Fundraiser Education

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...

Think about it. When you decide to make a PB&J, you give thought to the type of ingredients you’ll add to the mix: Crunchy or smooth? Strawberry jam or grape jelly? What are you, or those for whom you’re creating this delight, in the mood for? The same holds true for marketing and fundraising collaborations...

Are we simply letting our programs happen without a clear path to achieving our highest and most important goals? As a fundraiser, your ultimate goal should be to build sustainable funding that supports your organization’s mission. Have you instead been focusing your time and energy on the revolving door of acquiring new givers?...

Have you hit anyone up this week? Have you twisted arms? Have you called in the big guns to help you lean on your best targets? Do those words make you cringe? I sure hope so. Because if they don’t, then you’ve got some serious work to do to reshape the way you think about fundraising...

A monthly donor calling up to cancel is a dreaded call for any organization. It’s something nobody wants to hear. But it’s important to respond in the right way...