18 Oct Are we there yet?
Here’s the bottom line: There are far more people are willing to make gifts than there are Board members willing to ask. You will hurt your organization more quickly by failing to ask than by asking for too much. ...
Author: David Allen
11 Oct Donor Loyalty Programs
Several clients have asked me recently about establishing donor clubs based on cumulative giving. In general I recommend against it, unless the organization already has a well-established system for recognizing annual donors....
04 Oct Are You Communicating Wins?
At the very moment in history when government leaders are turning to non-profit organizations to pick up the slack from defunded programs, foundation giving is declining, corporate support is flat, and ten percent of individual philanthropists say they will quit giving altogether until the economy...
27 Sep Recycling: How Many Renewal Letters Should We Send?
The following post is an updated version of a post I wrote in September 2009 The answer to this question is “As many as it takes”. Part of the job in fundraising is to build a strong, broad base for your fundraising by recruiting and retaining basic...
20 Sep Recruit Advocates; Be a Storyteller
A couple of things jump out of Read’s article for me. The question of how to recruit advocates instead of “merely donors” is interesting and speaks to the need for fundraising to be seen as relationship-building. ...
06 Sep Creative Disruption: Sabbaticals for Executive Directors
Early last year, six foundations with a history of funding Executive Director Sabbaticals released a study documenting their effectiveness, entitled Creative Disruption: Sabbaticals for Capacity Building and Leadership Development In the Nonprofit Sector. According to the study: Organizational capacity increased as the second tier of leadership took...
30 Aug Using Email for Renewals
Many organizations, including land trusts, are beginning to use email to carry the first renewal message. Follow-up to non-responders is carried by more traditional first class postage letters. Here are several things to think about if you are beginning to experiment along these lines:02 May Excellent Newsletters
As a consultant, I end up seeing a lot of newsletters. Many are excellent. Some are good. A few need help. Along the way, I have assembled the following list of aspects I find common to many newsletters I consider excellent. Excellent newsletters use line drawings...
19 Apr The Importance of Donor Files
I just got back from Columbus, Ohio, the site of this year’s Land Trust Alliance’s Midwest Land Conservation Conference. Meeting and working with practitioners and Board members from the twelve states represented there inspired me to pick this blog up again. As a relative newcomer...
10 Feb Newsletters, Envelopes, and New Members
Last week, I posted about looking at gift memberships and member-get-a-member campaigns in a new way, and I offered some ideas about how to get the most out of these activities as “acquisition” tools. You can find that post here. This week, I have another...