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Why Mr. Spock can’t raise money

Why Mr. Spock can’t raise money Poor Spock. He’s caught between his tidy Vulcan logic and messy human emotion. Most of the time, he relies on Vulcan cool. That wouldn’t work well for fundraising, though. Human beings don’t make purely rational decisions. This isn’t my guess; it’s science. We make decisions in the older part […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: donor communications, emotional fundraising, neuropsychology 2 Comments

Why you don’t want to be a tool

You don’t want to be a tool, do you? Who do you read to make you think? One blog I like to check in on is Trevor O’Donnell’s Marketing the Arts to Death. As the title says, it’s about arts marketing. But to me, it’s broader. Trevor shows how mistaken arts marketing often is. Because […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: arts marketing, donor-focused 4 Comments

Are you too pretty to work?

Have you gotten a really beautiful appeal recently? It could be an email, or it could be a fancy direct mail package. I have to wonder about their effectiveness. So many are pretty to look at, but not moving. And that’s a big problem. Shiny postcards on heavy paper. Four-color imagery and brand-specific fonts. Reverse type (because […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: donor-centered fundraising, fundraising brochure, thank you letters 8 Comments

Mom tested, donor approved: when to use your inside voice

Who you’re talking to and how you use your voice matters… a lot. My youngest just turned sixteen. So I found myself looking through old pictures, remembering a chubby little baby who is now neither. My visit to old times reminded me of inside voices. When each of my kids was little, I tried to […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: Donors, emotional fundraising Leave a Comment

Are you making this mistake? Why whining isn’t winning.

Fundraising shouldn’t be about whining. The US presidential election is next year. But the campaign is already underway. There’s a lot of fundraising happening that isn’t about charity. So when one particular appeal caught the media’s attention, I had to look. This email appeal is both entertaining (not in a good way) and educational (ditto). Have you […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: donor as hero, fundraising appeal 1 Comment

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