Hands-On Fundraising

Fundraising Communications and Strategy

  • About
  • Hands-On Fundraising Blog
  • Services
  • Contact

What you need to know about before and after

What you need to know about before and after

Before and after… it’s the line between so much in a story – in all our stories. Think about your own. There are the “before I knew better” stories. The “before I met my partner” stories. The “after the kids were born” stories. The line between before and after signifies an important point in time […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications, Fundraising Tagged With: donor newsletters, fundraising appeals, thank you letters 2 Comments

Where is your dragon?

Do you know where your dragon is?

In honor of the last season of Game of Thrones, let’s talk about dragons. Besides being mythical (maybe), dragons are big and fire-breathing and terrifying. Not something you want to handle on your own. But for fundraising? You want a dragon. I don’t mean something imaginary. I mean something very real, very big and right […]

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

Why the things you hate make good appeals

Good fundraising appeals work

Ever seen an appeal you just hated? I mean, really hated? Most of my career, I’ve focused on annual giving – and especially on communicating with donors. I often open and look at the solicitations I receive. I usually have professional opinions on the appeals. But even so, I’m always surprised by the negative reactions […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: effective fundraising, fundraising appeals, writing for donors 1 Comment

Do you want to raise more money? You need a plan

You need a fundraising plan

If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else. ~Yogi Berra Is this you? Many organizations share a problem. They’re either new and need to build a fundraising program… Or they’re not new at all but have never focused on building a fundraising program. In both situations, the answer is […]

Filed Under: Blog, Planning Tagged With: donor relations, fundraising appeals, fundraising plans 2 Comments

6 big fundraising mistakes small organizations make

Don't make these fundraising mistakes

If you fixed just 6 big fundraising mistakes, you’d raise more money. And I know, like it isn’t hard enough being a small organization, right? Not enough staff. Not enough time. And definitely, not enough money. You get used to making do. Find shortcuts. You work a lot. But too often, you don’t do the things […]

Filed Under: Blog, Fundraising Tagged With: fundraising appeals, fundraising investment, small organizations 8 Comments

Next Page »

Fundraising advice served fresh to your inbox

Get yours here:

Search

Recent Posts

  • Eff the ineffable
  • Fundraisers, what do we need to do now?
  • The Value of Corporate Partners
  • Creative Deviations: a book you’ll want to read
  • A guide to donor segmentation

Work with me!

Let's talk about how I can help your organization raise more money.

Contact

  • Donor communications
  • Fundraising Strategy

Copyright © 2022 · Mary Cahalane · Hands-On Fundraising · P.O. Box 183 · Plantsville, CT 06479