Fundraiser Education

How well does your newsletter work? Many organizations now use newsletters to communicate about their work. That’s good! But I see so many organizations produce fancy pieces that aren’t doing their jobs. Do newsletters right and they can be a serious source of income–by delighting your donors. Miss the mark and you’re throwing money away.…

John Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight” segment mocking presidential candidate Donald Trump arrived just in time for Super Tuesday. Unless you’ve been living under a rock these last few days, you’ve probably seen #MakeDonaldDrumpfAgain taking over the Internet. While there certainly is a political lesson to be learned from the clip, it’s also a perfect crash…

As an activist in the San Francisco Bay Area for nearly two decades, I worked on the front lines advocating for ideas that were considered "radical" at the time. I led organizations that organized and trained young people to fight for criminal-justice reform and gender justice, and I helped organize rallies and protests calling for…

With the presidential elections heating up, you’re probably busy weighing the similarities and differences between candidates. But, as a nonprofit, you can take away a lot more from election season than simply knowing where candidates stand on important issues. Turns out, you can learn a lot about how to improve your very own fundraising strategies.…

For orchestras to play well, practice and experience is critical to maintaining a quality performance. How do orchestras relate to resource-development programs? As a nonprofit pro, you are the orchestra leader. In many cases, it is up to you to create, maintain and sustain a quality team that works in a holistic way...

Political giving in this presidential election year won’t dampen support for charities, according to the latest survey commissioned by Dunham and Co. and conducted by Campbell Rinker. Instead, most donors said they plan to give at least as much as they did last year. Nearly eight out of 10 donors (79 percent) indicated they would…

Want your next fundraising campaign to be a success? Nail your emotional response. Whether it's online, at a gala or delivered through a street canvasser, it's the most important thing a nonprofit can do to raise funds. Here’s why: Emotions are the No. 1 drivers of actions. That means sharing and donating. In everything you do…

According to the 2015 M&R Benchmarks Study, online monthly giving grew by 32 percent in 2014, compared to just 9 percent for one-time giving. A longtime staple of fundraising programs throughout the world, monthly giving finally is gaining traction in the U.S. Nonprofits are realizing that it’s a potential gold mine, especially for smaller organizations...

Content is the heart of your successful fundraising strategy. If you don’t sell it, you won’t connect with your audience. And if you don’t do that, you haven’t got a snowball’s chance in you-know-where to persuade folks to give to you to further your mission. ...

A recent study indicated that the average development director lasts just 19 months in his or her job. Having just passed the 19-month mark in my first development director job, it seemed like a good milestone to take stock of the factors that helped me find success and satisfaction. So, here are five things I’ve learned, firsthand, that are integral to being a successful development leader...