Staff Development

15 Dec Planning for Year-End

Posted at 04:59h in Board Development, Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

This year, New Years is on a Friday. That means someone (you?) needs to be in the office Monday through Thursday, picking up the mail and answering the phone. Here are several other things you might plan for that week:...

08 Dec Good News

Posted at 05:08h in Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

From your solicitations to your newsletters, to your updates and thank you letters, the importance of communicating warmth, openness, and a sense of momentum is magnified during this important season of giving....

01 Dec Fall Appeal 2nd Drop (And a Few Thoughts on A/B Testing)

Posted at 05:34h in Communication, Development Audit, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

One client, who reacted skeptically to my suggestion that he consider trusting the science and mailing a four-page appeal letter, is organizing a classic A/B test. He will write a letter that fits on a single page. I will write a letter that carries on...

24 Nov Giving Thanks

Posted at 04:18h in Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Staff Development, Uncategorized 1 Comment

If you’ve managed your work well this year, you should get to spend a great deal of time between Thanksgiving and the Superbowl party writing Thank You letters. As a refresher, here’s what I suggested way back in February: Remember that your thank you...

27 Oct First Take – Fundraising Planning for 2016

Posted at 05:52h in Development Audit, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Foundations, Membership, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

By November, you should have most of your fall fundraising pretty well dialed – hopefully, anyway. So now it’s time to start looking ahead to 2016. BEFORE your program people come to you asking if you can raise X or increase giving by Y%, here...

20 Oct Fall Appeal First Drop – (And Some Thoughts About Acknowledging In-Kind Contributions)

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

OK, so as a practical matter, this is the last week you can drop the first letter of your Fall Appeal if you intend to drop three letters. (I actually prefer that the first letter get dropped in early October.) Mailing this early means that...

13 Oct Taking Stock – Q3

Posted at 04:19h in Board Development, Communication, Development Audit, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Foundations, Membership, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 1 Comment

The forecasting question is simply this: Given what I know right now about what foundations, corporations, and individuals have committed, and what I know right now about what requests are still out there, and what I know right now about the requests I will yet...

06 Oct Donor Appreciation Events

Posted at 04:24h in Board Development, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

What are you doing to show appreciation for your donors? I have helped many organizations create donor clubs and appreciation events. Here are some lessons I’ve learned along the way...

22 Sep Filing/Data Entry

Posted at 05:19h in Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

Many land trusts use Board members or other volunteers to write personal messages on select fall appeal letters. The note conveys that we all know this is a form letter, but at least one person is paying special attention to how you, in particular, respond....

15 Sep Good News

Posted at 05:43h in Board Development, Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

From now until Christmas, everything you do with members and donors should be coordinated. And everything they see should appear coordinated as well....