Fundraiser Education

Sometimes the best ideas and feedback come from colleagues in the nonprofit world. That’s why Dane Grams, online strategy director for the Human Rights Campaign, a national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender political organization, reached out to attendees of the DMA Nonprofit Federation 2008 Nonprofit Leadership Summit even before they arrived in Palm Beach, Fla., last week for the conference. Preparing for the session, “Leading Our Leaders: How Do I Get Buy-In from the Top for My Great Ideas, Innovation Strategies and Fearless Fundraising Efforts?” Grams and his colleague Ann Crowley, membership director at HRC, conducted a pre-conference survey to find out

Nonprofit professionals say charity watchdog groups like Charity Navigator, which aim to ensure nonprofits are financially responsible, don’t give donors a clear picture of an organization’s effectiveness. Watchdog groups look at an organization’s tax records (the 990 form) and little else in determining its rating, said John Melia, founder and executive director of the Wounded Warrior Project, the Jacksonville, Fla.-based organization that provides programs and services to severely injured service members during the time between active duty and transition to civilian life. Melia and other nonprofit professionals discussed issues surrounding charity watchdog groups and their rating systems at the session “The Costs of

Behaving like a business can have some real benefits for nonprofit organizations. So said Kurt Aschermann, president and COO of Boston-based fundraising consultancy Charity Partners, speaking in the session “The Business of Fundraising: How Does the Influx of Corporate People and Business Models Help or Hurt Nonprofit Fundraising” at the DMA Nonprofit Federation’s 2008 Nonprofit Leadership Summit last week in Palm Beach. It would be foolish for nonprofits not to begin exploring some of the practices instituted by their corporate partners, he warned. Aschermann, who previously served as senior vice president and chief marketing and development officer for the Boys & Girls

How do you end a fundraising conference on a note that will keep people around for the final session? Not an easy task, but one the DMA Nonprofit Federation seems to have accomplished. The last session of the 2008 Washington Nonprofit Conference, which took place in Washington, D.C., last week, was fairly well attended. It helped that there were prizes to be had, but the big draw was the promise of a session that wrapped up all the key points of the previous two days worth of sessions. In all, five panelists were on board for the rehash. Dana Weinstein, director of membership at

Attending conferences is a great way for nonprofit professionals to learn, expand their network and stay up to date on issues facing the sector. Conferences also are a great opportunity for personal enrichment. There are many different reasons for attending conferences. Some attend as participants, while others attend as keynote speakers or seminar leaders. Whatever your reasons for going to a conference, you can take steps to make your experience both a positive and rewarding one. For Attendees: Before the conference Choose carefully. The first step to a successful conference is choosing the right one to attend. Most conferences aren’t cheap, so it’s important

[Jon Duschinsky is the director of Ressources non profit, a fundraising consultancy based in Boulogne-Billancourt, France. At the 27th International Fundraising Congress, which took place in the Netherlands last week, he presented a session titled Funky Fundraising Failures, in which fundraisers from around the world talked about their professional non-successes. Here, he shares the top three lessons learned from that session.] 1. Check, then check again. The most common mistakes are the ones we miss through simple lack of checking. At the Funky Fundraising Failures session, fundraisers from around the world shared stories about how a small error, a moment of inattention, had caused

[Chris Carnie is founder of Factary, Europe’s only consultancy focused on strategic funders — major donors, foundations, companies and government. It operates from bases in Spain, Belgium and the U.K. At the 27th International Fundraising Congress, which took place in the Netherlands last week, Chris and colleague Martine Godefroid presented a session titled Major Donors — The Personal View. Here, he presents a synopsis of that session.] It’s hard to start a major-donor program if you don’t know what a major donor looks like. That’s why we invited a philanthropist and an advisor to philanthropic families to give us their personal views at last

One of the biggest challenges to telefundraising is making contact with the people you’re calling. But Jim Chmielewski, vice president of client services for telemarketing firm Public Interest Communications, says it’s worth the effort. For one thing, you can get immediate feedback from the person you’re contacting, whereas with direct mail, it takes time to receive feedback -- if you get any at all. So if an organization is looking to test a new case statement or issue, the telephone is great for that because it can get immediate feedback from its members. The telephone also works well when trying to convert

As a member of the press, I was barred — and rightfully so, I say — from attending the “Special Nonprofit Only Sessions” at the DMA Nonprofit Federation 2007 New York Nonprofit Conference last week. So I wasn’t able to hear the presentation on ways small nonprofits with limited resources can still compete with the big guys and win the hearts and wallets of donors. I did, however, have a chance to catch up with session presenters Joan Geiger, vice president of development for RAINN; Jerry McCathern, director of development at Hyacinth AIDS Foundation; and Tiffini Swanston, direct-marketing manager at the 92nd Street

In a session last week at the DMA Nonprofit Federation 2007 New York Nonprofit Conference, Jennifer Donahue, director of development for NARAL Pro-Choice America, discussed her organization’s experiences integrating e-mail, telefundraising and postal mail. According to Donahue, NARAL’s journey to integration began when it had successful direct-mail, telemarketing and Internet fundraising programs and asked the question “What now?” Among its integration efforts, NARAL began using the telephone to convert non-donating online activists who didn’t respond to direct mail. The organization saw a 2-to-1 improvement in response, which Donahue attributes to the fact that activists were contacted within 24 hours after they took an action.