Donor Relationship Management

The main fundraising-related goal of all nonprofit organizations should be to create a great giving experience for donors.

While most faith-based organizations focus on social service, community development or health case, etc., the mission of the National Catholic Development Conference is fundraising itself — fundraising done in an ethical, professional way to benefit the organizations that operate within the religious community.

Four Characteristics of Senior Givers Four Characteristics of Senior Givers March 28, 2006 By Abny Santicola, editor, FundRaising Success Advisor Most nonprofit development professionals know that older donors like to give via direct mail. But what are some other traits of this massive donor demographic? In a recent conversation, Harvey McKinnon, president of Harvey McKinnon Associates, a donor-relationship consultancy based out of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, shared some of the other giving nuances common to senior donors. 1) Seniors are prime candidates for monthly giving. Electronic pledge programs where people give, say, $25 a month to a charity are an easy sell

Women Donors: Stereotypes Uprooted FS Advisor: March 28, 2006 By Abny Santicola, editor, FundRaising Success Advisor Throw away the old stereotypes you’ve heard about women donors -- that they give less than men or aren’t willing to part with their money at all. The characteristics of women donors are changing, says Donna P. Hall, executive director of Menlo Park, Calif.-based Women Donors Network, a national organization of progressive women philanthropists who give at least $25,000 a year to charity. In a recent conversation, Hall highlighted some of the traits of women donors, emphasizing that while she doesn’t like to compare women to men, there

No other donor demographic is more over-discussed and overrated than age.

As fundraisers, we’re obsessed with our donors’ average ages, even though there’s little we can do to push this figure up or down.

You would think that after a hundred years, a nonprofit could kick back a bit and maybe even rest on its laurels. After all, it’s been there, done that — right?

Not necessarily so, says Kurt Aschermann, senior vice president and chief marketing and development officer of Atlanta-based Boys and Girls Clubs of America, which was founded in Boston in 1906.

Let’s face it. As direct-response fundraisers, we don’t spend enough time trying to renew lapsed donors. Most of our effort goes into acquisition and current-donor programs — and for good reason.

Current-donor mailings generate the bulk of your income, so that’s always your first priority. And even though most acquisition mailings lose money in the first year, they do create future donors. (Note: If you’re making money or breaking even on your acquisition mailings, you’re doing a great job. You should request a raise from your boss immediately, and write to us here at FundRaising Success and tell us how you’re doing it.)

Wars are being waged; natural disasters are wreaking havoc; people are living in poverty; and children continue to be abused. In these troubling times, international- and domestic-relief agencies and social-service nonprofits have their work cut out for them. The need is disturbingly obvious.

As your mother said, saying “thank you” is really important. For nonprofit organizations, it’s essential. In fact, if you don’t express gratitude quickly and well, your donors are likely to give somewhere else.

There were 13.2 million black households in the United States in 2001,constituting 12.4 percent of all households in the country. Within these households, income, wealth and charitable giving have risen at a steady rate in recent years.

This according to “Wealth Transfer Estimates Among African-American Households,” a recently released report by researchers at the Boston College Center on Wealth and Philanthropy, authored by Paul Schervish and John Havens.