By David Allen, Development for Conservation I started last week’s post with a request. In preparation for a possible Rally presentation, I asked you about the value of your membership using one simple calculation: First, isolate the members and donors you have who made a first...
• First, isolate the members and donors you have who made a first gift to your organization at some point – any point – during the calendar year 2013. • Now add up what that group has given to your organization – as a group – since...
Grant Advisor is an on-line source of consumer information about real experiences with grantmakers. Had a great experience? Totally frustrated? Here’s a place where you can tell your story and learn from others. For everyone who is looking ahead to looming grant deadlines this fall,...
Can you motivate your $250 and $500 members to give $1,000? Can you motivate your $1,000 members to give $1,200 ($100/month) or even $2,500 to $5,000? $10,000? Every individual success you have in this area is a huge win for the operating budget. But more...
Writing and editing fundraising letters is better thought of as an exercise in technical writing, than as writing actual letters. There are techniques, rules, and form to the exercise that, if followed closely, will help you raise more money. Many of these techniques are counter-intuitive....
Renewal letters need to do three things: They need to remind me of WHY I’m a member. They need to remind me of what I gave last year. And they need to suggest an increased level of support this year. And they need to do...
Most of us are familiar with the basics of a gift chart – a list of gifts needed to make a specific goal with higher-level gifts listed first and smaller gifts listed below in descending tiers, sometimes called a donor pyramid. Gift charts are commonly...
Premiums are different than benefits. Premiums are offered to incentivize a particular action or activity – like upgrading to a $100 membership, for example. They are only given the first time someone does something. Benefits are things that accrue to members at certain levels –...
Membership is not a “fee” or a “cost” and therefore can’t be “discounted” by definition. Think of it like a birthday gift to a close relative. You would be completely confused if they told that they were giving you a “deal” this year by allowing...
But there’s actually a fourth type of gift decision, transactional gift decisions. Transactional gifts are gifts in which what is being given is very closely tied to what the donor receives in return. The most obvious example is merchandise. I give you $15. I get...