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Why no, I’m not going to mind my own business

Fundraising IS a nonprofit’s business I keep reading that the practice of medicine has changed radically. Family doctors are getting hard to find. It seems we live in an age of specialists. As the development director, it’s natural to assume your job is to be the organization’s fundraising specialist – the person with a particular […]

Filed Under: Blog, Planning Tagged With: Boards, Fundraising, organizational structure 7 Comments

Don’t break my heart.

Don’t break my heart. Remember that fundraising is always personal. You might think I’m writing about the one that got away. The donor we courted and counted on. And then disappeared. We’ve all been there, right? It’s frustrating… sometimes, it breaks your heart. But today I’m writing as a donor. And about communications that reduce […]

Filed Under: Annual Giving, Blog, Donor communications, Thanks Tagged With: appeal writing, communication, donor retention, Donors, emotion, Fundraising, thank you letters 1 Comment

Are you assimilated?

Anyone of a certain age or entertainment preference will recognize the Borg. For the rest of you, let me explain a little. In Star Trek, the Borg is one of the most dangerous foes our heroes have to deal with. To quote Wikipedia’s entry: The Borg are a collection of species that have been turned into cybernetic organisms functioning […]

Filed Under: Annual Giving, Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: appeal writing, Borg, Donors, emotion, Fundraising 5 Comments

Is your board making you crazy?

Is your board making you crazy? Driving you right up the wall? You’re not alone. A committed and inspired board leads to a strong organization. A dysfunctional board or one that’s not inspired makes it almost impossible for the organization to succeed. Development staff often spot any board problems. To succeed in our work, we […]

Filed Under: Blog, Boards, Fundraising Tagged With: Board of directors, Fundraising, Nonprofit organization 4 Comments

Are you available to donors?

Are you available to donors? Can they reach you when they want to connect? I’ve written about a few badly done gift acknowledgments, here and here. I didn’t want to shame the organizations, so I omitted their names. But after each post, a colleague urged me to contact the offending organization. These organizations deserve to […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: donor retention, Fundraising, stewardship, thank you letters 8 Comments

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Recent Posts

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