Donor Relationship Management

"Make giving fun!" That’s the great advice offered by Michael Kaiser, chairman of the DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the University of Maryland and president emeritus of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Kaiser had observed, "[Donors] don’t join our family to be whined at. ... They join because we’re inspiring…

Add this to the list of reasons donor relationships are so important. Last week, Facebook announced its latest feature to benefit nonprofit organizations. U.S. Facebook users will be able to create dedicated fundraiser pages to raise money for causes close to their hearts, USA Today reported. On the pages, users can share their stories, add photos and videos, set fundraising goals, and invite friends to donate to verified nonprofits without ever leaving Facebook...

Good customer service is not always something we talk about in the nonprofit sector. As a sector, we often veil the concept in euphemisms, like “donor-centric fundraising” or “quality case-management.” Industry slang aside, the concepts of good customer service are the foundation of any good organization...

Are you confusing your donors with a bureaucratic category that makes no sense and doesn't matter to them? You might be if you're raising funds under the flag of the foundation that's the fundraising arm of your main organization. There are plenty of reasons to organize yourself this way. But none of them are important…

When you meet someone and they ask what your nonprofit does, what do you say? If you’re like most people, it sounds something like this: “We’re a 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing rescue services to at-risk populations in blah, blah, jargon, jargon, acronym, acronym, blah, blah.” Boring. Your listener tuned out about two seconds in. Being able…

I had a light bulb moment that made me do one of the smartest things I’ve ever done and something that I continue to do 16 years later. You see, I knew that the heart and soul of my fundraising plan would be to learn what our donors’ motivations were. So, after querying our database for 20 loyal donors who had given more than $250 a year during the past five years, I wrote a letter of introduction asking why they had supported the organization...

Is donor-centricity a crock? There was an interesting discussion at The Agitator last month. (I think it began with "Who Gets Fired?" but I can’t promise I’m right. The conversation continued over days because it’s important.) It raised a question: Who’s to blame for lousy fundraising? Development staff, executive directors, consultants—we ran through the gamut.…

It isn’t necessarily your organization’s mission that matters most to ultra-wealthy donors. Some data sets are worth going over twice and making a video about them so that they sink in. This week’s Fast Facts video is one of those data sets. After all, what organization couldn’t benefit from better understanding what factors inform and…

Recently, I attended an activity for volunteers. The purpose of the event was for our volunteers to help stuff backpacks for needy children. The smiles and response following this hands-on event proved to me that this type of activity is vitally important. It is all about building relationships...

Someone has come to your site. He or she has downloaded your eight-point plan or a white paper, taken an advocacy alert and looked at your infographic. Now what? When we think about donors, it’s often with our fundraising glasses on, thinking, "how do I get this person to donate?" One of the underrated aspects…