Sharpening Your Fundraising Through Comparison

Be a donor — be a learner
Seeing who the major players are in your industry can help you select groups to give donations to (yes, your "competitors") so you can see how they treat their donor files. Look over the receipts you receive. Are there any touches that stand out that you can adapt to your program? Read the direct mail. How are they getting you to open their envelopes? What's their e-mail frequency? Let your giving lapse on occasion so you can experience the reactivation effort (or lack thereof). You aren't looking for a template to copy, but you should identify ideas that you can develop in your shop and turn into new strategies (or one you want to avoid) when you see what others are doing.