Frank O Brien

“We have to keep moving forward, never getting so far ahead of ourselves that we place a burden on an emerging fundraising paradigm that it can’t yet carry. It’s going to be a fascinating journey. We’ll have to rely on our judgment, on our experience and on one another. Clever blog posts from [author, blogger and ‘agent of change’] Seth Godin won’t save us.” — OMP Direct President Frank O’Brien in his keynote speech, “The Six Dynamics Shaping the Future of Fundraising,” at the 2008 New York Nonprofit Conference.

“The most exciting opportunities and the most urgent needs in fundraising today are in the area of analytics and program design that flows from that analysis. The strongest direct-marketing programs of the next few years are going to be the ones that learn to harness the wealth of data we have available to us and use it in a compelling way to guide the planning and execution of their programs.” — OMP President Frank O’Brien in his keynote speech, “The Six Dynamics Shaping the Future of Fundraising,” at the 2008 New York Nonprofit Conference.

“[The] 57-year-old direct-marketing manager who works for a health charity [who] has been doing direct-mail fundraising for most of her career … and right now, she’s sitting in her chair asking herself, ‘Do I really have to figure out all of this Internet stuff before I retire?’ [The] 26-year-old account executive at a New York-based online agency [who] created his first Web site at 17 … and he’s sitting there saying, ‘Oh my God, this guy is going to talk about direct mail and I couldn’t care less.’ Together, these are the two most dangerous people in direct marketing today.” — OMP President

Every fundraiser’s task for the next few years is to navigate a path between traditional and emerging fundraising strategies. So says Frank O’Brien, president of the Washington, D.C.-based consultancy OMP, who gave the keynote presentation, “The Six Dynamics Shaping the Future of Fundraising,” at the 2008 New York Nonprofit Conference last week. “It’s heady stuff when you think about it,” O’Brien said. “We get to practice our craft in a remarkable period of transition. And our actions will help shape a whole new era of fundraising. “But along with that opportunity comes the challenge of living these next few years with