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Fundraising Events: a losing proposition for your nonprofit organization?
There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all. - Peter Drucker Say the word “fundraising” to anyone unfamiliar with the field and what’s the first thing to come to mind? You guessed it – events. Everyone seems to buy into that old Andy Hardy...
Most influential fundraisers: who influences you?
“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta Civil Society’s Fundraising magazine’s Most Influential poll recently opened and I was honored and humbled to receive...
Applications not accepted: Get on their radar!
Foundation Center President Brad Smith notes that “Nearly half of the grantmaker profiles in Foundation Directory Online state, “Applications not accepted”, i.e., these funders do not take unsolicited proposals.” How can you get on their radar? Join us for a live chat at 1:00...
The Pollyanna Principles | An Anniversary Review
You’ve got to accentuate the positive Eliminate the negative And latch on to the affirmative Don’t mess with Mister In-Between You’ve got to spread joy up to the maximum Bring gloom down to the minimum Have faith or pandemonium’s Liable to walk upon the scene Sounds simplistic,...
No Time to Cultivate Young Donors? Ask Your Board & Major Donors to Help!
Don’t spend too much time worrying if you have the right strategy for cultivating Gen X versus Millenials. And definitely don’t spend time brainstorming about the iPhone app for your nonprofit that will do it for you. Think big picture, and focus on the basics. The next generation will become loyal...
Are you playing it safe with your nonprofit communications?
This week I had the highest unsubscribe rate in the year or so history of publishing my weekly enews. Was it due to the fact that I was more than a little wiped out from overwork and hadn’t produced a piece up to my own standards? Or was it (more than likely) due to my noting that the NPR setup spearheaded...
Seven Secrets to Great Nonprofit Leadership
1. The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers. RALPH NADER In other words, let your leaders lead. I worked as part of a five-person development team for a large organization for twelve looooong months. During that time period three development directors came and went,...
Nonprofits: The power in an ROI promise
The best nonprofit copywriting, from appeals to web to email, hinge upon emotion. But what happens when you support that emotional pull with logic? The nonprofit that merges emotion with logic creates an irresistible appeal to give. Here are two examples: Charity:Water: $20 can give one person...
Good storytelling passes the test of time
“Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it. “ Hannah Arendt Are you like me? Do you regularly scan your email with an eye to what’s important, check all “unread” messages and end up sending 137 emails to the trash? Is your inbox stuffed with junk like...
What would 60 cents a day buy for your organization?
I came across this great monthly giving advertisement today for the ASPCA on amazon. Here’s a classic example of a well-executed call to action. Social Bookmarking
Monthly Giving for the Small Shop – Interview with Harvey McKinnon
What’s the best thing your nonprofit isn’t doing that it should be doing to slow donor attrition and build sustainable funding? If you said growing your Twitter followers, or redesigning your website you’d be wrong. One of the surefire ways to build lifetime donors – and build legacy funding...
A “Recipe” for Twitter Success
Is there really a “recipe” for a successful Twitter account? In real life conversations with friends and colleagues I’m forever hearing “I don’t really ‘get’ Twitter.” “What IS Twitter anyway? Is it a bunch of people talking about what they had for lunch?” If you’re not a Twitophile,...
11 Tips for growing your nonprofit organization’s email list
Like all sound development, building your organization’s email list takes time. Don’t despair. The key to arriving at your destination is to create a plan. If you don’t already have one, sign up with an email marketing company. Don’t make the mistake of many nonprofit organizations...
Never end without a PS
One of the most well-known secrets of direct response copywriters is the simple PS. And yet you’ll rarely find a PS in a nonprofit communication piece (unless it’s written by a professional copywriter). Why is the PS so important? Many people jump to the end. The PS can spike their interest...
Street fundraising – could it work for your organization?
On a lunchtime visit to a local shopping center yesterday, I noticed a couple of young street fundraisers posted at prominent corners. I’ve seen face-to-face fundraisers canvassing in Center City, Philadelphia — here in suburbia, it’s relatively uncommon. Since this is one method of fundraising...
The Wild Woman’s Guide to Fundraising – Review
I’ve been a fan of Mazarine Treyz, founder of Wild Woman Fundraising, for awhile now. Her blog posts are thought-provoking and Mazarine brings a unique edginess to the oftentimes staid world of nonprofit — while at the same time espousing sound common sense. Now Mazarine has written her first...
How to (finally!) end your organization’s fundraising woes in 2011
If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else. Yogi Berra Do you have a plan for fundraising? It’s amazing how many organizations don’t. If I had a dollar for every organization I’ve met with who told me that they wanted to ‘try’ grants or asked me to help...
How one organization’s crisis became an outstanding annual report
When written in Chinese, the word “crisis” is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity. John F. Kennedy As anyone who has worked in the nonprofit fundraising field for any length of time knows, crises abound. As the brand new development director...
