Remember the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge? It was one of the most successful fundraising challenges in recent times, with over $115 million raised, not to mention priceless public awareness. And the driving force behind that campaign? The enthusiasm of Millennials…
I recently did a webinar for a major nonprofit preparing to roll out next year’s walk campaign to its local chapters. There were about 200 chapter directors on the call. In the last year, the nonprofit has gone away from providing incentives of consumer products and has opted for more modest gifts with its brand to recognize fundraisers and donors, per our recommendation...
It’s 2018. And time to jump right in to fundraising activities. Before you dive in and expect different results doing more of the same, take a pause and notice what happened last year. As you review lists of names and donor data, remember that you exist to serve others: your clients and your donors of time and money. These are real people—not just numbers...
You’re in a team meeting when lightning strikes: Your team just hatched the most incredible idea! It has the potential to answer all your problems, fix community issues and revolutionize your organization. It is so tempting to go out and try to raise money for it immediately. After all, who wouldn’t want to fund the next great idea?...
Perhaps you’re about to outgrow your building. Or the landlord’s not going to renew the lease, and it’s time to own your own facility. Or maybe you’re thinking about a new, exciting program for your organization that’ll springboard your organization’s services to a new level of excellence...
Last week, NonProfit PRO organized a webinar called “Effectively Managing a Monthly Giving Program that Exceeds the Thousand-Sustainer Mark,” sponsored by CharityEngine. The organization featured was the Wounded Warrior Project, and the focus was on how they acquired sustainers and then managed those sustainers...
Organizing things or work is not everyone’s strong suit. In fact, some of the best sales people and major gift officers I know seem to be (on the surface) some of the most disorganized people I know. They seem to have a heightened sense of intuition that guides them to do the right things...
You are a change-maker. You work for a nonprofit organization, so you must want to change the world. To be part of the impact. To move the mission forward. To end disease. To end hunger. To end racism, inequality and injustice. To end cruelty against mankind or nature. To end the bad stuff, the complicated stuff in this world...
Every contribution is important, of course, but major gifts are “stop-and-think gifts,” according to fundraising legend Bill Sturtevant. They’re different, for example, from those that might result from a direct mail piece or made as a reciprocal gesture to a friend...
Around the first of each month, I go through my bank’s drive-through and get some cash in $5 and $10 bills. I keep the money in the console of my car to give away to people on street corners asking for assistance when I’m driving around...
