Donor Relationship Management

I recently opened paperwork from a donor who left our organization a grand total of $6. That gift touched me as much as a gift many times larger. Planned giving (all giving, really) is never about the amount of funds given—it's about helping the donor attain the ultimate joy in giving. No gift amount should be too large or too small...

Like many readers, I’m sure, I made a gift to a nonprofit on #GivingTuesday. I gave online, and then I quickly received the auto-response email to acknowledge my gift. And that’s where the experience broke down. I see these kinds of auto-responses regularly. And they all have the same problem—the email accomplishes nothing significant...

One might think that evolution has little to do with consumer behavior—after all, our ancestors didn’t stop at Starbucks for a morning latte. But they carry into Starbucks the same DNA with which they ran around half-naked in the wild, millions of years ago. An understanding of evolutionary psychology can give us insight into the motivation of our supporters...

I first wrote about #GivingTuesday back in 2013, one year after its initial launch. It’s three years later, and my stance has yet to be swayed. I am not saying #GivingTuesday should go away. Its results have been successful and there’s no reason to think it won’t continue its ace track record of fantastic fundraising. But here’s what I am saying: If your nonprofit participates in #GivingTuesday, do it right...

You all know how much I love insight and data from studies. Recently, someone pointed me to the 2016 Donor Loyalty Study from Abila. There’s a lot in this document, and to really understand it you need to download the whole report. But here are some interesting elements about how donors view the content they receive from nonprofits...

Major gifts is not about the money. It's about the journey with the donor. It is finding out what the donor has an interest and passion for, and then partnering with him or her to fulfill that interest. It is the only way to go. There are four elements of every journey that apply to your major gifts efforts. Every MGO who is or will be successful will pay attention to how they treat each donor on the caseload in each of areas...

“What if, today, we were grateful for everything?” Wisdom from the great philosopher Charlie Brown. As nonprofit professionals, many focusing on fundraising, we know the importance of being genuinely grateful for donors. And we should be genuinely grateful for every relationship and every interaction. Be grateful for every opportunity that we have to build a…

The country’s nonprofits experienced a spike in donations after Donald Trump's election. Was it just the most available way to say, “I don’t agree”—or was it more? Are we self-medicating our malaise with our donations? I typically refer to a lovely dark chocolate when I use the phrase self-medicating, but it is appropriate here too. The act of helping others actually makes people feel better...

You’re in the midst of year-end appeal season, and you’re feeling overwhelmed. Have you forgotten a critical component of your campaign? I’ve encountered the forgotten, and it’s not pretty. I’ll explain it to you like this: Recently, I made an online donation to a local arts organization. Fortunately, yes, contrary to many instances, I did receive a thank-you letter, even if it wasn’t the most prompt delivery. The letter arrived approximately four weeks after I made my gift...

We have just gone through a long, controversial, historic, passionate election cycle in the U.S. People continue to take to the streets to protest. The election continues to be a topic of robust conversation that should make Thanksgiving dinners around the country a bit more interesting this year. Matt Hugg, of Hugg Dot Net LLC, wrote…