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Do you want a successful year-end? Choose carefully today.

It may not look it, but year-end is around the corner I don’t like to admit it, but summer’s nearly over. Everyone is back to school. Time to think about your successful year-end campaign. So gear up for the busiest time of the fundraising year. Do you have a plan to succeed? Strategy requires choices. […]

Filed Under: Annual Giving, Blog Tagged With: annual giving, fundraising plan

Stop talking about fundraising. Start talking about results.

Ah, fundraising results… so important, right? What have you done to justify your existence? I had a boss, years ago, who liked to walk around and ask staff that question. It was obnoxious, to be sure. I think it was meant to keep us on our toes. (Like we had time to stand up?) But […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: donor communication, trust, what donors care about

Are you using the magic fundraising word?

Are you using the magic fundraising word? Wait, fundraising magic? You’ve heard it before: a magic word that will transform your fundraising. The word is YOU. So you dutifully make sure that word is everywhere. But maybe it doesn’t do as much magic as you’d expected. You is magic, but there’s more to it than […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: donor appeals, donor as hero, donor focus

How to wreck your fundraising appeal

Statistics can wreck your fundraising appeal There are plenty of fundraising appeals landing in my mailbox and inbox. I’ll bet it’s the same for you. I open them, hoping to be moved, or learn something new. What I see is one characteristic that wrecks appeals. They’re all head and no heart. They’re built on carefully […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: emotional fundraising, fundraising appeals, storytelling

Warning: bad mail coming to a box near you

Warning: bad mail coming to a box near you Do people actually go for this stuff? Every once in a while, I just can’t take it anymore. So you’ve been warned: rant ahead. The carrier envelope It came in a larger than usual 9 x 6 envelope. So far, so good. Then things went right […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: direct mail solicitation, emotional fundraising, fundraising appeal

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