It’s no secret that the taxi industry has been disrupted by Uber and a growing range of other services. The taxi companies remained largely unchanged for decades, mistakenly assuming that the status quo met their customers’ needs. The same can be said for the movie rental business disrupted by Netflix. In both cases, customers’ expectations became more sophisticated over time, leaving the traditional business operators vulnerable...
Because I work for a disaster relief agency that also provides a variety of other important daily services, I am always interested in studying why certain donors only give for disaster relief. On a small sample, I noticed that more than 4,000 of our donors gave for the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in 2005, but did not give in subsequent years...
A lapsed donor is one who has lapsed from giving for at least a calendar year. They are the most significant donors to focus your efforts on re-engaging, because they have already demonstrated an interest in your organization...
This week, I was without power for a while and carefully eyeing some tall pine trees that were swaying way too much for my comfort. Being without power and having meetings cancelled was a minor inconvenience, especially with the widespread loss of property and even life because of storms during this hurricane season...
Earlier this year, the Indiana School of Philanthropy predicted charitable giving would rise 3.6 percent in 2017. Based on the volume of individual contributions received during the first half of the year, it appears as if the industry is on pace to meet those projections...
I was not into cars growing up, except for one beautiful late 1950’s Dodge that had the greatest speedometer ever. That speedometer showed green, yellow or red colors as perfect indicators of the speed of the car as it went faster. I have always remembered that color indicator tool that I use for dashboards today. Besides cars, should dashboards be used in business to denote performance?...
Finding new ways to reach volunteer and donor prospects can be challenging in the nonprofit marketplace. There are many nonprofits competing to catch the attention of your organization's prospects. In the U.S. alone, there are over 1.5 million nonprofits trying to gain exposure and live out their mission...
Does your organization have a volunteer engagement strategy? Engaging volunteers takes an investment of time and also yields incredible benefits. It’s the time, treasure and talents: Research shows that people who volunteer donate five times more than those who do not volunteer. People give greater gifts to where they volunteer...
First of all, let me add my thoughts and prayers to those who lost their home and everything else after Hurricane Harvey. And I know we’re not out of the woods yet, with other storms coming near. Fortunately, there are many wonderful experienced organizations on the ground to help the victims. And, of course, fundraising activities have ramped up. People are literally walking in the door with donations...
If you have followed my blog posts through the years, you will quickly realize that I am a very proud West Virginian. I love my home state and city of Charleston. While my head rests in Indiana, my heart rests in West Virginia. The people do not have a great deal to give, but will gladly give the shirt off their back to those in need...
