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Who are you talking to?

When to use your inside or outside voice Have you ever heard a parent ask a young child to use their “inside voice”? Usually, that’s a nice way of saying “be quiet, please!” We have inside and outside voices, too. Inside Outside Donor segments All donors matter Program specific jargon Simple language Meeting or event […]

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

The US Postal Service and you

Between COVID delays and the attempt to hijack our constitutionally created United States Postal Service, mail has slowed down. A lot. But if you’re hoping my next line will read, “so direct mail is over”, I will disappoint you. Because it’s not. It’s still the channel with the highest response rates. And people who are […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: direct mail, donor communications, Postal Service 2 Comments

Let’s talk about empathy

I think it’s a gift. So let’s talk about empathy. I am convinced that we can’t successfully communicate without empathy. Underline that for fundraising communications. In fact, human decision-making is emotional. We decide based on our feelings, and then rationalize them later. So feelings of empathy are critical to move people toward doing good. Rational […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: donor communications, empathy 3 Comments

Fundraising in a time of pandemic

Chances are, you’re reading this at home. With the coronavirus raging through the world, the best defense we have is social distancing. It’s hard. For some, it’s dangerously hard. But it’s what we have. That means a great number of people find themselves at home – without a job, or unsure of their job. So […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications, Fundraising Tagged With: donor communications, donor retention 4 Comments

How well do you know your donors?

Or, more to the point, do they feel as if you know them? I think of a story about President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. After he died, his body was transported by train through America. At one station, a reporter asked a man who was in tears if he knew President Roosevelt. And the grieving man […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: donor communications, donor data, donor focus 8 Comments

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