Ever had a fundraising goal “handed” to you out of the blue? I bet you have, and you’re not alone. But that doesn’t make it right. I’m sick of development directors being expected to perform miracles. And, that’s generally what’s happening when their fundraising goal is created without their input. When that happens, I know their … [Read more...]
5 Critical Steps to Raise Major Gifts in Time for Year-End Fundraising
Are you concerned about year-end giving? If so, you're not alone. Regardless of your fiscal year, the calendar year plays a huge role in fundraising, especially in the USA. Most organizations receive between 25% and 50% of their total dollars raised for the year in November and December. Some organizations raise more than 10% of their … [Read more...]
Wish You Had New Donors? Ask the Ones You Have Instead!
Whenever someone signs up to receive my emails, they're encouraged to share their biggest fundraising challenge. Here’s one such challenge recently shared with me that many organizations face: The biggest challenge we are facing at the moment is with landing larger donations ($1,000-$5,000+), both in terms of attracting new, higher level … [Read more...]
7 Questions to Determine Whether #GivingTuesday Works for You
Although only four years old, #GivingTuesday has taken off. If you don’t know what it is (and you're living under a rock), you can learn more about it on the official site at www.givingtuesday.org. Much like “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday,” #GivingTuesday has now become mainstream. Started by the 92nd Street Y, it’s a brilliant campaign … [Read more...]
Scared by Year-End Fundraising? A Simple Year-End Fundraising Checklist
October is the month for ghouls, ghosts, and goblins, and with Halloween fast approaching, we also know that year-end is not far behind. That means we are approaching the height of the fundraising season -- the time of year when most donors give and charities raise the bulk of their donations. Every day from October through December, I … [Read more...]
Know Your Donor Retention Rate? You Should! Jay Love Explains
Jay Love, the CEO of Bloomerang and my friend and colleague, recently sat down with me for an exclusive interview for my Ask the Fundraising Expert series. Interview Highlights (Transcript) Here is a very bare-bones, mini-transcript of our conversation. Be sure to watch the video to get all the important details. Critical … [Read more...]
You’re Not Too Late to Raise More on #GivingTuesday
If you’re not already planning a fundraising campaign around #GivingTuesday, you should! It’s the perfect antidote to all the shopping happening on #BlackFriday and #CyberMonday. If you aren’t familiar with #GivingTuesday, it’s an online campaign started in 2012 that any nonprofit can participate in, allowing your cause to take … [Read more...]
How Are You Treating Your Donors? Time to Find Out!
How Are You Treating Your Donors? Do You Really Know? Over the summer, my good friends at Bloomerang conducted an experiment to see how nonprofit organizations treat their donors. The results were intriguing... How does your organization stack up? Discover How Well You Treat Your Donors It begs the question, how do you treat … [Read more...]
Lessons Learned from ALS Ice Bucket Challenge: Silly Stunt or Brilliant Fundraising?
It’s not often that I digress from writing about major gifts, but I had to make an exception for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you might be living under a rock -- or on an extremely extended vacation.) In fact, I can’t ever recall a fundraising campaign going viral in this manner, or of this … [Read more...]
How to Determine The Right Ask Amount When Asking Donors for Gifts
Our question this week is from Sarah, who wants to know: How do you determine the right ask amount? This is a great question, and one that many people struggle with. Unfortunately, there's no exact formula. Fundraising is about working with people, which makes it part science and part art -- but there are some general guidelines … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- Next Page »
