Retention

Let's face our gaps and challenges head on, and let's do something about them so we can be better fundraisers and marketers — because what we do is really important in this world.

How can you retain more donors in 2015? Start by resurrecting the lost art of saying "thank you." Be sincere. Focus on the donor. Make it sound like it was written just for her.

Learn how one organization re-ignited its fundraising fire in the face of risk-averse leadership, slashed budgets and low staff morale.

To get the best results from fundraising appeals, every element of a message must be as donor-centered as possible. Donors (and prospects) want at least six things from their interactions with you.

"If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share," said W. Clement Stone.

Every organization has a fundraising "tipping point." Most never actually reach it, but many find their revenue totals plateauing with miniscule increases from year to year.

FundRaising Success is excited to be sitting down with the ALS Association to talk about what's happening in that organization in the aftermath of the social-media phenomenon, the Ice Bucket Challenge.

Here are 12 simple steps any organization can take right now to make their donors happy, boost their retention rates and create sustainable gifts year after year. These are the changes that matter. They are not complicated. They don't require a lot of decision making or processing. They don't even take a ton of time!

What exactly is a nonprofit investor? There are several very distinct differences between nonprofit donors and nonprofit investors and how each thinks. Take a look.

It's not always easy to make your donors' wishes come true. But if you don't put forth the effort to meet their emotional needs, someone else will.