Donor Relationship Management

Amazon and the Melting Iceberg of Direct-Mail Fundraising
June 3, 2014

Recently, I said to someone that direct mail is a "melting iceberg." By that I mean that it's big, but continually shrinking due to people's habits changing. So instead of still building around direct-mail CRMs that can output postcards to different households, nonprofits need to focus on different inputs feeding a single CRM.

The person said to me that the term "melting iceberg" might offend nonprofits since so much of their income is still tied to direct mail.

At first I felt bad that it may have come across dismissive. But then I thought about Amazon.

Stop Building Lists. Start Building Relationships.
March 27, 2014

If your lists aren't helping you build relationships, they're pretty worthless. This isn’t just a semantic difference or a slight change in strategy. This changes everything. I’m not suggesting that you burn your email list or abandon social media. They are powerful tools — and once you start building relationships, you’ll find that you increase the breadth of your engagement, as well as the depth of engagement, for each person who interacts with you. So, what does building relationships in the nonprofit space really look like?

6 Things to Consider When Selecting a Content Management System
February 13, 2014

Although content management system products are all built to produce a similar set of results, they don’t all necessarily offer the exact same features. It is important to ensure the product you choose is really going to work for your organization. The process of choosing a CMS can often take a bit longer, and be tougher, than expected, because there are so many options to evaluate. We’ve outlined a preparatory process to help guide you toward choosing the best-fit CMS for your nonprofit.

My 1st 2014 Brain Teaser: I’m in Love With 'Campaign Influence'
January 7, 2014

I'm going to come out of the gate challenging all you marketers and even analysts with a brain teaser. I had to read this whitepaper three times to make sure I understood the formulas correctly — but I'm in love with the concept of "Campaign Influence."

Does It Matter If a Fundraising Database Supplier Doesn't Understand Fundraising?
January 6, 2014

The more I work on fundraising software procurement and implementation projects, the more I ask this question: How much does the supplier's experience of fundraising matter?

For years, this hasn't been such a relevant question, at least when purchasing packages as opposed to bespoke systems, because most new fundraising database systems were supplied by companies who either specialized in the sector or who at least had a dedicated department who did so.

Which Metric Are You Using?
November 5, 2013

This article is a must-read for people who think they are tracking long-term marketing metrics.

Donor Recognition: The Real Key to Retention
November 1, 2013

Nothing keeps donors engaged like timely, personal acknowledgments. If donor acknowledgment is the key to retention, what are the keys to donor acknowledgment and recognition?