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?...
There are a lot of disaster stories out there; some are just plain sad, and some didnโt even make the mailstream. One such sad story began with the creative, and the clients decided that they wanted to have a singing microchip sing a popular song about their product...
I was speaking recently with Dave Goetz of CZ Strategy, and our conversation turned to challenges facing nonprofit organizations. When he asked what I thought was the biggest challenge fundraisers had to deal with, I didnโt answer with the usual suspects...
The words you use on your donation page are powerful. And thereโs a danger in assuming your donor understands why they should give to you just because they land on your donation page. By adding copy to your page, you can articulate those reasons clearly and increase your donations...
I (Katrina) have had several 10,000-hour thresholds in my career. I started my company, Turnkey, in 1989, so my first 10,000 hours happened around 2007 or so. By that time, while certainly not having achieved genius-level competence...
We are huge proponents of videoโcarefully planned video with a clear objective. In most campaigns that are focused on major gifts, we are not big fans of a fundraising video, unless there is a reason that prospective donors canโt see impact of the clientโs work firsthand...
In the nonprofit sector, we wear a lot of hats. We all do it anyway because we care about the mission. We are a passionate bunch. But letโs face it, despite our passion, we all need to get a lot accomplished with a limited budget and limited time to do so. We also need to recognize that cross-team collaboration is vital to fulfilling the mission. Enter growth hacking for nonprofits...
To achieve victory, a capital campaign must be won on paper before launched on the streets. Hiring fundraising counsel to conduct a campaign feasibility study is a proven and prudent way to ensure campaign success...
Modern technology allows us to easily collect and analyze data, as well as gain valuable insights from it. This capability is now available to nonprofits of virtually any size and type and can be tremendously effective at helping them reach people, grow their organization and meet their other goals...
I once worked with a major gift officer, Janet (not her real name) who was so grounded as a person, nothing seemed to rattle her. Janet was incredibly gifted at developing relationships, staying focused and doing all the โlittle thingsโ right...