11 August 2020 By David Allen, Development for Conservation It’s Election Day in Wisconsin – the Partisan Primary. We’ll be voting for our party’s candidates for everything from Congressional Representative to State Senator to County Clerk of Deeds. So, I’m off early to work the polls. So, I’ll need...
By David Allen, Development for Conservation Aldo Leopold, the famed author of A Sand County Almanac, is revered today almost as much for the quality of his writing as for its content. He was an early riser and often wrote in his journal in the wee...
Writing and editing fundraising letters is better thought of as an exercise in technical writing, than as writing actual letters. There are techniques, rules, and form to the exercise that, if followed closely, will help you raise more money. Many of these techniques are counter-intuitive....
By David Allen, Development for Conservation If you graduated from a college, you know that the Alumni Association from your alma mater started calling you and writing you about ten minutes later. And in return for your annual gift, you get a copy of the Alumni...
By David Allen, Development for Conservation One feature of the blog world that I have found academically interesting over the years is the “hits per page.” This is the metric that tells the writer which pages or posts attract the most readers, whether it’s because they...
By David Allen, Development for Conservation I have this image I like a lot. It’s an image of a campfire somewhere on a moonless night. The fire creates light which illuminates everything that is relatively close. It also warms everything relatively close to it. But if you get...
Writing and editing fundraising letters is better thought of as an exercise in technical writing, than as writing actual letters. There are techniques, rules, and form to the exercise that, if followed closely, will help you raise more money. Many of these techniques are counter-intuitive....
We need all kinds of people to make land conservation happen. We need land protection specialists, attorneys, scientists, administrators, and volunteers. And we need members and donors, too. I’m not saying put donors on a pedestal or inflate their importance, as some seem afraid of....
What’s the story you want to tell donors? Chances are getting them in the air could help. Maybe you fly over protected areas and areas that are not protected yet. Maybe you see how protecting and restoring one tract can help connect other protected areas....
Instead, try this as a mantra: “Thank before you bank.” I have always believed that an official acknowledgement of receipt can be different from the more personal expression of gratitude. And the receipt should be sent immediately – certainly within 48 hours if not the...