
Donor Relationship Management

We have to focus on numbers to achieve goals. But never lose sight of the high calling of our profession, the power of giving, the respect and honor we owe to donors at all levels, and the life changing invitation (for donors and those who benefit from our worthy missions) we extend...
Everyone wants to develop a major gifts program, or to strengthen their existing major gifts program. Why? Because they want to raise more money. If you approach major gifts development solely from this perspective, you’ll ultimately fail...
It never fails. When there is a large-scale natural disaster, such as the Nepal earthquake, or an event that inspires charitable giving, my media alerts for Network for Good go through the roof. Many donors come to Network for Good’s giving portal to search for nonprofits and quickly make donations online, and reporters often list…
The velocity at which data is being created, coupled with the ability to capture, store and utilize that information (more data crosses the Internet every second than was stored on the entire internet 20 years ago), gives fundraisers more access to pertinent information at the individual level than ever before. In the past, it would have been nearly impossible for fundraisers to imagine amassing such information at the donor level, much less at the prospect level...
Have I made mistakes in my past and present? You bet, but I have always cared deeply about each institution and the people I served during my tenure on staff. I constantly try to learn from others, both young and old, to perfect my craft. Nonprofit service is like golf, in the sense that you must constantly practice to become a better player. The dynamics of the nonprofit world are constantly changing and you must adapt and change to be successful...
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.
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.…
By my calculations, in 503 days, it will be over. No, not the world or even the Star Wars saga. I mean the 2016 presidential campaign.
Why is it that most of us don’t tell our story when given the opportunity? A story is much more compelling than dry facts and figures.
Today I am sharing the No. 1 fundraising strategy that you need to implement for 2015-16.