'I Would Like to See Mobile Go Away.' He Said What?

As part of our January cover story, we asked some fundraising pros to fill in these blanks: "My favorite trend right now is ______. I would like to see _____ just go away."

Some of their answers were pretty surprising, with things like mobile giving, special events and good ol' No. 10s being wished off the face of the fundraising earth.

So what do think? Read through their answers, then let us know if you agree or disagree. And fill in the blanks yourself so we can share your answers with our readers.

Pamela Barden
President, PJBarden Inc.
I continue to be excited about the fundraising catalog, because it engages donors and it requires nonprofits to be more specific about what it is they do. This does double duty as it helps them build offers and make the case for support. And maybe it is just boredom on my part, but I would like to play taps for the No. 10 white, window envelope. There's nothing about it that says "Open Me" when I take it out of my mailbox. Yes, I know it's cheap, it works, it gets a good ROI, etc. But it also reinforces the "junk mail" stigma of fundraising mail.

Jean Block
President, Jean Block Consulting
My favorite fundraising trend right now is the trend toward diversifying revenue through earned income. I would like to see sob stories, hand-wringing and excuses just go away.

Jeff Brooks
Creative director, TrueSense Marketing
My favorite fundraising trend right now is specific fundraising that allows donors to tightly designate their giving to things of their choice. I would like to see false claims that social media, apps, QR codes are about to become meaningful to fundraisers just go away.

Dane Grams
Director of nonprofit services, Care2
My favorite fundraising trend right now is online auctions. I would like to see state registrations just go away.

Duke Haddad
National senior director of philanthropy, Make-A-Wish Foundation of America
My favorite fundraising trend is growth in online giving. Having said that, total focus should not be on technical, impersonal programs for growth. You must continue to be an educator, facilitator and motivator, and stress emphasis, where possible, on a balanced program of annual gifts, major gifts and planned gifts with a sound development-services support system in place!

Tom Harrison
CEO, Russ Reid
My favorite fundraising trend right now is multichannel fundraising. I would like to see mobile go away — until we can get larger gifts and have the ability to cultivate the donors.

Ted Hart
Fundraising expert and radio-show host
My favorite fundraising trend right now is people-to-people campaigns. I would like to see unaffiliated, unsolicited direct mail go away.

Tom Hurley
Principal and president, Non-Profit Group, DMW Direct
My favorite fundraising trend right now is a real embrace by many organizations to create true sustainer programs. This approach rewards donor loyalty, stabilizes giving programs and allows organizations to develop real relationships with their donors beyond making constant appeals.

Jeff Jowdy
Founder, Lighthouse Counsel
My favorite fundraising trend right now is finding effective ways to connect with donors, including social media. I would like to see social media for nonprofits without goals and measurable results just go away.

Karin Kirchoff
Vice president, MINDset Direct
My favorite fundraising trend right now is multichannel program integration. I would like to see organizational silos just go away.

Steve MacLaughlin
Director of Internet solutions, Blackbaud
My favorite fundraising trend right now is multichannel campaigns that leverage online and offline channels. I'd like to see shiny objects just go away. There is still too much preoccupation with tools and tactics without enough focus on the strategy and outcomes.

Richard McPherson
President/creative director, McPherson Associates
My favorite fundraising trend right now is online aggregators like Kickstarter. I would like to see boring, dated annual reports just go away.

Gail Perry
Fundraising consultant and author, Fired-Up Fundraising
I don't like trends because they seem to be the new, bright, shiny object that people hope will rescue them from having to do the hard work of fundraising. That said, I like the new trend toward everything happening online. I would like to see trying to raise money from special events just go away.

Sandy Rees
Fundraising coach, consultant and author, Get Fully Funded
My favorite fundraising trend right now is social media, because it levels the playing field for all nonprofits and can give us such a wonderful glimpse into the lives of our donors. I wish telemarketing would go away!

Holly Ross
Executive director, NTEN
My favorite fundraising trend right now is monthly sustaining gifts. I would like to see pennies taped to direct-mail letters just go away.

Kimberly Seville
Freelance copywriter and creative strategist
My favorite fundraising trend right now is too hard to pick. I would like to see the silver-bullet mentality just go away.

Willis Turner
Senior copywriter, Huntsinger & Jeffer
My favorite fundraising trend right now is the focus on donor retention. I would like to see continually upping the premium ante in acquisition just go away.