Out of the thousands of organizations a donor could support, the donor chose you. The hardest part is behind. That first gift is the hardest to secure, right?
Seth Godin
Otis Fulton, Ph.D., spent most of his career in the education industry, working at the psychometric research and development firm MetaMetrics Inc., Pearson Education and others. Since 2013, he has focused on the nonprofit sector, applying psychology to fundraising and donor behavior at Turnkey. He is the co-author of the 2017 book, ”Dollar Dash: The Behavioral Economics of Peer-to-Peer Fundraising,” and the 2023 book, "Social Fundraising: Mining the New Peer-to-Peer Landscape," and is a frequent speaker at national nonprofit conferences. With Katrina VanHuss, he co-authors a blog at NonProfit PRO, “Peeling the Onion,” on the intersection of psychology and philanthropy.
Otis is a much sought-after copywriter for nonprofit fundraising messages. He has written campaigns for UNICEF, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, March of Dimes, Susan G. Komen, the USO and dozens of other organizations. He has a Ph.D. in social psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia, where he also played on UVA’s first ACC champion basketball team.
Bonnie brings to her role as executive vice president of Meyer Partners more than 30 years of fundraising experience, with a special emphasis on multimedia approaches to new donor acquisition and development. Her expertise encompasses several facets of direct response fundraising, including copywriting and creative direction, market research, strategic planning, and comprehensive results analysis.
You probably don’t need to be convinced of just how important storytelling is to successful fundraising. It goes without saying.
In my experience working with nonprofits, helping them develop their monthly giving programs, it’s often the first step that’s the hardest. My monthly donor roadmap consists of 18 steps. Start with step one.
We love this blog post, 3 Words for 2010, by fundraising consultant Sandy Rees on her Get Fully Funded blog — and the comment that follows it.
We’re living in a networked society where people are interested in making a real difference by doing things through their own, self-selected communities — online and offline. This according to Bryan Miller, head of strategy and consumer insight at Cancer Research UK, who presented the session "Community Fundraising 2.0: The Future of Fundraising in Our Networked Society" at the first International Fundraising eConference May 12 to 14.
“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.
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