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.
What is the single most important thing you could change about your fall fundraising letter that would make the most difference in your returns? The single most important thing you can do to improve your returns this year is to ask for a specific amount...
At the Land Trust Alliance Rally, I particularly enjoyed this year's speaker Andy Goodman, who talked about the importance of good story-telling. Another blogger, Vu Le talks about how to make the most of downtime to cultivate new ideas and strengthen relationships....
If a major donor requests that their gift be treated as anonymous – even from the board, give the money back....
Similar to a financial audit, or an academic peer review, the Development Audit is an independent review of everything an organization is doing to raise money....
Next week is Rally: The National Land Conservation Conference in Providence, Rhode Island. Anita O’Gara and I will team up to present The Surprising Secrets of Direct Mail Success on Friday. Peter McKeever and I will present A Board for All Seasons, which we like...
If you switch off your printed newsletters in favor of electronic substitutes, you will lose members and donors....
Last week I wrote the first half dozen rules for writing better fundraising letters this fall. I based it in part on an excellent book that Jeff Brooks wrote several years ago that I wish I had written: A Fundraiser’s Guide to Irresistible Communications. This...
Jeff Brooks wrote a book several years ago that I wish I had written: A Fundraiser’s Guide to Irresistible Communications. Based on his information, coupled with my own experience, I have a dozen rules to live by this fall. Here are Rules 1-6. Check back...
Raise money first. If you suck at raising money, investing time and energy in digital marketing will not help. It will only distract you from getting better at raising money....
You can get out ahead of this November stress factory. Plus, you can probably raise more money in the process. Here are four things you can do right now that will help: 1. Write your fall fundraising letter NOW; 2. Get your mailing list ready...