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Fundraising bloopers: I’ll show you mine if you show me yours

Fundraising bloopers: I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours Have you ever made a fundraising mistake? I’m hoping you answer “yes”. Mistakes are important in our field. We’re adding daily to our knowledge of fundraising. That new information often comes from mistakes – or in their nicer outfit, experiments. Those of us who […]

Filed Under: Blog, Caring for yourself Tagged With: Fundraising, learning, mistakes

How to start an annual giving program

What I learned about annual giving years ago, and how it might help you. Many of the organizations I’ve worked with have been small to medium-sized. And that’s no surprise since most nonprofits in the US are small. They’re eager to build a solid fundraising program, but most continue to depend on grants. I think […]

Filed Under: Annual Giving, Blog Tagged With: annual giving program, donor communications

How to heal an unappealing fundraising appeal

How to heal an unappealing fundraising appeal I don’t know why, but I continue to be surprised at major nonprofits – that have the means to do it right – mailing out solicitations that miss. We got one the other day, from a large hospital in our state. I’ll admit, I opened it with some […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: donor acquisition, donor appeals, writing for donors

How to be heard in a noisy world

We live in a noisy world. So what does your attention cost? I was reading an article in Sunday’s New York Times about the cost of our attention. The author’s point was that in today’s noisy world, our attention – our mind-space – has become commodified. Ads at the checkout line, logos in every possible space – […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications, Donors Tagged With: attention span, donor-focused, storytelling

Try indulgence to improve your next appeal

Comparing a donation to an indulgence? It’s not often that you come upon an interesting study that helps with a project you’re working on right then. That happened to me this week, and I thought I’d share, it in case it’s helpful to you, as well. I’ve been working on an appeal for a brand-new […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: donor behavior, donor motivation, generosity

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