Are you at an organization where you’re actively raising money right now, or are you taking a “wait and see” approach? We’re many weeks into the Covid-19 crisis, and I can’t believe I’m still having the same conversation with Executive Directors, day-after-day, week-after-week. Too many EDs still aren’t sure this is a good time to raise … [Read more...]
5 Great Examples of Electronic Donation Solicitations During Covid-19
Today I’m excited to bring you examples of electronic donation solicitations done right during the Covid-19 crisis. You’re really going to want to watch the 6-minute video, because it’s all about show and tell! A partial transcript appears below, with visual examples pulled from the video for reference. Example 1: Donation Frequency set … [Read more...]
Covid-19 Creates New Ways to Solicit Donors
One refrain that always made me cringe -- yet seemed so commonplace at many nonprofit organizations -- was: That’s the way we’ve always done it. And while I was the first to encourage the boards I worked with or the senior staff I coached to try something new, it seems I may have fallen into that trap myself. Covid-19 is a … [Read more...]
John Haydon’s Legacy: Improving Donor Retention through Donor Care
Unfortunately, I’m coming to you with some sad news today. This week, we lost a legend in the nonprofit sector. John Haydon lost his battle with cancer. You may know John’s work. He was a prolific writer, blogger, author, teacher, trainer, and speaker. John Haydon's Legacy: Donor Care If you’re not familiar with John's work, I have … [Read more...]
21 Ways to Thank Major Gift Donors: A Round-Up of Strategies
Expressing gratitude is the final stage of the fundraising cycle. It comes after the hard work of identifying and cultivating donors, and of course, asking for their gift. Step 1: Identification Step 2: Cultivation Step 3: Solicitation Step 4: Stewardship (gratitude) In other words, after a donor commits to a gift (donation), it’s … [Read more...]
How to Ask for a Major Gift: 5 Clear Steps in 30 Minutes (or Less)
Today, you're going to learn how to ask for a major gift in five very clear steps. You'll need about 30 minutes of time total to carry out these steps. But before diving in to the "how-to", it's important to know WHEN and WHERE to ask for a major gift. Knowing WHEN to Ask for a Major Gift Let’s assume you’ve built a fairly good … [Read more...]
Major Gift Fundraising 201: Board Basics for Raising Bigger Gifts
Whenever I speak at conferences about how to raise major gifts, one of the first topics I cover (after determining what the term major gift actually means) is board member engagement. I ask audience members (or workshop participants) to raise their hands if their organization has 100% participation. In other words, if every board member … [Read more...]
The Amazing Power of Authenticity When Building Donor Relationships
At a recent board retreat I was facilitating, a board member challenged me. He said that he felt the donor cultivation strategies I was discussing seemed contrived. He didn’t believe we could develop real relationships with donors because the ulterior motive was to raise money. However, this particular board member was missing one key fact … [Read more...]
Want to Raise More Money when Fundraising? Go on a Listening Tour
Recently I was on a coaching call with a new client who doesn’t have experience raising major gifts. We discussed his plans for raising money from individual donors before year end. His idea was to call as many businesses as possible to “get meetings,” then tell them about all the amazing work his organization was doing, and then ask for a … [Read more...]
A Capital Campaign Tool You Can Use to Raise Major Gifts
The most important capital campaign tool is the gift range chart. This chart demonstrates how many gifts (and donors, and prospective donors) at each level (amount) it will take a reach your goal. Traditionally this tool has been used exclusively for capital campaigns, but the principles apply equally to raising major gifts for your annual … [Read more...]
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