Most nonprofits will plan one or two big fundraising auctions per year, leading to high expectations. Organizations need to find a multitude of ways to increase revenue streams to avoid leaving much-needed money on the table. The following are some tips to help development teams create financially successful events...
This problem doesn’t just occur with monthly donors, but with all donors. That last step, finishing the donation, is the key. But often, the donor clicks through. They’re ready to make a gift, but for some mysterious reason, they leave. They never finish the donation...
History books and our current culture like to tell stories of success of the “self-made man.” We all grow up thinking that if we become the lone wolf and just do something on our own it is more noble than having someone help you. I think that is a pile of garbage...
How do I get started building a strategic fundraising program? Get the right kind of fundraising training. What’s the “right kind”? Fundraising training that focuses on fundraising principles, not techniques or tactics...
Years ago, long before I worked in the nonprofit sector, I started my own nonprofit organization collecting and distributing school supplies to kids in need. I had no idea what I was doing; I just knew my nonprofit mission was to accomplish “something good.”...
If you run a peer-to-peer event, you’ve heard or thought this: “If we just charge $35 to every person who shows up at our event, we’d make a lot of money.” The problem with this thinking is that it’s a price tag, and after people pay the price, they’re a lot less likely to fundraise. That’s not just what we think; it’s what the data tells us...
Here’s a novel concept: Donor extortion isn’t fun. In fact, it’s pretty darn terrible. Duh. So, can someone please tell me why I keep seeing so much of this demeaning practice going on in the fundraising space?!...
Our donors are such a wonderful gift to us. And they, collectively, are doing so much good work in our world. Let’s agree to take a look at ourselves, as major gifts officers, to make sure we are doing everything we can to honor them and lift them up...
You’ve probably heard about the latest trend in donors, called rage donors. In a way, these have been around for years, but they used to be called “disaster donors.” Donors were often called “episodic” donors...
How do you do financial reporting for your peer-to-peer event? Often when collaborating on strategy for events, we get into bookkeeping territory. A typical question sounds like this, “When determining costs of grassroots events, like a walk or a 5K, do you include staff, event costs, or both?”...
