Donor Relationship Management

We go to bizarre lengths in our endless pursuit of “free." Dear fundraiser, I implore you: Rather than thinking first of economies, let your first thought always be to embrace grace and gratitude at every step of the donor cultivation process. Make gratitude a daily habit and integrate it into your life, fundraising and beyond...

When was the last time you were confused? Yeah, I know. For some of us, it’s a daily occurrence. And it’s not fun. I don’t know anyone who likes being bewildered. I want you to really get this: Imagine you’re listening to someone who is trying to explain something. You’re just not following it and,…

It’s a straightforward question for any fundraiser, but you’d be surprised at how difficult it can be to answer. As a donor, I usually phone up charities to give them my money. I like to speak to a human being and have the chance to ask questions if I want to. I always ask the…

Let me get this out of the way first: I’m a Jeff Brooks fan. I grew up in direct marketing with his "Fundraising is Beautiful" podcast and Future Fundraising Now blog. I’ll always remember my first blog post where I said to my wife that Jeff Brooks linked to me in the same tone of…

Whatever nonprofits are doing right now to sustain and grow donor relationships, it’s not working especially well. So, adding an additional relatively inexpensive donor retention strategy into your existing donor development plan makes sense. Here are five strategies you can use to build donor relationships online...

In everything you do, honor the donors and make it about them. There are three easy ways to do that: listening, being genuine and asking. Doing those will show donors you care about their interests and needs. And you’ll deepen relationships for your worthy cause...

What is the magic in fundraising? Those times when the strongest connections are made or the right donor at the right time to the right project. Either way, it is awfully hard to get there. We can all recognize those moments: the backstage tour, the vibrant conversation with our CEO at a donor lunch that…

As a sector, as practitioners, we put a lot of stock in the sector’s leading "gurus" (man, I loathe that word). We regard them as safe, as infallible. We jump on every new report as if it were gospel. In the eight years that I’ve been in this space, I’ve witnessed the world of fundraising becoming more and more insular—almost clique-like within the confines of its sphere...

If you find yourself in the discussion of new money or “what have you done for me lately, major gift officer,” then, hopefully, the content of this post will be helpful to you. If nothing else, I hope it will serve as a reminder to seriously value the good donors who are currently in your care. They are good people who have made a commitment to you. They deserve your careful attention, respect and love. Let me explain...

Maybe you're listening to your donors too much. Surprised to hear me ask that? After all, fundraisers are completely in the business of supplying donors with what they want and need. The problem is, what they tell you they want is so often not at all what really motivates them to respond. Virtuous blog tells…