Imagine you donate to a charity for the first time. You receive a generic tax receipt and then, eight months later out of the blue, you receive a thank you call for a donation you barely remember making. Do you feel warm and fuzzy or in any way endeared toward that organization? I know a lot of nonprofit leaders are hard at work right now … [Read more...]
How to Earn an A+ on Your Donor Report Cards
If your donors were grading your fundraising efforts and their experience with your nonprofit, what sort of grade would they give you? (Hint: It’s not all about getting straight A’s, but it’s about doing the best you can. For more on this, see the end of this post.) 6 Areas to Earn an A+ on Your Donor Report Cards Simply pushing … [Read more...]
5 Times I Was Wrong About My Approach to Fundraising
The first decade of my fundraising career, I made many mistakes. Of course, mistakes aren’t necessarily bad if you take the opportunity to learn from them. Fortunately, I’m older and wiser now, and I hope you can learn from my own missteps. After 25 years of fundraising, I’ve learned a lot and am happy to pass along these tidbits to you. … [Read more...]
6 Ways to Thank Donors Virtually and Really Stand Out
Recently I was leading a training on raising major gifts and one of the participants asked how she could steward donors virtually. It got me thinking about why stewardship is important and why you should think outside the box when following up with donors after they make a gift. The Importance of Stewardship Stewardship is the fourth and … [Read more...]
6 Things You Can Do This Summer to Prepare for Fall Fundraising
Summer tends to be a slower time for fundraisers. Many donors and staff are away on vacation. However, fall fundraising will be here before you know it. That’s why it’s a good idea to take advantage of quiet time in the office to prepare for the mad dash to year end. 6 Things You Can Do to Prep for Fall Fundraising With that in mind, … [Read more...]
For the Future of Our Children, We Must Learn to Listen
This weekend I spent more time scrolling social media than I care to admit. On an intellectual level, I understand that the algorithms feed me content based on my preferences. Yet, I had a real “ah-ha” moment in my long-weekend scrolling haze. My Social Media Driven “Ah-Ha” Moment What I discovered when I began to pay attention was a … [Read more...]
Why You Should Never Raise Major Gifts Alone
Fundraising is a team sport. You may have heard that expression before. And when it comes to major gift fundraising, that’s absolutely true. The more people on your team, the better you are likely to do. Conversely, if you are expected to raise money on your own, it will be harder to do by yourself than if you have the support and … [Read more...]
Beyond the Basics: 5 Creative Ways to Thank Donors and STAND OUT
Gratitude is a basic expression of human kindness. From a young age, we teach our kids to be polite -- to say thank you and you're welcome. But how do we keep gratitude from becoming rote and automatic, rather than creative, genuine, and authentic? Are you truly grateful for your donors? Of course you are, but you have to show them in … [Read more...]
3 Surefire Ways to Alienate Your Donors on Valentine’s Day
This week, you’re going to be bombarded with ways to show #DonorLove. Much of the advice you get will be standard and sound. Some will be cheesy and tacky. Hopefully some ideas will be original and inspirational. It’s up to you to determine which is which. I suggest doing things that will make you stand out (in a good way) with your donors. … [Read more...]
Top 10 Reasons You WON’T Raise Major Gifts in 2022
After teaching fundraising for more than a decade, I have a pretty good idea of who will raise major gifts and who won’t. There are familiar patterns I've learned to recognize -- markers of success, and markers of failure. Some of these patterns are obvious; others, not so much. I've done a number of posts over the years on what it … [Read more...]
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