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26 Jul Are You Ready for August?

Posted at 06:17h in Board Development, Communication, Development Audit, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

Over the next several months, I will be focusing blog content on comprehensive fundraising planning. Last week’s post launched this series, and the next four will continue the series. Monday next week is August the 1st – where has the summer gone? As we cruise...

12 Jul What will you do with 15 minutes today?

Posted at 05:17h in Board Development, Communication, Development Audit, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Foundations, Membership, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 5 Comments

Think about this scenario: You’re at the office, and it’s 11:30 in the morning. You have a lunch appointment for which you’ll need to leave in 15 minutes. Not enough time to start something new, but too much time to waste. What will you do?...

05 Jul Why You Should Get Good at Direct Mail Now

Posted at 05:45h in Communication, Development Audit, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

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28 Jun Make Fall Fundraising Easier – Use July to Prepare!

Posted at 04:18h in Board Development, Communication, Development Audit, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Foundations, Membership, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

July officially starts on Friday – Yikes! – Are you ready? What’s on your list for July? Annual Meetings? Summer field trips? Donor visits?...

21 Jun It’s Not Too Late to Plan Major Gift Prospect Cultivation

Posted at 05:25h in Board Development, Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

When you plan your fund development work, you should segment your donors and plan for each segment separately. In my opinion, you SHOULD have a donor segment on which you plan to devote individualized attention. I call it my Top 100 List, but it’s...

14 Jun Write a Better Fundraising Letter

Posted at 05:41h in Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Staff Development, Uncategorized 8 Comments

Last week, I received an Annual Report from a former client. On the inside of the front page was a letter, and it broke so many rules, I thought I’d doctor it up as a case study and share a “before” and “after” with you....

07 Jun Are you ready for June?

Posted at 05:08h in Board Development, Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 1 Comment

June is officially here – Yikes! Are you ready? What is on your To-Do List for June? Here’s what I’m thinking about: Getting ready to ask my $250 donors to give $1,000 this year....

24 May Fall Appeal – Planning Around the Election

Posted at 03:52h in Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

Aside from the every-four-years political craziness, the presidential election in 2016 will present some challenges for your fall appeal planning as well. The bottom line is that few people will be paying attention to renewal or seasonal appeal letters around the election. There will be...

17 May Straight Talk about Membership

Posted at 04:27h in Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

If your organizational goals depend on having more members than you have now, you should consider investing in direct mail recruitment. The best approach is a solid strategy consistently applied over a period of years. Be predictable, and you will cultivate loyalty over time....

10 May One Small Idea That Could Make A Big Difference in Your Planned Giving Program

Posted at 04:34h in Board Development, Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 1 Comment

For most land trust organizations, I don’t recommend big assertive planned giving programs. It can get too complicated too quickly, and 8/10 planned gifts are either bequests or beneficiary designations. It’s quite easy to market such gifts passively. Also, the management of any of the...

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