First Thing Tuesday

20 Jan Board Evaluations, Board Campaigns

Posted at 05:37h in Board Development, Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Plans and Budgets, Uncategorized 2 Comments

Fundraiser’s Almanac: January Happy New Year! For 2015, I am creating a week-by-week guide to organizing a fundraising program. My ambition is to provide strategic ideas for approaching your work more so than providing some kind of overlay to what you might be doing already. Some of...

13 Jan Working with a Top 100 List in 2015

Posted at 05:11h in Board Development, Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

A Top 100 (or T-100) is simply a list of top donor prospects. These are people who warrant and deserve your special cultivation attention. This is the list of priority donor prospects that the board members should be working with. ...

06 Jan Communications Theme for 2015

Posted at 05:22h in Communication, Featured, Uncategorized 3 Comments

January is a great time to consider having a communications theme and what that theme might be. A communications theme will run all the way through your communications for the entire year. It will provide substance for newsletter and website articles; Facebook, Twitter, and...

30 Dec Happy New Year!

Posted at 06:04h in Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Plans and Budgets, Uncategorized 0 Comments

Don’t talk about your overhead. Don’t graph it in your annual report. And above all, don’t brag about it. Be the organization that always seems to be getting something done. Find and invite those outside the organization to tell your story for you....

23 Dec Peace for the Holidays

Posted at 06:15h in Communication, Featured, Uncategorized 0 Comments

What you are doing as a land trust – what we are all doing together – is IMPORTANT. We are establishing modern temples of spiritual renewal. For your role in that critical work, I say THANK YOU!...

17 Dec Board Policy on Grant Administration

Posted at 08:39h in Board Development, Development Audit, Featured, Foundations, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

My Board is considering adopting a resolution that stipulates that 20% of every grant will be used for admin ...

09 Dec NOW is a Great Time to Call Lapsing Members

Posted at 05:41h in Board Development, Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Uncategorized 0 Comments

“Hi. My name is David Allen, and I’m on the board of The ______ Land Trust. I’m calling to ask that you consider renewing your membership before the end of the year. You have been a supportive member for several years now, and I noticed...

02 Dec The Three Experiences Every Volunteers Needs

Posted at 05:52h in Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

Volunteers have three experiences when they work for you, and all three should be positive to keep them coming back and inspiring others to do the same. Each event coordinator can influence these factors with a little forethought and organization. ...

26 Nov A Special Thank You

Posted at 06:10h in Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

If you’re like me, you get more and more Thank You messages about this time each year. Somehow, by taking a little extra time with the writing, by seeing this exercise as more than a chore to get done on schedule, they managed to capture...

25 Nov Plan Ahead to Say Thank You

Posted at 05:47h in Board Development, Communication, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

Now is a good time to think back on all the best things that were made possible because of the appeal donations you received last year, and collect the best ones and share them with your donors in January. Call them....