Accountability

I am a sucker for those ads that feature dogs and other four-legged creatures in cages. The organizations that I contribute to on a regular basis include the following: ASPCA, The Humane Society, Farm Sanctuary, AARF and PAWS...

One might think that gift range charts are just for large projects, such as capital campaigns or for significant fundraising efforts. And while there is some truth to that, gift range charts can be used effectively in even the smallest of fundraising shops...

The Federal Family and Medical Leave Act provides qualified employees of both nonprofit and for-profit companies up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year to deal with a “serious health condition” or to care for certain family members with a “serious health condition.” In most instances during a period of FMLA qualified leave, an employee’s job is protected and their employment cannot be terminated...

Dialogue with your donors, clients or prospects begins with good data; we all know that one tenet of direct mail—garbage in and out. When we go to the mailbox, a treasure trove of information on fun, as well as vital information, awaits us. Some good, some bad and at most, lame or even useless...

There may be as many ways to segment and customize your file as there are ways to leave your lover, but the evidence mounts that the level of commitment a donor has for your organization may be the most important...

With the exception of a nonprofit board’s infancy or juvenile stage of governance, it is my opinion that for all practical purposes, sitting on a nonprofit board is more glory than guts, requiring the minimum of wear and tear...

It is always amazing to me how smart, responsible adults can kill or at least smother a very good thing. I’m talking about the case at a southern university, which has 15 colleges and one major gift officer assigned to each college...

I was speaking recently with Dave Goetz of CZ Strategy, and our conversation turned to challenges facing nonprofit organizations. When he asked what I thought was the biggest challenge fundraisers had to deal with, I didn’t answer with the usual suspects...

The words you use on your donation page are powerful. And there’s a danger in assuming your donor understands why they should give to you just because they land on your donation page. By adding copy to your page, you can articulate those reasons clearly and increase your donations...

I (Katrina) have had several 10,000-hour thresholds in my career. I started my company, Turnkey, in 1989, so my first 10,000 hours happened around 2007 or so. By that time, while certainly not having achieved genius-level competence...