Just the thought of asking for things can make even the most confident amongst us sweat. Whether it’s asking for something simple like a social media shout out or asking for a major donation, the “ask” part can really trip someone up. Not any more...
Have you ever started a new job, only to discover that no thank yous had been sent for months? Or even—(gasp!)—years? I ran across that very situation in what I fondly refer back to as my last “job-job...
Maybe it is time to accept that walk is dead. Maybe enough people have done walk that we just can’t attract enough participants. Maybe the digi-verse gives them a new way to fundraise, and they don’t need to face-to-face with each other. Maybe no amount of lipstick is going to dress up this pig...
When was the last time you purchased something you didn’t really need because it jumped in front of you? Perhaps because you saw it on a sidewalk stand while walking down the street. Or at the check-out line. Or it popped up as an ad or sidebar on your computer...
In Roger Craver’s recent blog post, he challenged the nonprofit industry to “rev up the discussion” around what he calls the clichéd dictum of “mail more, raise more.” He goes so far as to suggest that most direct response fundraisers are buying into the myth that the only way to effectively increase revenue is to mail more...
Throughout the last few years, the entire world has been buzzing about the power of story. On the surface, all this conversation makes it seem like we've collectively forgotten the millennia of storytelling sprawled out before us in museums, history books, novels and campfires...
If you’re a fundraiser, does this sound like you? Show me my money! According to 5 years of research by Penelope Burk (culminating in her book, “Donor-Centered Leadership”), as well as a much-talked-about study by CompassPoint and the Evelyn & Walter Haas Jr. Fund, half of chief development officers plan to leave their jobs in 2 years or less and 40 percent plan to leave fundraising entirely...
Not every cause marketing campaign is successful—and there are reasons why. Trust me, after all these years in the nonprofit world, I’ve seen my share of amazing cause campaigns and ones that were total flops...
Whatever you do, keep it manageable and affordable for yourself. And make sure that the donor is okay with you recognizing them in the ways you promise them you will. Once you create these promises, you can start listing it whenever and wherever you promote the program...
The first time I attended an Association of Fundraising Professionals meeting, I searched for the peer-to-peer fundraising sessions. There weren’t any. Each year I would go look, and there were never any sessions. Recently, a few are showing up, but they typically only involve peer-to-peer fundraising peripherally...
