Just a quick mid-week post to share with you that Hands-On Fundraising, LLC is formed and ready for business. I think this is where my long nonprofit career has been pointing. It’s time to share what I’ve learned over those years. Time to reach more organizations and help them do great work. Thank you for […]
Archives for August 2014
Writing, simply
I was helping a client with an appeal the other day. I found myself explaining some of the choices I made in the letter. At this point, they were almost automatic for me. I realized not everyone knows there are some simple changes you can make that will improve your appeal. When I get a rough draft, […]
You talking to me? Or why you must focus on donor retention
My mailbox leaves me wondering. We’ve all been reading a lot about donor retention. Maybe so much talk it’s in danger of becoming just another buzzword. But I think it’s critically important. And I’ve seen how powerful a really engaged donor base can be. Organizations benefit from more support, sure. But there’s also something about […]
Do you want to really connect? Show, don’t just tell me.
How do you connect with donors? Show more. One more about the importance of emotion in your fundraising. This week, let’s look at images, not words. There is no faster way into our brains than an image. As Peter Temple explains in this post, “We don’t see words as a series of letters. We see […]
Use these powerful triggers to raise more money. (Though your colleagues might worry.)
These powerful triggers can raise more money. I hadn’t joined a cult. I just wanted to remember these important triggers. Last week, I wrote about the importance of emotion in your fundraising. It reminded me of the emotional triggers that raise more money. And that more than once have led to raised eyebrows. You see, […]