This BLOG is intended to help conservation organizations and land trusts pursue excellence in all aspects of their conservation endeavors. I welcome your comments and feedback to these posts.
By David Allen, Development for Conservation Over the years, I have worked with more than a few land trusts that are significantly dependent on revenue from a large, annual fundraising event – including one conservancy that was getting more than half of its annual unrestricted revenue...
By David Allen, Development for Conservation I don’t have enough time! There are two problems with taking that statement on its face. The first is that it is almost never literally true – there is usually plenty of time. We’re just using it to do other things. A...
By David Allen, Development for Conservation Several weeks ago, I posted an imaginary conversation with “Well-Meaning Tom” about a person who had made a gift of land to a land trust and subsequently hadn’t given anything at all. (See It’s OK to Ask.) In fact, I...
By David Allen, Development for Conservation This week, I want to tell you about Scotland. The first island we visited was just ten miles long and two miles wide. Its name is Colonsay, and it was the ancestral home of the MacPhee clan – as in...
“Donor-Centric” fundraising is fundraising that brings the donor into the center where the action is. Instead of being “out there” supporting the stuff “we’re” doing, Donor-centric fundraising invites donors into the center. And I think that’s a good thing. ...
Writing and editing fundraising letters is better thought of as an exercise in technical writing, than as writing actual letters. There are techniques, rules, and form to the exercise that, if followed closely, will help you raise more money. Many of these techniques are counter-intuitive....
By David Allen, Development for Conservation DA: So Tom, tell me about these donors – Pulen and Tumany Weeds. Well-Meaning Tom: What do you want to know? They’re not from around here. DA: I figured that out. Well-Meaning Tom: Kind of exotic. DA: I’ll bet. Well-Meaning Tom: She’s a gardener. DA: STOP...
By David Allen, Development for Conservation I’m interested in your thoughts about building a “Culture of Philanthropy.” Give it some thought – maybe we can do a Rally presentation on the topic someday. One promising definition goes something like this: Culture of Philanthropy is a set of organizational...
By David Allen, Development for Conservation High summer is generally regarded as a good time for taking stock. How are we doing related to our annual goals? Are we on track to finish the year successfully? If we keep doing what we’ve been doing, will we...
By David Allen, Development for Conservation If you graduated from a college, you know that the Alumni Association from your alma mater started calling you and writing you about ten minutes later. And in return for your annual gift, you get a copy of the Alumni...