Recurring Donations

Talisma Fundraising's Dan Germain offers five steps for effective donor cultivation on the heels of a poll revealing optimism in the fundraising sector.

Based on the findings from The Online Giving Study, Network for Good offers four tips to maximize online fundraising.

Here are the four forever facts about fundraising.

We found eight distinct cases of hemispheric flip in direct-mail fundraising. Hemispheric flip is when the sides of the brain are incorrectly deployed: What should be rational decisions are made emotionally ... and vice versa.

Analyzing trends in the fundraising world is important on many levels. It lets you know what's happening in the industry, what that may mean for the future and how it compares to the past. Studying trends also lets you know where you stand compared to other organizations, allowing you to pinpoint what your organization is doing well and what it needs to work on.

In their presentation held on July 28 at the 2010 Bridge Conference in National Harbor, Md., "Marketing and Fundraising for Campaigns, Special Initiatives and Anniversary Celebrations," Jeanne G. Jacob, executive director of Goodwin House Foundation, and Barbara Ciconte, senior vice president of Donor Strategies, offered some great tips for successful fundraising. Here are some highlights.

Workplace giving is an important part of philanthropy in North America, as it has been for a long time. It has been, and continues to be, driven by deductions automatically taken from an employee’s payroll. This makes it possible for people to give a greater amount via monthly deductions, and it also makes the giving process simpler for those employees with such a program.

What if there were no new donors? That was the first question nonprofit veteran Roger Craver asked in his presentation, “Where It’s At! A 12-Step Program to Get You to Tomorrow,” at the first ever FundRaising Success Virtual Conference & Expo held last Thursday (and available on-demand until Aug. 24). Craver, founder of DonorTrends and editor of TheAgitator.net, said that is the reality today — with declining acquisition rates, rising acquisition costs, declining retention rates and declining income playing factors.

In her presentation at the 47th AFP International Conference on Fundraising in Baltimore earlier this month titled How You Can Create Experiences That Foster True Loyalty, Bridget Brandt, senior marketing manager at Sage Nonprofit Solutions, discussed some keys to creating loyal donors through their experiences with your organization. Here are some key takeaways.

Miriam Isserow
development consultant/
former development director
Women Empowered Against Violence

Truth be told, it was this nomination from Lauren Hines, development director at the Council for Court Excellence and a colleague of Miriam Isserow's, that prompted us to go with the "superhero" theme for this year's awards.