One might think that gift range charts are just for large projects, such as capital campaigns or for significant fundraising efforts. And while there is some truth to that, gift range charts can be used effectively in even the smallest of fundraising shops...
Dialogue with your donors, clients or prospects begins with good data; we all know that one tenet of direct mail—garbage in and out. When we go to the mailbox, a treasure trove of information on fun, as well as vital information, awaits us. Some good, some bad and at most, lame or even useless...
There is a popular advertisement on television that must be working well, as it has been on for some time now. The Volvo ad is striking and memorable. It uses verses from Walt Whitman’s beautiful “Song of the Open Road...
There may be as many ways to segment and customize your file as there are ways to leave your lover, but the evidence mounts that the level of commitment a donor has for your organization may be the most important...
Have you ever wondered what the ideal number of people is to solicit a gift? Is a one-on-one meeting best? Perhaps you should bring two people—your president and campaign chair? Or perhaps three people would be even better—president, campaign chair and board member. Sounds reasonable, right? Get a power team to solicit a power gift! But here’s a story that will set you straight...
It is always amazing to me how smart, responsible adults can kill or at least smother a very good thing. I’m talking about the case at a southern university, which has 15 colleges and one major gift officer assigned to each college...
I just came back from presenting a workshop on monthly donors to a group of nonprofits in Michigan. One of the questions asked was the one on how to best market monthly donor programs to existing donors, especially for small organizations with limited funds and limited time...
If love is the answer, what was the question? It seems the question on our minds these days is, "How do I raise more money" or "How do I retain my current donors and get them to give more?"...
The World Giving Index is an annual report published by the Charities Aid Foundation. It uses data gathered by Gallup and ranks more than 140 countries in the world based on how charitable they are...
Everything I knew and read about strategic planning said that it took a lot of time and money. I struggled every day to figure out how to get everything done with very limited resources. All the books I read and all the classes I attended bombarded me with copious information and theory. How could I narrow it down and make it work for me in my small nonprofit?...
