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Becoming a fundraiser

Have I ever told you how I became a fundraiser? I’m hesitant to share because I don’t often find myself interesting enough… But I think in this case, there were a few reasons why my first fundraising job became a career lasting decades. And I hope that’s useful to you. My first nonprofit job was […]

Filed Under: Arts Fundraising, Blog, Fundraising Tagged With: donor communications, Fundraising, learning Leave a Comment

How to harness persuasion: Cialdini’s 6 principles and you

How to harness persuasion: Cialdini’s 6 principles and you How do you persuade someone to help your cause? Maybe a little neuropsychology will help. But first, I’m not a scientist. But as a fundraiser, I think neuromarketing is fascinating. That’s why I love Roger Dooley’s blog. I find he often sparks new fundraising ideas for […]

Filed Under: Blog, Fundraising Tagged With: neuromarketing, neuropsychology, persuasion 3 Comments

How To Communicate With Donors About Matching Gifts

Every fundraising professional wants to maximize support for their organization’s cause. Whether their organization’s vision is to feed those in need, protect the environment, or support the arts, fundraisers are want to make a difference. Matching gifts offer a unique opportunity to take donors’ impact further and create a lasting impact. Through matching gift programs, […]

Filed Under: Blog, Matching Gifts Tagged With: matching gifts Leave a Comment

Unlocking Support: The Art of Clear Communication in Nonprofits

Clear communication might be your best tool for raising money. Recently, Ephraim Gopin shared a funny/not-so-funny post from McSweeney’s. It was titled: We dare you to figure out what our nonprofit does. And it nails it. Do you want to make me really cranky? Use language like what they mock here. Unclear. Full of buzzwords. […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications, Fundraising Tagged With: donor communications, Fundraising Leave a Comment

Why “because” matters to your ask

Because is a word kids come to dread. I remember being a kid and getting a very unsatisfying answer to some questions. My questions were usually “Why?” or more often “Why not?” And the unsatisfying answer was “Because” or worse, “Because I said so.” Does that sound familiar to you? It was infuriating, of course. […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications, Fundraising Tagged With: appeal writing, donor communications, Fundraising Leave a Comment

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