By David Allen, Development for Conservation If you accept the premise that fundraising through the mail, email, or phone is a science – a behavioral science – then you should be reading a blog called The Agitator. It is written by scientists about the science of...
By David Allen, Development for Conservation Earlier this year, I posted the results from my annual survey of conservation organizations and their 5-Year Value of Membership. At that point in time, I had data from twenty different organizations, and the median value was $1,100. This means...
By David Allen, Development for Conservation You know, right now, every member who will be renewing this year (assuming, of course, that you have members who renew every year). You know what they gave last year and when. And you know or could easily decide what...
By David Allen, Development for Conservation From my In-Box this week: I still get a lot of one-page letters with graphics and donation tear off sections at the bottom. In fact, I donate to these groups and lean towards this letter because it is short, concise and...
By David Allen, Development for Conservation If you’re like me, you won’t be mailing your appeal letters and/or renewals after this week and until after the election. If you’re like me, you will calculate that the national mood will be seriously distracted by the election. I...
By David Allen, Development for Conservation We know that people give from the heart. We know that their decision to give is an emotional one. And sometimes irrational. Donors may decide what to give and when to give and even what to give to – using their...
By David Allen, Development for Conservation As you complete your summer plans and prepare for entering the Fall fundraising season, here are some timely reminders to help you get the most from your efforts. You’re raising money from people who already give you money. As tempting as it...
by David Allen, Development for Conservation As I quipped several weeks ago, you will be asking just about everyone you know for a gift to your land trust between now and Christmas. Most will be asked in a letter, which means that you will be needing...
By David Allen, Development for Conservation Among the data points I get back from my website each week is the number of “page hits” I get from the top twenty or so most popular pages. The most popular page right now is a 2015 post of Writing...
For this week’s post, I’ve collected here are some PS notes for appeals that I felt were pretty good as well. As you read through, keep in mind that the PS note has one job to do – to reinforce the request for support in...