Donor Relationship Management

Donor behavior is becoming less transactional in nature as donors now act as philanthropists in more sophisticated and strategic ways. Donors are narrowing the number of causes they support, donating more to those causes, and doing so with an expectation of engagement and 
accountability we once saw only from a select few. Donors of all shapes, sizes and types have become strategic philanthropists...

So have all the cool kids moved to digital? Is mail so yesterday? Sometimes it seems like that’s what I’m hearing. And I often feel like a grandma, warning people not to move everything online. But grandma or not, I’ll keep doing it. I know the arguments: Yes, email is cheaper to send. Yes, online…

"Fundcrushing" is a form of anti-fundraising that works on the mistaken assumption that people will want to respond to a situation if they understand how huge it is. It's exactly wrong. Donors are far more likely to give when they see how solvable a problem is, not how big. An overwhelmingly huge problem actually is…

This week I was visiting with a great mentor—an incredible philanthropist, board member and fundraiser. We are both fans of a friend who recently left a university where the president did not allow anyone else to engage with its top donors and prospective donors...

In all the recent media stories covering what’s wrong with charity fundraising, one thing that’s not getting enough airtime is what an amazing and life-enhancing experience giving can be. This gives us a huge opportunity—but may well require quite a shift in how we work. From what I see, giving helps us to express our…

Let's talk about passion, specifically, what it means for nonprofits and their online relationships. When you consider your organization’s online community, you may think of your social-media groups. For a long time, there has been a push to develop as many relationships as possible...

Last week, I wrote about mid-level donors, and what we’re doing wrong with them. Mid-level donors are neglected, uninspired and disengaged. Why? Because we’re making assumptions about them. We’re assuming they want to be treated like a major donor—in-person meetings, more targeted asks and more information to inspire their giving because they see their gifts…

Like many of us in the nonprofit industry, long ago, I had the misfortune to work as a development associate for a charity rife with dysfunction. For the sake of this article, let’s just refer to it as a nonprofit serving young people. I’m not in the business…

I have known for many years that nonprofit professionals are in a net-revenue results business. Besides treasure, we always are looking for time and talent. There is constant pressure to perform and achieve goals. Besides the obvious job-performance factors, we do engage with many interesting people. Our donors and prospects can provide moments in our lives that we relish...

Fundraisers don’t usually think of themselves as sexy. Yet, most of the world does. When someone to whom I have just been introduced asks "What do you do?," I’m always a bit surprised by the reaction to my answer. "What a cool profession" "Wow, you really get to hobnob with the wealthy." These are typical responses...