Membership

21 Oct On Membership Systems – Part 2

Posted at 05:57h in Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Uncategorized 0 Comments

The 9th renewal letter still performs better than replacement efforts. I wouldn’t recommend that anyone use a nine-letter sequence as their core renewal strategy. Still, count me as a consultant who recommends that we not give up quite so easily on our individual donors. Don’t...

14 Oct On Membership Systems – Part 1

Posted at 05:38h in Board Development, Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Plans and Budgets, Uncategorized 0 Comments

Q: How many times should you pester a donor?You should never (knowingly) “pester” a donor, period. The real question is this: “Where is the line between nuisance and helpful reminder?” I would answer the question this way: propose a target range for your renewal rate,...

07 Oct Why Not Try Asking for Money?

Posted at 20:23h in Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Uncategorized 0 Comments

What is the single most important thing you could change about your fall fundraising letter that would make the most difference in your returns? The single most important thing you can do to improve your returns this year is to ask for a specific amount...

09 Sep See you at Rally!

Posted at 05:32h in Board Development, Communication, Featured, Membership, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

Next week is Rally: The National Land Conservation Conference in Providence, Rhode Island. Anita O’Gara and I will team up to present The Surprising Secrets of Direct Mail Success on Friday. Peter McKeever and I will present A Board for All Seasons, which we like...

02 Sep Resist Replacing Paper Newsletters with ENews

Posted at 17:34h in Communication, Development Audit, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Uncategorized 0 Comments

If you switch off your printed newsletters in favor of electronic substitutes, you will lose members and donors....

26 Aug A Dozen Rules for Writing Better Fundraising Letters – Part 2

Posted at 05:51h in Board Development, Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

Last week I wrote the first half dozen rules for writing better fundraising letters this fall. I based it in part on an excellent book that Jeff Brooks wrote several years ago that I wish I had written: A Fundraiser’s Guide to Irresistible Communications. This...

19 Aug A Dozen Rules for Writing Better Fundraising Letters – Part 1

Posted at 07:26h in Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Plans and Budgets, Uncategorized 0 Comments

Jeff Brooks wrote a book several years ago that I wish I had written: A Fundraiser’s Guide to Irresistible Communications. Based on his information, coupled with my own experience, I have a dozen rules to live by this fall. Here are Rules 1-6. Check back...

12 Aug Digital Marketing

Posted at 05:40h in Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Plans and Budgets, Uncategorized 0 Comments

Raise money first. If you suck at raising money, investing time and energy in digital marketing will not help. It will only distract you from getting better at raising money....

05 Aug Four Things You can Do in August to Raise More Money This Fall

Posted at 06:04h in Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Plans and Budgets, Uncategorized 0 Comments

You can get out ahead of this November stress factory. Plus, you can probably raise more money in the process. Here are four things you can do right now that will help: 1. Write your fall fundraising letter NOW; 2. Get your mailing list ready...

15 Jul Is Wealth Screening Worth the Money?

Posted at 06:23h in Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Plans and Budgets 0 Comments

BEFORE you pay for Wealth Screening, ask yourself whether you are prepared to use the information. How? Are you prepared to “cold call” the donors identified by the screen? Build relationships with them? Discover their specific interests? Ask them for money? Do you have a...