Face-to-face Fundraising

#GivingTuesday Donations on the Rise
April 19, 2017 at 2:53 pm

The day after Thanksgiving, the holidays hit full-force. And it’s not just the radio stations blasting “Here Comes Santa Claus” every half hour—it’s the shopping frenzies of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Thankfully, (no pun intended) for the past four years, we’ve had a day to shift the focus away from materialism and back to the true spirit of the holidays: Giving Tuesday...

5 Myths of Evergreen Philanthropy: Part 5
April 19, 2017 at 2:24 pm

Just as many nonprofit organizations have one-size-fits-all fundraising appeals, they also tend to treat all their donors the same. “What’s wrong with that?” you say. “Are they supposed to give the big guys special treatment?” Well, yes—and no...

Center of Gravity: Crowdfunding vs. Peer-to-Peer Fundraising
March 31, 2017 at 2:18 pm

We didn’t call it “peer-to-peer fundraising” at first. Back in the late ’90s and early ’00s, some of us were excited by the prospect of bringing traditional fundraising activities online. One of the big areas of focus was the pledge-based special event. Historically, these campaigns occurred offline using just pens, paper pledge-forms, cash and checks.…

Special Events: Look Before You Leap
March 10, 2017 at 10:02 am

I travel from time to time to Chicago for mandatory meetings, which I enjoy attending because I can interact with a variety of colleagues. During a recent trip, I had dinner with several senior peers where we thoroughly discussed special events. I have not been responsible for a significant special event for several years, so I listened intently. I am always interested in building new fundraising pipelines...

In P2P, It’s All About the Benjamins
March 8, 2017 at 9:44 am

Wall Street investors famously coined the phrase, “It’s all about the Benjamins,” referring to the hundred dollar bill that bears Benjamin Franklin’s likeness. As it turns out, Franklin can give us a few tips about how to maximize fundraising dollars...

Are You Making Assumptions About Your Donors?
March 7, 2017 at 10:49 am

When your focus is on a donor’s potential capacity rather than their passion, you’re making assumptions. When your focus is on their job title or the neighborhood they live in rather than their commitment, you’re making assumptions. When your focus is on the color of their skin or their age or gender, you’re making assumptions...

Seek to Better Understand Your Fundraising Traits and Personality
March 3, 2017 at 11:03 am

You must understand you have a unique personality and traits. Like dating, everyone is different and all of us relate differently to the staff, volunteers, prospects, donors and others we meet. Some will connect to us and some will not connect to us. In all cases, you need to be professional, honest, ethical, institutionally driven, have high expectations and persevere...

Top Peer-to-Peer Campaigns Decline for Fourth Year in a Row
March 2, 2017 at 10:37 am

Peer-to-Peer fundraising is a great way to engage your donors and get them to participate in some healthy, happy, fun physical activity. We are currently surrounded by a world promoting fitness and wellness. Just look around: From fitness tracker watches (FitBit, Apple Watch) to food tracking apps (MyFitnessPal, My Macros+) to the numerous amount of “#fitspos” out there popping up like dandelions—all of these things keep you motivated to stay healthy and find any excuse to engage in physical activity, right?...

Donor Compliance: How My Experience Inspired a Fundraising Epiphany
February 15, 2017 at 9:54 am

Gaining donor compliance is not new work. Nonprofits that recognize that our job is gaining donor compliance—that is a new idea. This idea is that we must embrace fully if we are to compete with other human hardships, faux fundraisers, radical hate groups and smarmy politicians of all kinds...

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...