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A love song to the small donor

The small donor is not really small I’ve been trying to update and correct information in our database. It’s a chore. I’m going through everything line by line, gift by gift. I realize one thing as I work, though. While I’ve only been at my organization for a year, so many of the names I […]

Filed Under: Annual Giving, Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: loyalty, Nonprofit, small donors 9 Comments

Perspective

  I hope you’ll forgive me for a little story. I was pretty grumpy as I left the house that morning. I had gotten up early so I could get into the office well before anyone else. Maybe actually get something done. I pulled into Dunkin Donuts for an iced tea. (I’ll never learn to […]

Filed Under: Blog, Caring for yourself Tagged With: gratitude, homelessness, Nonprofit, social justice 1 Comment

I’m no hero and neither are you

I’m no hero, but I’m trying to do it all right now. I bet you know what I mean. Year-end is especially busy for those of us who raise money for nonprofits. It’s the high holy season of giving, and if we’re not ever present in our donors’ consciousness, we risk losing support. If we […]

Filed Under: Blog, Caring for yourself, Donors Tagged With: Donors, Fundraising, help, individual giving, Nonprofit, Nonprofit organization 2 Comments

Have you failed today?

Have you failed today? I hope so! Because when you fail, you have the chance to learn something. And often, it’s the only way we really learn. When I was young, I observed that nine out of ten things I did were failures. So I did ten times more work. George Bernard Shaw If you’re […]

Filed Under: Blog, Caring for yourself, Fundraising, Nonprofits Tagged With: failure, learning, Nonprofit 4 Comments

Writing for someone else’s voice

If you write fundraising appeals, chances are someone else will sign what you write. So how do you write in a way that’s both compelling and believable? The most important thing is not that the letter sounds like the person signing it. The most important thing is that the letter is effective. So resist complaints […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: appeal writing, direct mail, Donors, fundraising appeal, Nonprofit Leave a Comment

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