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?
Read MoreConverting Emotional Donors to Monthly Donors
Person: Seth Godin
Storytelling for Major Donors
You probably don’t need to be convinced of just how important storytelling is to successful fundraising. It goes without saying.
Read MoreA Monthly Giving How-To: Take the Next Step
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.
Read MoreThree Words for 2010
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.
Read MoreInternational Fundraising eConference Roundup: Empowering Networked Communities
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.
Read MoreAdvisor_09/02/08_Quote
“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.
Read MoreConference Roundup: Get Uncomfortable
Being wrong just might be the rightest thing you ever do. So says Jon Duschinsky, founder of Paris-based Bethechange Consulting. In his session, “Breaking Out of Your Creative Comfort Zone,” at the 2008 Bridge Conference in Washington, D.C., last month, Duschinsky said turning things upside down and not being afraid of making mistakes can put fundraisers on a new road to success. “Think about preparation for your next board meeting. Who’s prepared to make a mistake? The culture now is it’s not OK to be wrong,” Duschinsky said. “We get educated out of our creativity. It’s time to change.” Organizations should be investing
Read MoreFive Tips for Gutsy Viral Marketing
We’ve all heard stories about the man who traded a paper clip for a house, watched as Prince generated an untold amount of publicity for his work by threatening to sue a dancing baby on YouTube for copyright infringement, and laughed when the “Leave Britney Alone!” video grabbed mainstream media attention and caused even more interest in Britney Spears’ antics — just in time for her new album release. Now business-to-business marketers — and, increasingly, nonprofit organizations — are going viral too. When you look at some of these high-flying, over-the-top tactics that generate tons of buzz, you begin to ask yourself: “What
Read MoreFollow Through in All You Do
“Why do you need to follow through so much on a tennis or golf swing? After all, the ball is long gone.” Thus began a post by marketing guru Seth Godin on his blog last week in which he talked about the need for follow-through. Godin explained that follow-through on your tennis swing is as vital as honoring a money-back guarantee with a former customer, or reinvesting in and retraining an existing employee who needs guidance rather than hiring someone new for the job. “I think the reason is the same in all three cases. It’s not because the thing you do at
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