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How to take your nonprofit’s annual report from chore to score

What purpose does your nonprofit’s annual report serve? Here in the US, the IRS requires you to file one every year. But what they have in mind is the 990… a financial form. Beyond that, your options are myriad. Too many organizations see an annual report as part requirement and part brochure. But if yours […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: annual report, donor communications, donor love

You’re not too small to have a big year-end campaign

Year-end? Yes. I know it’s summer as I write. But it’s not too early to think about how you’ll make the most of your year-end campaign this year. Whatever your organization’s fiscal year is, the time from late November to the end of the calendar year is still year-end to your donors. And if you […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: donor communications, nonprofit management, year-end campaign

Fundraisers: use stories, not statistics

The human mind is a wanderer by nature. The daydream is the mind’s default state. Jonathan Gottschall What do you like to read? I read a scary book recently. Dystopic, feminist, infuriating. And compelling. (Gather the Daughters, by Jennie Melamed) But it did what I look to fiction to do. It took me away, to […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: donor communications, fundraising appeal, storytelling

Donor touches? Paper is still your best bet

Donor touches matter and paper is still your best bet. I have been seeing a lot of articles during the past year about COVID and work. Specifically, about how the pandemic has changed the way we work and the way we communicate. And honestly, how not? Organizations that were tied to an in-person environment had […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications, Fundraising Tagged With: annual giving, direct mail, donor communications

Can you feel it? How you can use the power of metaphor

How can you use the power of metaphor to improve your fundraising? I recently read a fascinating article about how we react to metaphors. I want to share some of what I read. Because understanding this powerful device can help you reach right into your readers’ minds – and touch their hearts. You probably learned […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: donor communications, emotional appeal, empathy

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