Knowledge vs. Inertia: Are Fundraisers Ready for the New Era of Insight?

By Willis Turner

Half a century later a new generation of groundbreakers including Richard Viguerie, Roger Craver, Morris Dees, our founder Jerry Huntsinger and a few others integrated the new technologies of their era and took direct marketing to a much more sophisticated level.

And because these were men with strong, if dissimilar, social consciences (and because it was the 1960s), they also used their skills to usher in a new era of nonprofit fundraising.

Now another 50 years have passed. Today's game-changing technology is all about information.

We're collecting data that is more detailed, comprehensive and "segmentable" than ever before. And now we're seeing the opportunity to combine all that data with rapidly emerging information about new ways to understand and motivate donors.

Individually, some of these studies may seem downright goofy. But, taken in aggregate, we dismiss them at our peril. Those who embrace these new discoveries have the opportunity to take our industry into its own new era of fundraising.

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Willis Turner Author's page

Willis believes in expressive writing, exceptional fundraising, and exuberant living.

Willis Turner is the senior copywriter at Huntsinger & Jeffer. He was an experienced writer and creative director in the traditional advertising world for more than 20 years before making the switch to fundraising nearly 15 years ago. In his work with nonprofit organizations and associations, he has written thousands of appeals, renewals and acquisition communications for every medium. He creates direct-response campaigns, as well as collateral materials and communications, that get attention, tell emotional stories, and persuade people to take action or make a donation.