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Do you want to get bigger? Think small.

Do you want to get bigger? Think small. Everybody is nobody. That is, if your target audience is the world, you won’t really touch anyone. From time to time, I get an email from someone looking for fundraising help. They want to know how they can get their message out to everyone. So, first, let […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: donor care, donor retention 2 Comments

Do you think fundraising is scary?

Is fundraising scary? I recently posed that question to a group I was training. We were having some fun with a true and false game. Most of the questions were pretty easy to answer. This one was more nuanced. Fundraising is sometimes scary. But it’s almost always needed. So if you’re not doing as well […]

Filed Under: Blog, Fundraising Tagged With: donor retention, fundraising plan, individual giving Leave a Comment

Dear fundraiser: are you making these big mistakes?

This fundraiser mistakes post was originally published several years ago. I’ve updated it to include some helpful comments from colleagues. I hope you enjoy it! Dear Fundraiser, Some things you do really bug me. As your colleague, I’m cheering for your success. So in a helpful spirit, I offer you my list below. I wish […]

Filed Under: Blog, Fundraising Tagged With: donor care, donor communications, donor love, donor retention 3 Comments

Straight talk about donor love

Straight talk about donor love Is the idea of donor love just fluff? The answer depends on you. But first, let’s clear a few things up. Maybe it will make you more comfortable. Here’s what donor love isn’t: This is love in the sense of philanthropy. That is, the love of humankind. In this sense, […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donors Tagged With: donor communications, donor love, donor retention 1 Comment

Who is that newsletter for anyway?

Newsletter fails make me sad. The tagline said “thanking those who make a difference”, but I don’t think that’s me. Why? Because out of maybe 15 articles in the newsletter, 10 refer to large individual or foundation gifts. Like, millions large. And while the stated purpose of this newsletter is thanks, the headlines read like […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: donor communications, donor newsletters, donor retention 10 Comments

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