Fundraiser Education

I tossed and turned much of last night worrying that an email I sent to someone had been too critical. You know the feeling that starts just after you press the send button and immediately wish you hadn’t? But this morning I found a genuinely appreciative email from the guy, thanking me for my unvarnished…

It’s just about that time of the year. We are officially two days away from the annual NonProfit PRO Leadership Conference, and honestly, we could not be more excited. We not only have an impressive line-up of speakers—who just happen to be some of the most prominent thought leaders in our industry—but we also have some great activities throughout the day!...

The CEO sought advice from her board members and business advisors on a critical organizational decision she needed to make, got the advice then promptly ignored it and did what she wanted. This always amazes me...

We live our lives as limited beings within the borders of time and space. And as much as we seek a certain transcendence of thought, word or action, without these natural, physical limitations governing our days and years, we would not exist. And that’s not going to change. Or is it?...

We live our lives as limited beings within the borders of time and space. And as much as we seek a certain transcendence of thought, word or action, without these natural, physical limitations governing our days and years, we would not exist. And that’s not going to change. Or is it? Our lives have been […]

In every way they can, nonprofits make the "ask." The message is: We help people. We mend the holes in the social safety net. We educate. We feed. We shelter. We care. But do they? Or do they, by the nature of their funding, contribute a bit to the tearing of that net? Nonprofits are notorious for paying low salaries...

To say that nonprofits play an important role in our society is something of an understatement, but this sentiment runs even deeper than you might think. According to the National Center for Charitable Statistics, there are over 1.5 million tax-empty nonprofit organizations currently operating in the U.S...

There is one important thing everyone involved in the process of creating a fundraising appeal has to remember: You are not the target audience. What you think or feel doesn’t matter. What matters is what the person being asked to make a donation thinks and feels...

Distance from groups that are unlike ours is more difficult to close. People who are viewed as “too different” from us can completely shut down our ability to connect with them. For most Americans, the homeless fall into this psychological no-man’s land...

A legendary name in fundraising, Roger Craver is co-founder of the “The Agitator” and author of “Retention Fundraising: The Art and Science of Keeping Your Donors for Life.” He is not your average fundraiser—a disruptor and a challenger of the status quo—in fact; he continues to bring light and knowledge about donor retention, one of the biggest challenges facing the nonprofit sector today...