23 Jun Filing/Data Entry
If you’re like me, keeping your paper files organized and up-to-date is a task that frequently falls off the table. So here we are in June – now is a great time for catching up with data entry, too....
Staff Development
16 Jun Good News
Posted at 05:54h
in Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments
June is a good time to share Good News as a specific strategy for advancing donor cultivation. Find something that has recently happened and that hasn’t yet been publicized otherwise. Something that you can share with your donors that they won’t have already heard elsewhere....
10 Jun Annual Report DOs and DON’Ts
Posted at 20:15h
in Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments
The most important value for an Annual Report is as a sales piece. Keep that in mind and make sure it tells your story in the way you want it told. Here are some DOs and DON’Ts for Annual Reports....
03 Jun Plan the Board HandWriting Event for August
Posted at 05:46h
in Board Development, Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments
Donor clubs are a perfect group to solicit using a letter that is entirely written longhand. If you want to mail these letters in late September or early October – which would be ideal – you need to have the letters written in August. And...
27 May Spring Appeal 2nd Drop
Posted at 04:29h
in Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments
Now that Memorial Day is behind us, there’s still time this week to mail a reminder letter for the Spring Appeal. But hurry, before school lets out and vacation season starts in earnest. There are several competing theories about second appeal letters. The first suggests...
19 May Taking Stock
Posted at 05:37h
in Board Development, Communication, Development Audit, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments
There’s a problem with measuring your year in twelfths. It works for expenses like rent, which is the same each month. But it doesn’t work for insurance which sits at 0% of budget until the month it’s due and then zooms all the way to...
12 May Donor Event Planning
Posted at 05:32h
in Board Development, Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments
Donor events can take many forms, from field trips to coffees or luncheons, house parties, open houses at the office, and so on. In general, I separate them functionally as follows: Introductory Event, Cultivation Events, and Appreciation Events....
05 May Direct Mail Lists
Posted at 05:51h
in Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments
May is a month when you turn the corner from the campaigns of the spring to outdoor activities in the summer and plans for the fall. Build in some time for reflection for sure, but realize that it’s not too early to begin planning for...
28 Apr Spring Appeal
Posted at 09:39h
in Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments
This is the week you should send out your Spring Appeal. I’ve been asked by several clients about timing of the appeal. You can send out an appeal letter until the Tuesday before Memorial Day (the 19th) and still do relatively well. Every day you...
21 Apr Donor Screening
Posted at 05:40h
in Board Development, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments
We’re looking for rich people who already know us and understand why what we’re doing is important. And on whatever economic scale our current supporters represent, we’re looking for the top 10 percent (or so)....