First Thing Tuesday

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...

03 May Another Way to Think about Fundraising Planning

Posted at 05:15h in Communication, Development Audit, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

Fundraising planning should always start with the program goal. Starting with the program goal does not necessarily imply that every goal is attainable, but starting there is important. The program goal is a “net” goal for fundraising; that amount needed to run the programs and...

26 Apr Are You Ready for May?

Posted at 03:14h in Board Development, Communication, Development Audit, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

May officially starts on Sunday. Are you ready? What is on your To-Do List for May? Here’s what I’m thinking about: My Second Spring Appeal Letter: I want my donors to give to the organization twice each year, once to renew their membership, and once...

19 Apr More Cool Stuff to Know and Love About Direct Mail

Posted at 04:35h in Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

How do you balance what the “experts” tell you (four-page letters) with the siren call of being green enough to not waste paper and hip enough to have it designed by a professional PR firm? MUST we keep mailing to people who don’t and won’t...

12 Apr The Secret to Renewing Event Sponsors – Revealed!

Posted at 04:11h in Board Development, Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

So how do you secure sponsorship donations year after year? How do you “renew” them? There is a foolproof secret, and I’ll reveal it...

05 Apr A Quick Take on Diversity

Posted at 05:49h in Board Development, Featured, Membership, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

It means we don’t need “token” people of color on our Boards as much as we need people who can connect us in meaningful ways to communities of color and agree to do so. It also means we need to look beyond just skin...

29 Mar Are You Ready for April?

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

April officially starts on Friday. Are you ready? What is on your ToDo List for April? Here’s what I’m thinking about:...

22 Mar A Few Thoughts on Unpaid Staff

Posted at 05:16h in Board Development, Featured, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

I have often argued that working boards are still called upon to govern. But when the “working” part gets confused with the “governing” part, chaos and/or dysfunction can ensue. And that is not sustainable. So imagine what it would look like if the governance-specific roles...