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What puzzles can teach us about fundraising

Puzzles and fundraising? I’ll admit it. When I want to relax, I’ll play games on my phone. (You too?) These days, I’ve been playing a simple game that’s like one my younger daughter was given as a little kid. It involves moving blocks around, one at a time, to free another block from the field. […]

Filed Under: Blog, Planning Tagged With: nonprofit fundraising, puzzles 2 Comments

The overhead myth and you

Ah, the pernicious overhead myth. Dan Pallotta’s TEDtalk continues to spur conversation and (even some action) about the way we evaluate effectiveness. Funders have for too long depended on simplistic measurements, largely how much money is spent on administrative costs, or overhead. This provides a measurement of sorts, and one that’s easy to arrive at. The […]

Filed Under: Blog, Planning Tagged With: administrative costs, Nonprofit organization, overhead myth 7 Comments

Should strategy or tactics drive your choices?

Hard choices are part of our nonprofit life. Be honest: if you’ve spent any time working with a nonprofit with a budget short of 3 million, you’ve seen the tendency to put out today’s fires with the water you need for tomorrow. We all assume that we can magically make it work. In a way […]

Filed Under: Blog, Boards, Planning Tagged With: strategic planning, tactics 4 Comments

Why no, I’m not going to mind my own business

Fundraising IS a nonprofit’s business I keep reading that the practice of medicine has changed radically. Family doctors are getting hard to find. It seems we live in an age of specialists. As the development director, it’s natural to assume your job is to be the organization’s fundraising specialist – the person with a particular […]

Filed Under: Blog, Planning Tagged With: Boards, Fundraising, organizational structure 7 Comments

Have you ditched your annual appeal yet?

Here’s why you should ditch that annual appeal I just emailed a letter, response form, and list to the mail house. Our base tends to be generous at this time of year. (Yours probably is, too.) There’s a lot riding on this appeal, and I’ve spent many hours on my offer, my story, my response […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications, Planning Tagged With: annual appeal, appeal, appeal writing, direct mail, donor, fundraising appeal 4 Comments

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