Creative

Don't worry — they happen to everyone at one time or another.

Knowing as much as possible about donors can help fundraisers keep them involved with the organization and develop greater retention. Nonprofits can break through the noise by utilizing traditional engagement methods, as well as emerging data and personalization tactics to focus on what matters — cultivating relationships with donors by addressing their interests and allowing them to communicate with your organization based on their preferences.

Make sure your emails are counted among those few that survive the first and drastic purge of the day. Surprise me, involve me in a way that makes sense — and watch me grow into a donor who sticks with you. After all, retention is not a statistic, it's a relationship.

Fundraisers! Copywriters! Let us unite to stop using overbaked rhetoric as a substitute for compelling copy. There's no better place to start than by stopping, "The War On ..."

There's a danger in being a smart, experienced, seen-it-all fundraiser. It's too easy to project your own sophistication onto your readers.

Raising revenue in a steady, somewhat predictable way is what allows an organization to accomplish its mission.

For an organization that was founded 35 years ago — specifically to build one memorial — the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) certainly has become a master of reinvention.

“Oh, people won’t …” Just the smug sound of it should set off alarm bells. “Oh, people won’t” is never about the “people.” It’s about the speaker.

Make sure your emails are counted among those few that survive the first and drastic purge of the day. Surprise me, involve me in a way that makes sense — and watch me grow into a donor who sticks with you. After all, retention is not a statistic, it's a relationship.

Here are 17 ways to help others judge a fundraising letter.