Classy's cloud-based fundraising tools for online fundraising campaigns. Last week, the new initiative was announced at Classy's Collaborative: Virtual Sessions, the company's annual conference for nonprofit professionals. This year's event drew over 7,000 registrants and some of the most prominent nonprofit leaders, including Reshma Saujani, Founder of Girls Who Code and Marshall Plan for Moms; Alex Sheen, Founder of because I said I would; Trovon Williams, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications at the NAACP; and Kathy Reich, Director at BUILD Ford Foundation.
Classy Academy aims to provide organizations with fundraising best practices and step-by-step instructions for launching, optimizing, and scaling campaigns on Classy's platform and practical resources for day-to-day chores like generating attractive email templates to improve conversions. Classy has assisted NGOs in raising over $3 billion for their missions over the last ten years; Classy Academy utilizes these years of experience and industry knowledge to allow a culture of continuous learning for the organizations it serves.
Classy Academy will open with six interactive courses and content, including video tutorials, product simulations, downloadable materials, practical resources and templates, and more. Additional courses will be offered biweekly, including guest appearances and teaching from Classy team members and other critical nonprofit leaders. Courses that are instantly available at launch include:
• Account Setup: Get step-by-step instructions to set up your account, prepare to accept payments, and find your way around your Classy account settings.
• Building a Campaign: Learn how to pick the right campaign type for your needs, create and design a campaign, and set up automated emails to engage with supporters.
• Launching a Campaign: Navigate nonprofit marketing strategy and develop a communications plan for email campaigns, social media best practices, peer-to-peer strategy, and more.
• Supporter Management: From tracking transactions to updating recurring donations, this course teaches the essentials for managing day-to-day operations and supporters.
• Optimizing Donation Pages: Learn what it takes to maximize donation pages for conversion. This course dives into editing and improving your pages and practical actions you can take to test and grow.
• Recurring Essentials: Learn how to approach a recurring donation program in a manageable way, recruit and communicate with recurring donors strategically, and use regular features in your Classy campaigns.
Measuring Your Success: Understand how to measure success with data through custom reports and leverage data effectively to shape your campaign strategy.
Classy Academy is also collaborating with NextAfter, a fundraising research lab and consulting focusing on online fundraising optimization, to launch a unique course focusing on best practices for acquiring contributors online and tactical guidance on converting new email subscribers into donors.
Classy Academy classes will provide a curriculum for all levels of online fundraising understanding, from beginner to advanced, with degrees of certification displayed on one's LinkedIn profile and used as a differentiator on resumes.
About Classy
Classy is a social enterprise that creates world-class online fundraising software for nonprofits, modernizing the giving experience to accelerate social impact worldwide. Based in San Diego, CA, Classy is trusted by organizations of all sizes, from the fastest-growing nonprofits to some of the world's largest social organizations. Classy also hosts the Collaborative conference and the Classy Awards to spotlight the innovative work nonprofits are implementing around the globe.