Fundraising

A new museum uses direct mail to inspire patriotism in the hearts and minds of donors.

The day after Thanksgiving, the holidays hit full-force. And it’s not just the radio stations blasting “Here Comes Santa Claus” every half hour—it’s the shopping frenzies of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Thankfully, (no pun intended) for the past four years, we’ve had a day to shift the focus away from materialism and back to the true spirit of the holidays: Giving Tuesday...

Learn from others. Measure what matters. Start out right. Live out thankfulness. This old dog knows that it takes more than these four things to be a successful and fulfilled fundraiser, but this isn’t a bad place to begin for anyone new to the profession or looking to hit the reset button on his or her career in the nonprofit sector...

Just as many nonprofit organizations have one-size-fits-all fundraising appeals, they also tend to treat all their donors the same. “What’s wrong with that?” you say. “Are they supposed to give the big guys special treatment?” Well, yes—and no...

For the first time on record, the nonprofit that received the most in donations in the country is not what you typically think of as a nonprofit—and that has some in the nonprofit sector worried that the new model is upending traditional philanthropy. Giving accounts allow donors to get an immediate tax benefit when they…

Nonprofit marketing has to accomplish a lot more with less. What works for business doesn’t always work for nonprofits...

On Apr. 17, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) offered its backing for a special $300 million fund in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to contain and eradicate future emerging infectious disease epidemics. “When an outbreak of an infectious disease occurs, time is of the essence. We learned a tragic lesson 30 years ago,…

It was a simple idea: A live bluegrass band would “pick” music from the back of a flatbed truck. But the choice of venue—San Francisco’s annual Gay Pride Parade—wasn’t. The California Bluegrass Association, a nonprofit founded in 1975, is supported by nearly 3,000 banjo-playing members. And as the twangy music has gained popularity on California’s…

Each professional is successful in their own way. They use their talents to the greatest degree possible for success. Depending upon the task at hand, the fundraiser constantly adapts to situations. I believe all of us have traits that are extroverted or introverted in nature...

I recently had a few conversations that reminded me of one of my principles of fundraising: You may not consider your nonprofit organization a business, but if you don’t run it like a business, you will go out of business...