Donor Relationship Management

There are many ways to thank your donors for all their support in the previous year: send an email, write a note, make a phone call or even hold an event. One medium that can be quite effective in thanking your donors is video. Luckily, it’s never been easier or cheaper to produce a high-quality…

Imagine hosting an event where you don’t sell tickets or ask for donations—instead you simply give your top-tier prospects a night to remember. It’s an exclusive gathering, it sparks interest and, if done right, it’s a great way to revive your donor list. This type of donor-appreciation event is known as a cultivation event, an…

It’s January. For many of us, it is getting colder. The holidays have passed. There isn’t as much sunshine as there was a few months back, though we are getting more. While we’ve encountered the college football championship, and the Super Bowl is on the horizon, this can be a more subdued time of year. It still gets dark pretty early, and if you are like me, your energy level often sinks a bit as the sun sets. ...

Where should smart fundraisers be giving their attention in 2016 to capitalize on our economic growth? Technology changes and the economy changes. But people? Not so much. How will you be increasing fundraising revenue and strengthening donor relationships in 2016? Here are six things smart fundraisers will be doing...

The donor relationship equity built over the lifetime of an organization should not be taken lightly. Author Jeff Brooks encourages you to apply his proven strategies for raising more money and to avoid jarring tactics that jeopardize donor relationships. One of the passages we liked best in Brooks’s latest book, "A Fundraiser’s Guide to Irresistible…

Donors have a desire to provide real healing through giving. There is a desire to give another opportunity, to give themselves to others. That is really what is going on. Donors are not giving gifts. They are giving something of far greater value. They are giving relationship. You just need to find those real reasons in every donor relationship. Here's how that applies to you and your donors...

The word “middle” doesn’t always have the best connotation. From having “middle child syndrome” to being “middle of the road,” this word’s often associated with those things that are unfavorable or just plain innocuous. Another "middle" to add to this list is “middle donors.” These are the people who give your organization more than a…

Any of you who have read my blog posts over the last four years are well aware of my focus on one of the most important concepts in fundraising success: donor retention. Because of that focus, the research on the subject spans every nook and cranny possible for fresh insights and techniques. Needless to say,…

Did you know that development directors who stay in jobs longer are able to raise significantly more money than if they were to hop from one organization to the next? It should come as no surprise. If fundraising truly is about relationships, development directors need to be at their organizations for enough years to develop…

The crux of Russell Conway's famous essay, “Acres of Diamonds,” actually translates to one of the greatest secrets of fundraising ever revealed. It’s been my experience that virtually every organization fails to fully mine the innumerable diamonds hidden within its own database. So how can you find “Acres of Diamonds” within your own organization? Focus on developing a positive, forward-thinking attitude...