Fundraiser Education

Fundraising is such a misunderstood enterprise. And it’s not just misunderstood by nonprofit leaders in the trenches. The other day, I was talking to a foundation program officer, who is normally very savvy and wondered if one of his struggling grantees should think about launching a new gala event to raise some additional money. I…

One of the top complaints most nonprofit staff have is about its board. “They won’t help with fundraising;” “They don’t attend our events or even act like they care;” “Don’t get me started about 100 percent board giving–some of them think giving their time is enough.” Can it be fixed? Absolutely! Just imagine–your whole board…

Consultants, just like other fundraising professionals, have a responsibility to treat donors with respect and hold any private information in confidence. Donor relationships are not meant to be transferred when a fundraising professional leaves one organization and goes to another. Likewise, they are not to be purportedly brokered by a fundraising consultant. Neither in practice is effective for very long....

Do you remember "Groundhog Day," the 1993 classic film? Bill Murray’s character, Phil, keeps living the same day over and over and over again. Phil tries to break the cycle of endless Feb. 2's with extreme endeavors, including kidnapping the official Groundhog Day groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil. Can you relate? Does your organization seem to address…

If you go to a public place, whether it’s a coffee shop, bus station or university campus, you’ll notice that nearly everyone is on their cellphones, laptops or tablets. People constantly are connected to each other through the many accessible avenues on the Internet. Nonprofits are no exception! In fact, three of the top four…

There are multiple ways to analyze giving and charitable trends, but you can’t run from the findings. Give it a try. Can you run from this statistic: “Every 100 donors gained in 2014 was offset by 103 donors lost through attrition”?...

It's important to project where you believe your prospect research efforts will need to concentrate. Although we can’t claim to predict the future, we can propose some theories about the future of prospect research. Here are three prospect research trends to consider...

Mission statements often have been mind-numbing, only good for bureaucrats and impressing funders. But your mission statement is part of your branding, just like your logo or website design. That's why it must be outstanding. Today's mission statements often are shortened to a few, pithy words that work across communication channels. The best ones express…

Joan Garry and I work on a lot of digital projects together, and we’ve definitely seen a big improvement among nonprofits. Thankfully, the quality and sophistication of nonprofit websites, social media, email marketing and so on have improved over the years. By now, the basic playbook used by most nonprofits for online donations is pretty…

This is the story of how a small nonprofit with no social media experience used the power of storytelling to raise $12,000 in 12 days. Smoky Mountain Meals on Wheels is located in Maryville, Tenn. It provides home-delivered meals to seniors in Blount County, and that’s just the start. It also provides groceries for special…