Donor Relationship Management

From a Fundraising Appeal to a Donor-Centered Appeal
July 1, 2015 at 12:39 pm

Are you struggling to nail the perfect appeal letter? Whether we are sending appeals via email or direct mail, we will need to nail the ask. It needs to be solid, heartfelt—and donor-centered. Everybody’s talking about donor-centered fundraising, but in my opinion, very few nonprofits are getting it right.

Donor Relations—a One Way Street?
June 30, 2015 at 12:19 pm

A sure sign that not much of anything worthwhile is being done in the area of donor relationships is the growing presence of lots of buzzwords surrounding this subject. In reality, my guess is that more folks have married Kardashians than there are organizations that have become seriously engaged in building true relationships with donors.…

Getting It—or Not
May 28, 2015

When you have a cause that you're passionate about, successfully engaging another to support that effort requires that you understand his or her particular needs, visions and values. Since ours is an urgent and noble cause, we often make the assumption that the potential supporter will feel as passionate as we do. But often they don't.

Outrageous Service—Why It’s a Must in Major Gift Fundraising
May 18, 2015

I often run into fundraisers who somehow get it in their head that their donors only support their organization. Now, I know if they were being honest and really thought about it they would admit this is not true, but emotionally they act like their donors couldn't possibly support other causes. This is a problem. It's the monopoly mentality.

You Asked—Fundraising Questions Answered, Part Two
May 15, 2015

Continuing my follow-up to the NonProfit PRO webinar David Gunn from Salsa Labs and I presented, here are my answers to some of the questions people submitted. As I said last week, often what one person is asking is the unvoiced question of others.

Influencing the Influencers
May 13, 2015

Some donors make gift decisions themselves and some make them involving their family. Some involve advisors and friends. So know who those advisors are—attorneys, accountants and others who are in a position to influence the gift.