Warning! This post is pretty straight forward and a little abrupt. It makes me absolutely crazy when non-profits think they would be bothering their donors if the called them on the phone. Phooey! 3 Reasons Your Donors Will Walk #1.) The number one reason that donors don’t stick around is they don’t feel appreciated. Did you…
Ask, Thank, Report, Ask, Thank, Report – This is a fundraising model that works! It’s a cycle that is proven. It’s a cycle you can put into your calendar. It’s a strategy when there’s no strategy. Here’s how it works – it’s an “honor program”: Honor your donor by sharing the problem your organization is…
When it comes to the end-of-year fundraising, it’s important to have a solid plan. August is the best time to knock it out of the park. Definitely have your plan going by Labor Day, latest! By plan, I mean lining out the program, assigning dates for printing and addressing, dates for mail drop, dates for…
Include An Outreach Strategy for New Donors in Your Event Wrap-Up Plan. There’s no reason your organization can’t form a meaningful relationship with a donor that was brought to your fundraiser by someone on your volunteer committee or, invited by a board member. Is there? It’s an important growth move to make the effort to…
Your Volunteers Deserve VIP Status Crazy thing happened the other day. I became aware of an organization that has a call to action on their website that gives potential volunteers the opportunity to provide their personal contact information, a little about themselves, and to choose how they would like to help. The organization provided four…
The difficult months for fundraising are upon us! There is a period of time every year where fundraising seems to come to a screeching halt. That doesn’t mean that communication isn’t essential to your overall fundraising strategy during this time. While it may not be the ideal time to do a big fundraising push, it’s…
Giving USA Report on Philanthropy Here are the big take-aways from the Giving USA Report for 2016 philanthropy. 1.4% increase in overall giving (more on that below). 390B – total charitable giving in the US in 2016. WOWZERS! 74% comes from Individual Donors, making major gift programs more important than ever. Corporate Giving has not…
Why is it hard to raise funds? Most often, you’re trying to fundraise to everybody. It’s a killer. One reason is that large numbers of people don’t believe what you’re saying. No matter how obvious and self-evident you think it is. Large numbers can stay comfortably numb and never really engage with your mission, vision…
Authenticity Is A No-Brainer in Fundraising Recently, while out and about with my Mom, we decided that an ice cream shake sounded like a good idea. Traveling through a small town in Kansas, there didn’t appear to be many options. We came up on a Sonic Drive In and pulled in to place our order…
Monthly giving is an important avenue to peace of mind. Let’s face it, the best way to increase your bottom line cash flow issue is to increase fundraising efforts in a few main areas: Major Donors and Monthly Giving. These are the keys to the kingdom and the mental break we all could use instead…