Donor Relationship Management

5 Nonprofit Marketing Emails to Help Generate Donations
December 3, 2015 at 9:53 am

‘Tis the season for holiday shopping, family feasts and gift giving. The last few months of the year are a busy time for everyone, including nonprofits. While retailers are busy with glitzy sales events featuring the year’s must-have items, nonprofits are also working hard to capitalize on the season of giving. About 50 percent of…

5 Ways to Stand Out This Giving Season
December 2, 2015 at 10:46 am

Do you feel like you’ve been on the receiving end of the same marketing advice for years? Or that the outdated hodgepodge of marketing tactics promoted by fundraising blogs, websites and experts often isn’t relevant to your fundraising strategy–and might actually be killing your fundraising results? Here's one I hear pretty often: "If you show…

Speak From the Heart (Not the Script) During Donor Visits
December 2, 2015 at 9:42 am

“When you develop visit scripts, do we have to learn them verbatim?” the client asked. I was shocked. We develop scripts for every pre-solicitation and solicitation visit in a campaign. However, these outlines are not something to regurgitate word for word. They are outlines to use to become familiar with the flow of a visit...

1 Daily Habit = Everlasting Fundraising Success
December 1, 2015 at 10:30 am

Have you ever attended a conference or a course, but then failed to act on what you’d learned? Hey, it happens to the best of us. So, what’s a quick and easy shift you can you make today to ensure that you follow through on implementing those tactics you know will make your organization stronger (and keep your donors giving)?...

On Philanthropy: How to Succeed in the Giving Season
December 1, 2015 at 9:34 am

During the holiday season, our mailboxes are overflowing with catalogs, holiday cards—and requests for donations. At this time of year, when people are feeling most generous, nonprofits work hard to raise needed funds. Although important to nonprofit budgets, most year-end giving is transactional rather than transformational. Donors give once—often devoid of strategy—and nonprofits receive a…

The Sixth Diamond
November 19, 2015 at 10:14 am

Nonprofits, those organizations that look to the goodwill and generosity of others for their very continuance, have a direct and powerful need to be thankful. Telling your supporters at Thanksgiving you appreciate them is just fine. Communicating gratitude without even telling them hits it out of the park. How do you do this?...

Learning How to Adopt a Retail Mindset in a Nonprofit World
November 19, 2015 at 9:38 am

Fifteen years ago, public school teacher Charles Best started DonorsChoose.org out of his classroom in Bronx, N.Y. He set out with a simple idea: Invite teachers to request supplies they need and allow citizen-donors to make direct connections with specific classrooms. The mission of DonorsChoose.org isn't unique. On the contrary, there are many organizations that…

Put the ‘Integrate’ in Integrated Fundraising
November 18, 2015 at 10:13 am

As the use of digital marketing continues to evolve and expand within the nonprofit industry, fundraising executives are demanding more integration within their marketing, communication and fundraising solutions. The key point of distinction is nonprofits that wish to implement integrated fundraising strategies must first think of their constituents rather than the communication tactic itself...

How to Foster Communication in Your Fundraising
November 17, 2015 at 10:18 am

Before starting my own business, I spent more than 20 years as a fundraiser. When I was asked the question at cocktail parties, “What do you do?” I’d tell them that I’m a fundraiser. The most common and immediate response was, “I could never ask people for money. “ I’d smile and say, “That is…

How to Be a Small-Shop Nonprofit Development Director
November 17, 2015 at 9:43 am

For the most part, nonprofit organizations have been hit hard by our nation’s economic woes. They’re facing challenges in terms of donations, staffing, government and foundation funding, and organizational structure. How can you quickly make a difference while at the same time setting those important standards for your organization’s future sustainability?...