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The big question your donors want you to answer: WHY

WHY? Why should I give you money? Why should I care about your work? Why will this matter to someone? Too often, we focus on HOW We love to talk about how we do the work. All the cool ways we accomplish great things. A new process. A unique way of tackling a problem. All […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications, Donors Tagged With: donor communications, what donors want 1 Comment

Fundraising isn’t easy

Fundraising isn’t easy. And there are no magic shortcuts. My friend Ephraim reminded me of this recently. Nonprofit board members or even staff leaders suggesting fundraisers just… call Oprah. Or Bill. Or whats-his-name with the spaceship… That’s not how it works. Really. I’ve witnessed this firsthand, too. An arts organization, talking about the budget. And […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donors, Fundraising Tagged With: fundraising programs, fundraising staff 2 Comments

5 Steps to Create a Donor Attraction Campaign

You can create a donor attraction campaign with these 5 steps. In the previous article (How Changing your Mindset Will Help You Attract New Donors), I shared a different kind of mindset that can help your organization consistently find new donors.  This way of thinking is key to creating an effective donor attraction campaign, so […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donors, Marketing Communications Tagged With: attract new donors, new donors 1 Comment

What’s in a name? Respect

Do names matter? A few weeks ago, Roger Craver wrote about an issue dear to my heart. Having been caught in a tweetstorm with Whiny Donor, my tweets on the subject were mentioned. Whiny, Clay Buck, Tom Ahern, and I all complained about how organizations ignored our names because using two different names on a […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications, Donors Tagged With: donor data, donor relations 6 Comments

The birds and bees of fundraising

“Mommy, where do major donors come from?” Well, dear, it’s a very special story. And you’re old enough now for me to share it with you. It begins with a group of people. They decide to work together to make something better. To be kinder to people or animals. To make beautiful things that everyone […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donors, Fundraising Tagged With: annual giving, individual giving, major gifts Leave a Comment

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