Fundraiser Education

Donor fatigue is a theory I’ve never fully subscribed to. Largely, because I don’t think people get tired of giving. I believe they get tired of uninspired, cookie-cutter solicitations that lack personal significance. If we’re doing our job poorly, an accusatory finger should be pointed inwardly, not at the general public. Some things in life…

And just like that, it’s August, which (believe it or not) is a great time to take a step back and plan ahead for year-end fundraising season. Maybe you already are thinking about this. You probably know that nonprofits receive a significant portion of their individual donations during the final quarter of the year, especially…

Judging by the volume of charitable contributions processed over the first six months of 2016, it appears to be another up-and-down year for America’s nonprofit organizations. A more in-depth analysis into the data revealed some consistent and concerning trends that impacted the first half of 2016 and that likely may carry over into the second half of the year...

I grabbed drinks with a friend the other day. She runs an arts organization and is perpetually in a scramble to raise enough money. I call this dance the charity hustle. By its very nature, fundraising likely always will be a challenging and uncertain endeavor. But there are ways to take some of the guesswork…

We register for them. We speak at them. We go to their education sessions and receptions. But, are those industry conferences really worth it?...

I hear this all the time. “Where do we find rich people to give to us?” Ugh. No. No. No. No. If you’re looking for rich people, that tells me you care more about the money than the donor, and, my friend, that is backward! If you want to be wildly successful at fundraising and…

It’s been nine years since Leslie Crutchfield and Heather McLeod first published "Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits." You may remember this groundbreaking book was the result of four years of research, studying thousands of high-impact nonprofit organizations with the goal of unpacking their successes...

Silos are death. The more we learn about what works in fundraising today, the more we’re encouraged to focus on the donor’s journey or experience. Customer service—something that has always been important—is suddenly getting more notice. That’s a really good thing. One thing guaranteed to hurt customer service is when internal staff and systems aren’t…

Recently I asked one of those bright young minds in our production department to write a blog. Really, I was looking to get a little sympathy for that unforgiving weekly deadline, hoping I’d get a whiny, “But that’s really hard.” Color me wrong. Kate Bullard, who identifies as the love child of Zooey Deschanel and Sheldon Cooper from "The Big Bang Theory," helped me to understand the connection between biology and fundraising...

If you are a nonprofit board member, does this sound familiar? Your organization needs more financial resources. And, you are not sure which path to take. Should you: Help launch another fundraising event? Invite your friends over for coffee and ask them for support? Organize a campaign for major gifts? It can be confusing to…