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Are you a nag?

Don’t nag your donors No one likes a nag. Recently, a friend shared a letter with me that she’d sent to an organization she really cares about. I thought what she had to say was so important I asked her to share it. She generously agreed. We usually make assumptions about what donors think, but we […]

Filed Under: Annual Giving, Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: donor retention, donor-focused, Fundraising 9 Comments

Rewrite!

I received a letter I itched to fix. It needed a rewrite – badly. It was sent on behalf of my elementary school by an organization that seems to be doing the same appeal for Catholic elementary schools all over NJ. Not exactly a warm and fuzzy start, right? It opens with a lot of talk about how […]

Filed Under: Annual Giving, Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: appeal writing, direct mail appeals, emotional writing, fundraising asks, rewrites 11 Comments

Stop thinking about money!

Do we need to stop thinking about money? I was at a meeting the other day. A local foundation offered training about soliciting major donors. It was a small enough group that we had time to hash out a few hypothetical situations. A good session and well worth the hour or so. As is often […]

Filed Under: Annual Giving, Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: appeal writing, donor retention, Donors, money, relationships 3 Comments

Say it again!

Say it again! Why repetition works so well. Today I found myself hunting for an idea I’d seen for a lapsed donor appeal. My search took me to some letters I’d written years ago. I wrote the letters at my former organization. With a few years’ distance, I definitely found a few things I’d change. But […]

Filed Under: Annual Giving, Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: appeal writing, direct mail, Writing 3 Comments

The Oprah Syndrome

I think of it as The Oprah Syndrome. And if you raise money for a nonprofit, I’m betting you’ve run into it, too. Picture this: you’re at a board meeting. The topic of discussion is a forecast deficit for the year. “What are we to do?”, the finance chair moans. Board members look around, hoping […]

Filed Under: Annual Giving, Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: Donors, fundraising plans, Oprah Winfrey, relationships, strategic planning, wishful thinking 14 Comments

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