Too big to succeed? My family recently made what was for us a large gift to a national charity. The response was underwhelming, and that’s being kind. An 8.5 x 14 sheet of paper, with the bottom being a tear-off, generic response form. The thank you letter – such as it was – consisted of […]
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 […]
Are donors the problem with fundraising?
Are donors really the problem with fundraising? There is a concept being talked about in some fundraising circles – “donor dominance”. The idea is that some donors behave badly (true enough) and because of that, all donors must be… I’m not really sure. Educated? Chastised? Maybe just taught to understand that while we welcome their […]
What do you have to offer?
I’ve been gobbling up a series Steven Screen has been writing about your fundraising offer. Go read everything he’s been writing! This is such a critical part of any appeal you will send. Yet, it’s often overlooked. And that’s a shame because when you can work out the offer the rest of the piece is […]
Can fundraisers be both human and smart?
I received a lovely email from the Fundraising Everywhere folks. In it was a piece by Wayne Murray. He urged all of us in the nonprofit sector to be more human. That gets a rousing YES! From me. But then we veered from the big picture – keeping fundraising human – to tactics like font […]
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