Fundraiser Education

The definition of resonate according to Merriam-Webster is to continue to produce a loud, clear, deep sound for a long time. Another definition is to have a particular meaning or importance that affects or appeals to someone in a personal or emotional way. I had the experience of both definitions at a recent National Community Relations and Development Conference for the Salvation Army in Indianapolis.

If you are a nonprofit fundraising leader, join in on the Leadership Summit.

I have lots of takeaways from the FundRaising Success Engage Conference but wanted to share 10 low-cost donor engagement strategies I picked up during the day. Any nonprofit can swing these, for little to no out-of-pocket cost: Get volunteers to write thank-you notes. Get volunteers to make phone calls. Give tours of your facility. Break bread with your executive director. Conduct surveys. Enlist board members. Ask donors to fundraise for you. Hold town hall meetings. Highlight a donor story in your newsletter. Invite donors to share why they love your nonprofit.

I have been thinking about a career in fundraising and the choices that we make that define who we are and our work. Here are some choices that we, as fundraising professionals, should be making.

Ted Hart speaks with Brian Saber, co-founder and president of Asking Matters, about how the shy can be great fundraisers too on his Nonprofit Coach radio show.

If you engaged your donors on a deeper level, would you raise more money? When it comes to helping nonprofits raise more money, Susan Howlett is a master! In this video, Susan shares three different ways you can engage donors on a deeper level. Plus, you’ll also hear examples of how these have played out in real life at other nonprofit organizations … helping them raise more money.

I suggest you establish a mentoring program where you could mentor a young professional year-round whose desire is to make a career in the nonprofit world. What have you done to promote the concept and spirit of philanthropy with the next generation?

How do you identify what old fundraising methods are worth keeping alive and what new methods can have a positive bottom-line impact? Or in other words, how do you avoid staying with what’s comfortable even when it’s on life support or chasing what’s new just because it looks fun? A good place to start is by asking yourself these questions.

It's finally here. It's been roughly 11 months since our inaugural Engage Conference, and after such wonderful response and participation last year, we here at FundRaising Success knew we had to keep it going. And now the day is finally just here, with the second annual Engage Conference all set for tomorrow at the WHYY building in Philadelphia.

What I love about the roundtables is that they are almost completely attendee-driven. The moderators say a quick hi and share an overview of the topic, but then the discussion is steered by the questions posed by the guests at the table.