Personalization

University at Albany advancement administrators conduct one-on-one meetings with young alumni, individually connecting with potential donors to convince them to give back to the institution. The goal, assistant director of young alumni programs Brian Rudolph said, is to instill giving habits in the recent graduates. Though the tactic is expensive, it is effective, he said. Philanthropy…

In 2016, marketing and communications professionals will stop targeting millennials as one demographic and focus on reaching the younger consumers based on their passions, according to a study released this week by Hotwire PR. The agency's seventh annual "Communications Trends Report," which was based on crowd-sourced data from 400 communicators across 22 countries, revealed that…

Fifteen years ago, public school teacher Charles Best started DonorsChoose.org out of his classroom in Bronx, N.Y. He set out with a simple idea: Invite teachers to request supplies they need and allow citizen-donors to make direct connections with specific classrooms. The mission of DonorsChoose.org isn't unique. On the contrary, there are many organizations that…

Learn how to target and engage donors in this webinar offering expert advice on boosting fundraising appeals and increasing donations.

The year 2015 has been one of change and revolution, both in and outside marketing. As we approach the final stretch of this turbulent year, I thought it prudent to review some of the most prevalent talking points in marketing, and why they probably shouldn't be talking points in 2016. Not because these aspects of…

In today’s digital age, when so much of marketing takes place behind a computer screen, it’s sometimes difficult to remember one of the most important parts of successful marketing—that the whole purpose is to connect with people. Think of how quickly and simply you can send an email. With just a few clicks of the…

We often hear about the fundraisers who use false promises and manipulation to get gifts, but the vast majority are honest, hardworking and passionate about the causes they represent. But, I daresay, a lot of them are kind of stuck at mediocre. This is generally not a result of laziness or a lack of desire. Rather, fundraising is complex. If you want to go from “OK” to “Wow,” no matter how many fundraising hats you wear, here are some tips to keep you moving forward...

There is a big difference between simply knowing something about a person and truly knowing the person. Our ability to know a person requires that we have great familiarity with that individual. It’s through this process that we begin to understand whether a person’s behavior is the result of some episodic impulse or something the individual truly could not stop themselves from doing...

One of the best gifts you can give a donor is a photo of the people their gift is impacting. For donors, we would often frame a photo as a thank-you gift. More often than not, when we would make a follow-up visit to the donor’s office, we would see that framed photo proudly displayed...

Each community can believe in a nonprofit for a different reason. Nevertheless, it’s the specific, on-the-ground rationale that energizes support from each of the affected communities and constituencies. The difficulty arises when those driving the cause continue to proclaim the global goals without reference to the local goals...