Reflections on 10 Years

FundRaising Success published its first issue in November 2003, which makes this our 10-year anniversary year. To celebrate, we’ll be taking a look back at past issues throughout the year.

To start, here are some words of wisdom culled from stories that appeared in our January/February 2004 issue.

From Terri Shoemaker, then manager of direct marketing at America’s Second Harvest, which is now Feeding America (cover story, “Feeding the Need”):

• “The biggest thing to look out for is being too involved to see the forest for the trees. When you are in doubt about something (from the detail level to an overall program perspective), ask for an outside opinion.”
• “Be sure to test everything and anything.”
• “Don’t be afraid to make wise investments in your program. Be a tireless advocate for your expense budget. Investments do pay off, and data bears that out.”
• “Listen to your donors. The $5 donor has as much of an opinion about how they are treated as a $5,000 donor.”
• “The truth lies in the data 90 percent of the time. The rest of the time, it’s pure instinct that will see you through.”

From Andy Wilder, then senior director of analytics at Epsilon (feature, “A Closer Look at Models”):

• “Some passionate supporters of RFA will dismiss the mounting case studies supporting the use of predictive models, arguing that RFA delivers adequate results with minimal investment. However, we’re living in a time when adequate results are not keeping pace with escalating costs and attrition rates. Fortunately, small improvements in response or average gift can have a profound impact on a fundraising program. And the cost of building, maintaining and implementing predictive models turns out to be comparable to — if not less than — the cost of traditional RFA.”

From Jerry Huntsinger, ageless direct-marketing curmudgeon and guru (feature, “Be Persistent, Not Pushy”):

• “That brings me, finally, to a very simple but useful technique. I’ll leave it up to you to work out the details, but here’s the concept. Never write: ‘Mrs. Jones, I’m asking you to give a gift of $50 today.’ Never. Instead, write: ‘Mrs. Jones, I’m asking you to give a gift of $50 today, because …’ And nail the ‘because.’ Without a good ‘because,’ none of this stuff will work very well.”

From Tom Hurley, then president of the not-for-profit division of DMW (In the Trenches column, “The RFP Process”):

• “You’ll find that the amount of time, effort and preparation you dedicate to the proposal process will be in direct proportion to the quality of responses you’ll receive. In other words, the more work you put in on the front end, the better prepared your organization will be to select — with confidence — the right partner to meet its needs.”

From Dolores McDonagh, then vice president of membership at the National Trust for Historic Preservation (ProFiles):

• “Fundraising really chose me. I wanted to work for a nonprofit, and fundraising — and direct response — turned out to be a great fit. It’s a terrific mix of art and science, and it’s measurable and goal-oriented. Also, fundraising is great for people with short attention spans — there’s always something new going on.”

From Margaret Battistelli, editor-in-chief of FundRaising Success (Editor’s Note, “How NPOs Saved Christmas”):

• “Yes, Virginia, people did give this holiday season. Not just tokens, but they gave from their hearts and they gave of themselves. Which means that you — the heads of development and the staffs you inspire — are doing your job and doing it well.”