12 October 2021 By David Allen, Development for Conservation Note: Most of this post was originally published in 2015. One July, my board chair came to me with a request that I “forecast” where we would end up on December 31st in each of our revenue targets. He...
28 September 2021 By David Allen, Development for Conservation There are two case arguments that have never been particularly successful in raising money. The first is the Field of Dreams argument: If we build it, they will come. In this argument, the idea is that people will...
24 August 2021 By David Allen, Development for Conservation It’s been years since I last tested different ask amounts, and I’m not in a position this year to test them now. Maybe this post will inspire someone to do so this year and share their results. What is...
13 July 2021 By David Allen, Development for Conservation Every year about this time, I start thinking that we will be asking just about every one we know for a gift between now and the end of the year. Some will be renewals. Some will be asks...
6 July 2021 By David Allen, Development for Conservation Every year about this time, it occurs to me that we will be asking just about every one we know for a gift between now and the end of the year. Some we will ask for renewal gifts....
29 June 2021 By David Allen, Development for Conservation Thursday this week is July the first. Every year about this time, it occurs to me that we will be asking just about every one we know for a gift between now and the end of the year. In...
8 June 2021 By David Allen, Development for Conservation It’s June! Welcome to summer! From a fundraising point of view, think about this: You will ask just about everyone currently giving money to make another gift between now and 12/31. How much will you ask them for? I get asked...
1 December 2020 By David Allen, Development for Conservation Just about everyone I know is sending out an appeal letter this week or next. You too? It’s that time of year. This has already been a surprisingly good year for fundraising, and we are pinning hopes of keeping it...
22 September 2020 By David Allen, Development for Conservation Here’s a great idea that deserves another mention: Send $50 to five different organizations you admire. It will cost your land trust $250, and it will take about half an hour. But for that investment, you will see every piece of...
4 August 2020 By David Allen, Development for Conservation A few years ago in mid-November, a client asked me whether they could just use the same appeal letter they used last year. That appeal letter had done reasonably well and had surpassed the fundraising results from previous...