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How to write a great fundraising appeal

Here’s how you can put together an appeal that works Back when I was a Girl Scout, we had a bake-off. (I won our Brownie bake-off with peanut butter blossoms because I voted for myself. I still have residual guilt about that.) One of the lessons was to assemble your ingredients before you start. Writing […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: direct mail, donor-centered, fundraising appeal 2 Comments

Do you think fundraising is scary?

Is fundraising scary? I recently posed that question to a group I was training. We were having some fun with a true and false game. Most of the questions were pretty easy to answer. This one was more nuanced. Fundraising is sometimes scary. But it’s almost always needed. So if you’re not doing as well […]

Filed Under: Blog, Fundraising Tagged With: donor retention, fundraising plan, individual giving Leave a Comment

Donors and community: who’s in the center?

Community-centered or donor-centered fundraising? I attended a conference last week (thank you, Liberty Bank Foundation). The estimable and hysterical Vu Le offered the keynote address. If you know Vu, you know we were holding our stomachs and behaving in otherwise undignified ways because we were laughing so hard. (If you don’t know Vu, get acquainted […]

Filed Under: Blog, Nonprofits Tagged With: donor focus, donor-centered, nonprofit community 13 Comments

How to grow your nonprofit

How to grow your nonprofit Do you think you’re too small to grow? In my consulting practice, I’ve worked with some new, tiny, or small-ish organizations. They’re all feeling the same frustration, however – how to grow. They want simple things: stability, maybe a salary for the ED, or maybe for enough staff to do […]

Filed Under: Blog, Fundraising Tagged With: Fundraising, nonprofit growth 1 Comment

Dear fundraiser: are you making these big mistakes?

This fundraiser mistakes post was originally published several years ago. I’ve updated it to include some helpful comments from colleagues. I hope you enjoy it! Dear Fundraiser, Some things you do really bug me. As your colleague, I’m cheering for your success. So in a helpful spirit, I offer you my list below. I wish […]

Filed Under: Blog, Fundraising Tagged With: donor care, donor communications, donor love, donor retention 3 Comments

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