Fundraiser Education
February 17, 2017 at 9:05 am
No one got "Punk'd" Wednesday morning when Ashton Kutcher came to Capitol Hill. The actor testified Wednesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in a hearing on progress in combating modern slavery. Kutcher spoke on behalf of Thorn: Digital Defenders of Children, an organization he co-founded with then-wife Demi Moore in 2009 to build software to…
February 16, 2017 at 11:16 am
If Trump is successful in repealing the Johnson Amendment, the nonprofit sector will face a heavy burden. The beauty is the Johnson Amendment has been protecting nonprofits from politicians for over 60 years by keeping these organizations nonpartisan, but with its removal, the floodgates would open, and political candidates will begin knocking on the doors of nonprofits seeking endorsements for their...
February 16, 2017 at 10:45 am
This old dog knows that we fundraisers never work alone; we depend on others to help us accomplish our fundraising goals, so our organization can accomplish its mission-related goals. Treating our vendors fairly and with respect can be a small price to pay for a partner who is ready to pull us out when the floodwaters are rising and our survival seems questionable...
February 15, 2017 at 11:17 am
It may sound hokey, but try to keep a gratitude journal. Not just any gratitude journal, but a donor-gratitude journal. Write down five things each week about why you’re grateful to your donors. You can be grateful to specific donors or to donors as a group. Just get in the habit of thinking about what you’re specifically grateful for...
February 15, 2017 at 9:54 am
Gaining donor compliance is not new work. Nonprofits that recognize that our job is gaining donor compliance—that is a new idea. This idea is that we must embrace fully if we are to compete with other human hardships, faux fundraisers, radical hate groups and smarmy politicians of all kinds...
February 14, 2017 at 12:54 pm
Today is Feb. 14th, so Happy Valentine’s Day! In celebration, let’s explore some information on how couples donate to charities. Fidelity Charitable recently released a report called “How Couples Give,” which was based on survey responses from 694 Fidelity Charitable donors who are either married or live with their significant other...
February 14, 2017 at 10:21 am
The ACLU saw a record number of donations come in right after the Trump administration enacted its travel ban. This spawned a discussion on the Nonprofit Happy Hour Facebook page, in which someone wondered if these would be one-time donations. That’s a good question since donor retention rates are declining again. Yikes! This should not…
February 14, 2017 at 10:01 am
There is definitely the tendency in our sector to write off “in-memoriam” donors as one-time donors, yet I think we must understand the emotional connection and make an effort to grow that relationship—with tact and in the gentlest, most-loving way possible...
February 13, 2017 at 11:14 am
Let me say this one final time. No discipline—no growth. Major gifts are all about staying focused on the plan and working it. This requires meeting consistently with a manager to discuss what has been done and what you will be doing to nurture relationships with your donors. Do this and you will be successful...
February 10, 2017 at 11:16 am
I truly believe the profession involving fundraising and nonprofit management is a calling. You must be honest, ethical, committed and dedicated to service before yourself. I am proud of being a fund raiser. Just like any profession, there are some members that give the profession a bad name, but they will come and go.
