Capital campaigns are tools organizations use to raise the level of performance for all three giving decisions and build loyalty and commitment in their donor-base....
We’ve gotten so paranoid about spending too much on fundraising that we are not budgeting enough, and even then, we’re second-guessing every expenditure. We’re holding the fundraising staff accountable for the return, but we’re neglecting the investment....
I am launching a feasibility project to test whether several different organizations with similar missions (land trusts, for example) and separate service territories can work together to increase membership for all. In other words, can they collaboratively negotiate list rental, design, and even mailhouse services...
In any discussion of metrics, how they will be used is an important question to ask right up front. 1) You want people to give you money every year as part of their personal philanthropy. Therefore the metrics you choose should be the same or...
Sometimes board members fold, stuff, and stamp appeal letters, too. That doesn’t make appeal folding, stuffing, and stamping part of a board member’s job description. For convenience sake, I call all of these activities “staff” work. So what is “board” work? In fact, board work...
We use numbers all the time in our written communications. We depend on them to communicate size and volume – and weight in hopes that they convey importance. Most of the time, however, they simply serve as filler. Every number has to have a context,...
Write your newsletter articles, appeal letters, thank you letters, event invitations, and e-News (and even blog posts!), to that specific person who represents the audience you're trying to reach, or at least with that specific person in mind. If you do so authentically, you should...
There are really three different functions in fundraising and development work. Each one demands its own personality, and you rarely find all three attributes in the same person. In fact, you rarely find even two. Being clear about what you need and then hiring with...
Regardless of how your organization approaches Strategic Planning – DO IT. It takes time away from seemingly more-important-in-the-moment activities and can be expensive. But the added costs return to the organization in increased productivity, cost efficiencies, and even improved funding opportunities with donors. I learned...
If you’re like some non-profit fundraising leaders, you are busy building 2016 goals from 2015 results. We raised this much from our special event, so let’s do that again. We got this much from our membership renewals, and we’ve been increasing about 5% every year,...