Our challenge as fundraisers is how to write to the donor in the donor’s language. Simple enough, until you are faced with someone who doesn’t accept the challenge. So we have to battle against the editor or copy approver who forgets that fundraising takes head and heart. When you find yourself in this battle, here are a few strategies I use as needed...
Social media marketing and advertising has to be managed like direct marketing. Can you imagine running a direct marketing program with no audience targeting? Fail. If your organization is advertising on Facebook, please treat it like a direct-response marketing channel. Do not just prioritize the creative or copywriting...
Last week, I had the pleasure of talking to someone who runs one of the largest direct marketing programs in the nonprofit industry. This program is not just massive from a revenue perspective, but also from a complexity perspective. Running this program is a large job. So, I asked how she manages to keep her finger on everything. She told me about the "wall exercise"...
With the holidays coming, have you checked it twice? I’m speaking of your receipting program, of course, not your gift list. Any regular reader of Old Dog Fundraising knows that I am a fanatic about sending out receipts. Donors stick with an organization past one or two gifts when they have a relationship with that organization, and part of maintaining a relationship is saying “thank you.” If your receipting method or message needs a tune-up before the year-end rush, here are some things to consider...
Charities looking to bolster their fundraising efforts should focus their attention on Baby Boomers. This group will provide the bulk of money for charities for at least the next decade. But be careful—while Baby Boomers provide a great charitable opportunity, there are some things you should know about targeting this group in your fundraising activities...
I cleaned up my personal email and I am shocked at how many companies do not easily allow you to unsubscribe. Please note, this is not a best practice. Here's what I learned from the experience...
While many nonprofit peer-to-peer programs have been able to connect with the Millennial audience based on school or institution structures, the audience often does not often transition to post-academia participation. Why is that?...
The end of the year will be here before you know it! Are you working on your year-end appeal? Crafting fundraising appeals and end-of-year campaigns is not rocket science, but you do have to adhere to certain guidelines if you want to achieve blastoff. So, here come some guidelines!...
Understanding our audience members and their motivations is important to successfully recruiting them to support our causes. Born in 1980 or later, Millennials are the first generation of digital natives; at about the time they entered high school, the internet became a public space. Half of this group, age 26 and younger, entered high school with social media, first Myspace and then Facebook...
People ask me all the time what type of direct mail is most worth studying for ideas. Even before I mention whatever is being mailed in their industry, I recommend the Grand Controls. These are the best packages, the box office champions that have driven the most customer and donor response. A few weeks ago, I pored through my database of 1,672 of them to find the longest-running controls still in the mail today...
