Fundraiser Education

It may sound hokey, but try to keep a gratitude journal. Not just any gratitude journal, but a donor-gratitude journal. Write down five things each week about why you’re grateful to your donors. You can be grateful to specific donors or to donors as a group. Just get in the habit of thinking about what you’re specifically grateful for...

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...

Today is Feb. 14th, so Happy Valentine’s Day! In celebration, let’s explore some information on how couples donate to charities. Fidelity Charitable recently released a report called “How Couples Give,” which was based on survey responses from 694 Fidelity Charitable donors who are either married or live with their significant other...

The ACLU saw a record number of donations come in right after the Trump administration enacted its travel ban. This spawned a discussion on the Nonprofit Happy Hour Facebook page, in which someone wondered if these would be one-time donations. That’s a good question since donor retention rates are declining again. Yikes! This should not…

There is definitely the tendency in our sector to write off “in-memoriam” donors as one-time donors, yet I think we must understand the emotional connection and make an effort to grow that relationship—with tact and in the gentlest, most-loving way possible...

Let me say this one final time. No discipline—no growth. Major gifts are all about staying focused on the plan and working it. This requires meeting consistently with a manager to discuss what has been done and what you will be doing to nurture relationships with your donors. Do this and you will be successful...

I truly believe the profession involving fundraising and nonprofit management is a calling. You must be honest, ethical, committed and dedicated to service before yourself. I am proud of being a fund raiser. Just like any profession, there are some members that give the profession a bad name, but they will come and go.

What is the most important thing a donor can give you? If I were to ask that question at an Association of Fundraising Professionals conference, I suspect most members of the audience would respond by saying, “A big check!” If I were to pose the same question at a National Association of Charitable Gift Planners…

Passion is defined as compelling enthusiasm. Imagine if your donors simply oozed with excitement about the work you do at your organization (not just for the cause in general). How would they be different from the donors who just melt away, day after day, like the ice cube in the bowl?..

We all know the Amazon Dash button to be a one-step ticket to replenishing household supplies—laundry detergent, dish soap, paper towels—and your day-to-day necessities—Doritos, GoldFish, Pop-Tarts—for those of us who prefer convenience over human interaction. But did you know you could use the Dash button to support the American Civil Liberties Union and really “stick it to the man”?...