Fundraising

To enlarge the capacity of any system requires rethinking the assumptions, creating new processes and retooling current processes.

Typically when we think about the "business" of nonprofits, we think about volunteers donating their time and donors giving money. That may have been yesterday's model, but today many forward-thinking nonprofits are diversifying their revenue streams and asserting greater control over their bottom lines.

What if your event was born and raised on registration fees? How do you transition from them? I've seen and heard of some horrific stories of efforts to change to a no-reg fee environment. At least one nonprofit accomplished the switch successfully.

Amnesty International is a fundraising organization that sends many different kinds of direct mail, but this oversize mail piece is a standout for a few reasons, including the outer and what's inside.

With the dust beginning to settle after election 2010, now is a good time to take a look at the role direct mail played in how the parties and candidates raised money and turned voters out to the polls ... or not. As with every election, there were new movements and people wrestling for power, but the mail they sent was, with very few exceptions, pretty traditional.

When you look at the incentives nonprofits have been offering over the years in their direct-mail appeals, it always seems the same: a hat, an umbrella, a sheet of address labels. But look away, then look back, and you'll see this perception is no longer entirely accurate.