FundRaising Success is kicking off the new year with some changes to our Editorial Advisory Board. Here’s a quick introduction to the new members. Be sure to keep an eye on future editions of the FS Advisor for interviews with these fundraising pros.
Read MorePerson: John Melia
Meet Our New Editorial Advisors
FundRaising Success is kicking off the new year with some changes to our Editorial Advisory Board. Here’s a quick introduction to the new members. Be sure to keep an eye on future editions of the FS Advisor for interviews with these fundraising pros.
Read MoreLeading the Charge
June’s cover story examines how the Wounded Warrior Project, led by Founder and Executive Director John Melia, embraces multichannel strategies to fund its mission to transition America’s youngest disabled vets back into civilian life. Web to the Max Getting the most from your organization’s Web site can seem daunting. But in the June feature “Web to the Max” Sage Software’s Heather Burton and Daniel Gonzalez explain how to take it step by step so that it’s a manageable endeavor.
Read MoreWeb to the Max
Getting the most from your organization’s Web site can seem daunting. But in the June feature “Web to the Max” Sage Software’s Heather Burton and Daniel Gonzalez explain how to take it step by step so that it’s a manageable endeavor. Leading the Charge June’s cover story examines how the Wounded Warrior Project, led by Founder and Executive Director John Melia, embraces multichannel strategies to fund its mission to transition America’s youngest disabled vets back into civilian life.
Read MoreIt’s Gold Awards Time Again!
Hard to believe, but the deadline for FundRaising Success’ fourth annual Gold Awards for Fundraising Excellence already is fast approaching! Cut-off for entries is July 11. You can find the entry form here. The categories will be pretty much the same as last year, with some minor changes. Categories are: * Direct Mail: Acquisition (50,000 or more mailed) * Direct Mail: Acquisition (Fewer than 50,000 mailed) * Direct Mail: Renewal (50,000 or more mailed) * Direct Mail: Renewal (Fewer than 50,000 mailed) * Special Appeal * Package of the Year: The highest overall points-getter from among the other direct-mail winners * Grand Control
Read MoreLeading the Charge
June’s cover story examines how the Wounded Warrior Project, led by Founder and Executive Director John Melia, embraces multichannel strategies to fund its mission to transition America’s youngest disabled vets back into civilian life. It’s Gold Awards Time Again! Hard to believe, but the deadline for FundRaising Success’ fourth annual Gold Awards for Fundraising Excellence already is fast approaching! Cut-off for entries is July 11. You can find the entry form here. The categories will be pretty much the same as last year, with some minor changes. Categories are: * Direct Mail: Acquisition (50,000 or more mailed) * Direct Mail: Acquisition (Fewer than
Read MoreLeading the Charge
John Melia is a no-nonsense kind of guy. He’s got what seems at first to be the naïve determination of a child building sand castles at water’s edge, not quite cognizant of the fact that the surf could swoop in at any moment and wreak havoc. It’s a refreshing assessment. But it’s also wrong. At 42, the wounded Gulf War vet and founder and executive director of the Jacksonville, Fla.-based Wounded Warrior Project is far from naïve about the way nonprofit organizations have historically worked. He just cuts the crap and focuses on how they should work. And in the case of WWP, how
Read MoreTips From John Melia, Wounded Warrior Project
1. Recruit community evangelists. “You have to find people out there in the community who are going to talk about your cause. You have to build broad-based community support for your mission. And you have to have people that become evangelists for your cause. Evangelism opens up opportunities. People talking about you is important. If you’re in the nonprofit world and your cause is important enough to start a nonprofit around, then it’s important enough to build a broad base of community support around.” 2. Build your brand. “Your brand has to stand for something. In our case, our logo is one wounded guy
Read MoreWounded Warrior Project History
As told by John Melia: I was a Marine in the early ’90s, and I was injured in a Marine Corps helicopter crash that killed four of my friends and injured 14 of us. So my experience coming home as a wounded vet kind of showed me some of the gaps in service delivery to [wounded] military members. In 2002, I was watching a news story on TV and saw a young Marine being loaded onto a helicopter, and it just brought back a flood of memories for me and I thought, “Boy, I bet that guy’s getting ready to go on the
Read MoreAdvisor 05/27/08_Quote
“If a nonprofit only does 2.0 stuff, they’re setting themselves up. You’ve got to do some of the traditional stuff or you’re alienating people. Direct mail still really appeals to the people that direct mail really appeals to. Events still really appeal to the people they appeal to. And you really have to build a lot of different legs on your fundraising table; just like any personal investment, you have to be diversified.” — John Melia, founder and executive director of the Wounded Warrior Project, quoted in FundRaising Success’ June cover story.
Read More