Creative

Fairleigh Dickinson University broke out of this pattern via a deliberate, well-articulated restructuring. Here's FDU's strategy and results, and my recommendation of a four-step process to bring marketing and fundraising into a productive partnership.

Three fundraising professionals shared their "20 Big Ideas for Small Nonprofits" at the 2012 Washington Nonprofit Conference. Here are ideas 1-5.

In the fall of 2010, the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview was looking to build a brand-new donor base through e-mail. Here are three takeaways it learned with vendor KMA through testing.

Here are four ways (with four more to come next week) that smaller nonprofits can compete with — and even beat — bigger organizations in fundraising.

Explaining the case for support is one of the hardest assignments for my students and clients alike. Sometimes we get too bogged down in the "trees" that make up the day-to-day of our nonprofit to be able to step back and look critically at the "forest" — the bigger picture of how our mission plays out in real life.

Despite these tough economic times, Americans still support organizations and causes that matter to them. Nonprofits that remain focused while adeptly fine-tuning strategy can emerge stronger and more effective. Now is the time to strategically plan for the future, firm up board support, refine communications and evaluate current philanthropic models.

Is your boss killing your fundraising? If so, you aren't alone. Based on what I hear again and again from friends all over the fundraising world, it seems bad direction from bosses (or board members) is a 
leading cause of ineffective fundraising.

Despite these tough economic times, Americans still support organizations and causes that matter to them. Nonprofits that remain focused while adeptly fine-tuning strategy can emerge stronger and more effective. Now is the time to strategically plan for the future, firm up board support, refine communications and evaluate current philanthropic models.

The bottom line is most donors won't tell us if they are unhappy — but they will make it clear by reducing or discontinuing their giving. Listen for these unspoken messages when you review your results;

I tend to toss the lot of sameness into a basket to open and look through later, but there are a few rare exceptions — like everything I receive from Best Friends Animal Society. Those mailings are like a treat, an irresistible feast of cuteness and an infallible pick-me-up.