Indulge me, will you? There are some common words or phrases that I see in too many appeals (and annual reports or even thank you letters) that set my teeth on edge. You’ll find me, almost daily, sorting my mail and shaking my head. So here, for your amusement or education, are a few. […]
4 ways you might be making it all about you
And why that’s a mistake We all do it from time to time. We fall a little in love with our own organization. Or we get a little tired of the hard work. Then we forget that good fundraising focuses on the donor and the mission. Are you making these mistakes? 1. You make decisions […]
Think you’re too small to care for donors?
Think again. If you raise money, you can care for your donors. No excuses. Because if you want to keep raising money, you must take good care of your donors. If your organization is small, you should know you’re not alone. Most nonprofits have annual budgets under $500,000. And unless you get most of that […]
Don’t make my aunt write your acknowledgment
I was ticked off into writing It wasn’t what I’d planned to start with. But for my very first post at Hands-On Fundraising, I wrote about a situation that really upset me. To recap: A dear friend lost his mother. At the funeral home, handy forms suggested memorial gifts to a large, national charity. Of […]
Oh, brave new world
Is it just me? I’m feeling more Huxley than Shakespeare right now. Many of us in the nonprofit world are feeling anxious. The future is scary. It’s clearer every day: we’re going to have to up our games. Here in the U.S. changes in our social safety net, along with possible changes in the tax […]