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How to find new donors

How to find new donors Hold your donors close. First things first: before you begin to think about finding new donors, be sure you have plans in place to keep your current ones. If your retention rate is low, looking for new donors is a waste of time and money. Fix that first. Also: before looking […]

Filed Under: Blog, Fundraising Tagged With: donor acquisition, donor retention 2 Comments

How to be a good fundraiser

How to be a good fundraiser What makes a good fundraiser? Is it hard-charging ambition? A willingness to ask strangers for money? The impervious hide of a door-to-door salesman? Maybe those things help. But as I think about the best fundraisers I know, I think of different traits. Genuine care for people If you don’t like […]

Filed Under: Blog, Fundraising Tagged With: donor relations, fundraising professional, leadership 1 Comment

Serendipity: another word for smart fundraising?

Is it serendipity or do we make our own luck? Many years ago, I was doing one of my favorite tasks – opening the mail. I bet you know what I mean. It’s a whole lot of fun to see a stack of appeal returns waiting for you. One day, I opened an envelope to […]

Filed Under: Blog, Fundraising Tagged With: creativity, Fundraising, innovation 2 Comments

Why you want to welcome strangers

What does it mean to welcome the stranger? The tradition of welcome is strong in many cultures and religions around the world. My own family is largely Irish. If I want to get all misty-eyed about my heritage I could point to the importance hospitality held among the ancient Celts. But it’s the same with […]

Filed Under: Blog, Fundraising Tagged With: gratitude, Thanksgiving, welcoming strangers 3 Comments

How to raise more and spend less money

Raise more money and spend less? Some unsolicited advice for organization leaders Whatever your fiscal calendar, this is the time of year when hopes are placed on fundraising success. Most organizations raise a good part of their money between November and December. Your fundraising staff are busy. There are mailings to get out, email campaigns […]

Filed Under: Blog, Fundraising Tagged With: fundraising staff, fundraising success, nonprofit management 2 Comments

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Recent Posts

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  • The new way to fundraise? Trust your mail.
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