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8 things you should try next year

8 things you should try next year – if you’re not already doing them. It’s not too early to start planning. Per Vital Signs, a study by Blackbaud, there are more nonprofit organizations and fewer donors giving. Somehow, I doubt that surprises you. (The Agitator gives you a run-down of some key findings here.) But […]

Filed Under: Blog, Planning Tagged With: annual giving, donor communications, donor retention

12 ways you can thank your donors

Saying thank you is a critical part of fundraising. Sometimes, we can focus most attention on getting a gift. But great thanks are key to getting the next gift. Here are 12 ideas of how to thank your donors. 1. A prompt, personal, sincere thank you letter This is the least you should do, of […]

Filed Under: Blog, Thanks Tagged With: donor love, donor retention, thank you

Love your donors? Why you need to care about keeping them

Love your donors? Why you need to care about keeping them Recently, Tom Belford at The Agitator shared information from the latest Fundraising Effectiveness Project Survey Report. Two statements jumped out at me. Perhaps most striking is the performance difference in retention between the top 20% of organizations, who lost on average 14.1% of their new […]

Filed Under: Annual Giving, Blog Tagged With: donor focus, donor retention

Why it’s smart to love your donors for who they are

Why it’s smart to love your donors for who they are Identity matters. So are we letting a few verbs stand in the way of better solicitations? I read an article in the New York Times about the U.S.’s struggles with low voter turnout. One point made was that an experiment showed identity mattered more […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: donor appeals, donor retention, neuropsychology

How to find new donors

How to find new donors Hold your donors close. First things first: before you begin to think about finding new donors, be sure you have plans in place to keep your current ones. If your retention rate is low, looking for new donors is a waste of time and money. Fix that first. Also: before looking […]

Filed Under: Blog, Fundraising Tagged With: donor acquisition, donor retention

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