Fundraiser Education

Web 2.0 is the new kid on the block, for businesses and nonprofits alike. What follows any introduction of the phrase “Web 2.0” is a host of terms like Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr, Second Life, etc. — the list seems endless and grows by the day. It’s easy to get lost in the buzzwords, but the key to leveraging Web 2.0 capabilities is to do what your organization should have been doing all along: focusing on its mission and message. This was the advice shared by the presenters of a session on “How to Handle the Web 2.0 Curve Ball” at the DMA Nonprofit Federation

Getting Started With Web 2.0

Steve’s Telefundraising Tips

With all the hype surrounding online fundraising, direct marketers are left with questions about the performance of online campaigns vs. direct-mail acquisition campaigns. Which perform better? How do you know which to use for your organization? The answer: It depends. As with most aspects of direct marketing, there is no cut-and-dry answer as to which method of donor recruitment is better, but rather unique characteristics of both channels. In an effort to uncover some of the benefits and challenges of online and DM acquisition, I moderated a debate at the Bridge Conference in Washington, D.C., last week. Krista Harte Sassaman, senior account director at marketing solutions

44th AFP International Conference on Fundraising

More Live Footage From the Conference

Live From the DMA Nonprofit Federation 2007 Annual Washington Nonprofit Conference

One key to creating more cost-effective — and just plain effective — creative is to keep your message short and sweet. This was the main message in co-presenter Donna Baier Stein’s portion of the session “How to Make Your Creative (Including Acquisition!) More Cost-Effective & Deliverable” at the DMA Nonprofit Federation 2007 Annual Washington Nonprofit Conference. Stein, president of copywriting consultancy Baier Stein Direct, stressed that the less you say, the better. Why? People today have too many choices, too many multi-tasked responsibilities, too much time pressure and, most of all, are overloaded with information. It’s a given that the goal for every organization is to write

All of the sessions I attended at the DMA Nonprofit Federation 2007 Annual Washington Nonprofit Conference last week presented case studies and examples that demonstrated the successful implementation of various fundraising strategies, and armed attendees with actionable tips to take back to the office at the conference’s end. Sharing tips was actually the sole purpose of one of the final sessions at the conference, in which a panel of speakers went over 30 traditional and Web direct marketing tips in 45 minutes. Tip-touting speakers for the session included: Harry Lynch, CEO of Sanky Communications; Liz Murphy, partner at Red Boots Consulting; Suzanne

While developing a mid-level donor program is a different experience for every organization, there are some common issues all will face. The session “Mid-Level Program: The Who, Why, When and How” at the DMA Nonprofit Federation 2007 Annual Washington Nonprofit Conference featured speakers from three nonprofit organizations with success launching mid-level donor programs from existing direct marketing programs. The speakers — Jim Kaltenbach, group VP of customer relationship marketing at the Arthritis Foundation, Joan H. Smyth Dengler, vice president of direct response for Covenant House, and Robert Beatty, director of direct marketing for the Alzheimer’s Association — shared case studies, best practices and lessons