Accountability

Every single sentence in your email appeals is critical to your email fundraising success. We learned this through an experiment we conducted with the George W. Bush Presidential Center. Before their grand opening, the George W. Bush Presidential Center was running an acquisition campaign to recruit founding members...

If you have ever experienced a TED Talk, you know that every single speaker consistently presents a topic in a fascinating and engaging way. A friend of mine recently told me that he had wondered why each presentation was so good. So he researched the subject and discovered that TED Talk organizers actually have specific guidelines for each of their speakers...

Donations are the lifeline of nonprofit organizations, so it comes as no surprise that the end of the year can be a lucrative time. As potential donors, fueled by the generous spirit of the holidays, look to offload some cash before the end of the fiscal year, some organizations can see almost half of their annual donations come through during this period...

Bank accounts of over 300 charities based in the U.K. have been shut down within the past two years due to a global crackdown on illegal funds, Reuters reported. In addition, Charity Finance Group told Reuters that delayed payments have disrupted operations in thousands of charities, which has caused financial loss and risks to employees...

What’s a trend that has been popping up on the nonprofit radar as of late? We’ll tell you: personalization. Let’s think realistically—anyone can write a letter or type up an email. The key is not to sound like an automated voice message...

As a strategic planning practitioner, I love the process and the outcomes, but I am saddened when a well-conceived plan just sits on the shelf. From a fundraising perspective, a strategic planning process that engages key constituencies and great minds is a wonderful cultivation opportunity, and the resulting plan should give confidence to donors who might invest in making the plans a reality...

Unconscious bias affects our ability to raise funds for our missions. But their effect doesn’t always have to be negative. Understanding bias allows us to navigate around it, sometimes mitigating its effect, so that it doesn’t impact our bottom lines...

Storytelling has been "hot" for some time now and for good reason. Our human brains are wired for storytelling. We’re automatically open and receptive. So, you’d be foolish not to use this to your advantage when it comes to your nonprofit marketing and fundraising—especially if your goal is to raise money. Storytelling is not difficult once you get the knack of it...

Most nonprofits rely on donors to fund campaigns that allow their organization to pursue its mission and achieve goals. Convincing prospects to become donors can be challenging if a nonprofit is not taking a strategic approach to identify the most convertible prospects...

The point is that in major gifts, the successful major gifts officer (MGO) needs to identify the interests and passions of the donor, then present a program to that donor that matches those interests and passions. Done correctly, these activities eventually cause an economic transaction...