Donor Relationship Management

Donor Relationships: More Than ‘Yes’ or ‘No’
February 6, 2017 at 10:06 am

When you fully embrace what I am talking about, you learn to focus on relationship and conversations versus getting distracted by the “yes” and “no.” You learn to take your time and nurture things along, to really value the donor and to really listen and care.

Fuel Your Capital Campaign by Saying ‘Thank You’
February 6, 2017 at 9:08 am

With the immediacy and ease of email, there’s no need to rely solely on formulaic thank you notes. You can send a standard thank you note with its more formal language, but I encourage you to pair it with an email, phone call or text message that makes a more immediate and personal connection...

40 Nonprofit Trends for 2017
February 3, 2017 at 12:06 pm

In last year’s installment of this annual nonprofit trends feature, we wrote that something felt different about all the change happening in the sector. We chalked it up to urgency. Acceleration. Things were changing fast. That was nothing compared to what’s in store for 2017. We collected insights, observations and predictions from some of the nonprofit sector’s smartest people, and we’re delivering them to you here. We hope the 40 ideas here paint a clearer picture of the sector as it is and as it will be...

4 Reasons Nonprofits Should Use Marketing Automation
February 3, 2017 at 9:13 am

Who’s got money? Donors do. That’s why relationships with donors are the cornerstone of nonprofits. Without donors, nonprofits wouldn’t find any success in their fundraising efforts. Marketing automation will help your nonprofit maintain its relationships with donors through the use of personalized and useful content. Automatically Send Custom and Relevant Information Find out which people are…

Donor Engagement: Invite Them, and They Will Come
February 3, 2017 at 8:35 am

The nonprofit world is all about time, talent and treasure. We all seek ways to engage others in our organizations, so we can build relationships with them. What we hope to get is a family member and, eventually, the whole family as part of your network. If you can orchestrate a way to capture one ‘s attention, the possibilities for further engagement are endless...

7 Strategies to Create Happier, More Generous Donors
February 1, 2017 at 9:20 am

Nonprofits need to tell a compelling story the donor wants to enter into. Make what you say relevant to people’s experiences. I may not have a daughter with a disability, but as a parent, I can relate to wanting my daughter to have all the best life has to offer...

I Have a Facebook Problem (Or, How Not to Drop F-Bombs on Social Media)
February 1, 2017 at 9:19 am

On Facebook, it is ridiculously fun to quip, banter, engage, taunt, delve, disembowel and titillate. It is so much fun that a few times I have wandered into “Not-Niceness.” I had to find a way to stop being not nice. And I did. I Facebook-friended every church friend I could find, including my pastor. I friended them all so that they would see what I wrote. I thought that would constrain me. And I was right. It did make me nicer. But why? And more importantly, how could I make use of this behavior modification technique in fundraising?...

Fail-Safe Path to Major Gift Fundraising Success
January 31, 2017 at 11:11 am

Growing your successful individual giving program, including major gifts, is a process, often involving years of cultivation. It’s not about looking outside of your organization, but rather finding the diamonds within your own database. So, how will your organization move from here to there?...

Looking the Donor in the Eye: Why Face-to-Face Fundraising Is Still Essential
January 30, 2017 at 10:30 am

I know that some major donors have given extremely large gifts over the phone, or even in a direct-mail appeal. I’m sure you have heard those stories. But, it’s rare. Donors want you to sit down with them and ask for a significant investment. If you are at a point where it’s time to challenge your donors, the only way to get over that hump is to look a donor in the eye and ask for that gift...