Donor Relationship Management

What donors really want to see is hope. You see, this world can feel pretty hopeless at times. There is media surrounding us that is extremely negative. Social media always is pouncing on someone’s mistakes—it can get pretty depressing. So, to be able to provide a message of hope to donors who have been supporting you is not only closing the loop on their gifts, but it’s giving them a bit of fresh air. I wonder how you are doing giving your donors hope...

Every day, your organization has numerous interactions with people across all channels. The experience of that interaction determines at least 50 percent of your supporter’s decision whether to interact with you again. So what is your organization doing to monitor and act on those experiences and ensure supporters actually support?...

If you work for an institution with donors and prospects who live in or visit other places in winter, you should consider taking your organizational show on the road to cultivate and educate them. What do I mean by that statement? When I worked at a university, we brought the university to its constituents...

The Baby Boomer cohort is entering retirement, but they’re not done leaving their marks. Boomers are set to give $8 trillion to charity, in the form of money and volunteer hours, over the next two decades, according to a Merrill Lynch study. Giving by retirees will account for half of all giving by 2025, said…

The most recent “Health and Well-Being Survey” conducted by Gallup provides alarming insight about the effectiveness of nonprofit donor-recognition efforts. Among those surveyed, 81 percent said they have donated money to a charity within the past year. In addition, 52 percent of survey respondents said they have volunteered their time during that same period. Given the high-level…

Did you know monthly giving has the power to transform philanthropy? A longtime staple of fundraising programs in the U.K., monthly giving is beginning to gain traction in the U.S. It’s a valuable tool, so now is the time for your organization to seize the opportunity to use it, and to use it properly. But monthly giving won’t transform your organization unless you go about it the smart way. This means figuring out the most important element of your monthly giving program...

I had known the principle all along, but my sympathy for the major gifts officer had persuaded me that it was OK to do. So I supported the practice of just showing up at a non-responsive donor’s door unannounced bearing gifts and glad tidings. This changed when I heard three high-capacity donors talk about their reactions to the practice....

At the most recent International Fundraising Congress, Dr. Adrian Sargeant, director of the Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy at the University of Plymouth, and Roger Lawson, managing director of Revolutionise, presented findings from a study of five organizations in the United Kingdom that, combined, have 6.5 million donors. The goal of the research was to determine the greatest predictors of donor loyalty....

I was a development/fundraising professional for more than a decade. I learned my fundraising chops by managing and soliciting segmented donor groups, like doctors and young adults, and also running community campaigns including telethons that brought out donors and community leaders to dial for dollars....

In many cases, nonprofit marketing involves reaching out, attaining new sponsors and fresh attention. With the help of the Internet and social media, businesses now have an endless number of ways to market to other audiences. While this is a vital part in the process of developing your nonprofit, it’s important to build a solid…