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How to move hearts with a great story

Why your story is the key to moving hearts I might not have opened the letter yesterday. It was from Covenant House, a charity I supported only occasionally and long ago. But I did open it. And though I planned a different post to share with you this week, I knew I had to share […]

Filed Under: Annual Giving, Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: Christmas appeal, End of year appeal, fundraising apeal, storytelling 13 Comments

What’s a nonprofit consultant’s job, anyway?

What is a nonprofit consultant’s job? Tony Martignetti began a conversation yesterday with his provocative videocast. In it, he complained that too many consultants don’t do the hands-on work. He felt too many offer only “tip-sheets” and brief recommendations. And that doesn’t help the organization get ahead. I thought it was an interesting conversation. So I’m continuing it here. […]

Filed Under: Blog, Fundraising, Planning Tagged With: nonprofit consulting, nonprofit organizations, role of consultant 12 Comments

Are you bothering people or inspiring them?

Are you bothering people or inspiring them? So here we are – for fundraisers, this is the home stretch. The last weeks of the year. The most generous time of the year. (Cue the canned holiday music). We’re thinking about giving and new starts and miracles. We want to picture ourselves as kind and generous […]

Filed Under: Annual Giving, Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: donor communications, donor relationships, writing for donors 8 Comments

Gratitude is a blessing

Gratitude is a blessing. I hope you feel it. On the day we in the US usually stop for at least a moment to think about our blessings, I want to thank you. Thank you to my old friends, who do me the favor of reading these posts. Thank you to my new and yet-to-be […]

Filed Under: Blog, Caring for yourself, Donor communications, Thanks Tagged With: gratitude 1 Comment

Do you want your donors to stick around?

Do you want your donors to stick around? Donor retention continues (rightly) to be a hot topic. It risks being like the weather, though: everybody’s talking about it, but nobody’s doing anything about it. Let me share an example from my past. I thought about an organization I used to work for. Riverfront Recapture built and programs […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications, Thanks Tagged With: donor retention, writing for donors 9 Comments

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