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.
28 September 2021 By David Allen, Development for Conservation There are two case arguments that have never been particularly successful in raising money. The first is the Field of Dreams argument: If we build it, they will come. In this argument, the idea is that people will...
21 September 2021 By David Allen, Development for Conservation The organizations I am working with are generally going ahead with plans to host Fall events in person. Some have moved their events outside while others are requesting proof of vaccination for admittance. I’d be interested in some feedback...
14 September 2021 By David Allen, Development for Conservation There was a moment in time when I thought writing appeals letters would be a substantial part of my consulting work. I felt like I was good at it, and my letters seemed to hold their own and...
7 September 2021 By David Allen, Development for Conservation Development for Conservation is on vacation this week and next, so I have repurposed a couple of posts that have gotten the most interest in recent years. This one was originally posted in August of 2017. It seems...
31 August 2021 By David Allen, Development for Conservation In 2019, I received an appeal letter from a client. The letter was two pages, 12 pt. type, black text on white paper, and illustrated with two attractive photographs. As a fundraising letter, it probably did well in...
24 August 2021 By David Allen, Development for Conservation It’s been years since I last tested different ask amounts, and I’m not in a position this year to test them now. Maybe this post will inspire someone to do so this year and share their results. What is...
17 August 2021 By David Allen, Development for Conservation Consider the following two paragraphs: The Conservancy celebrated the opening of its 9th nature preserve on Saturday with a brief ceremony and ribbon-cutting. At 264 acres, the Sykes Ridge Preserve is now the Conservancy’s largest preserve. It is home...
10 August 2021 By David Allen, Development for Conservation If you are a Board member of a land trust or any other nonprofit, this post is directed at you. If you are on staff, please send it to your Board members. In my workshops and seminars and even...
3 August 2021 By David Allen, Development for Conservation A funny thing happened on my way to post First Thing Tuesday this week… I guess it was bound to happen eventually, but in 12 years, it hadn’t yet – until this week. I traveled all day on Sunday and...
2 August 2021 By David Allen, Development for Conservation I’ve been saving up ideas for a blog post about Board meetings for some time – like now. Short and sweet. BUT, I would really like it if you piled on here. Got an idea that works for you and...