Telefundraising

Compliment Your Direct Response Results
March 11, 2020 at 12:19 pm

What if instead of viewing the telephone as an outdated direct response tool, we dust off the cobwebs, take a chance and use it?

An Army of Hollywood Stars Teamed Up for a Huge Hurricane Harvey, Irma Relief Fundraiser
September 13, 2017 at 11:15 am

A cadre of Hollywood celebrities gave passionate speeches, moving performances and hit the phones on Tuesday at a live televised telethon to raise funds for the survivors and victims of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Celebrities including George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Hanks, Beyonce, Justin Bieber and Demi Lovato came together at…

Don't Forget About the Telephone as a Fundraising Tool
July 21, 2017 at 10:35 am

In July of 1979, I had my first article published in CASE Currents titled “Mini-Phonathon: Many Benefits.” The basic premise of the article was that you can use the telephone to inform, as well solicit funds. I worked at Florida International University in Miami and was the first alumni/development director for the university...

Don’t Forget to Thank Your Mid-Level Donors, Too!
March 13, 2017 at 3:11 pm

The No. 1 strategy for sustaining good-standing relationships with donors is by engaging with them on a personal level—not just the major donors, but all donors. And yes, this includes your mid-level donors, too...

Stanford Stopped Telefundraising But That Doesn't Mean You Should, Too
October 13, 2016 at 9:19 am

Stanford University has shut down its annual fund telephone fundraising program. You can visit the university’s official web page announcing the decision by clicking here. It’s all over the blog-a-sphere. It’s made headlines in publications for the nonprofit sector. For example, here’s a headline from The Chronicle of Philanthropy: "Stanford Hangs Up on Telemarketing—Will Others…

Can Telefundraising Survive the Cellphone Age?
September 30, 2016 at 9:39 am

As anyone with experience in telefundraising for nonprofits will tell you, the donor conversations are typically 
engaging, inspiring and positive. Results are real-time and exciting. And the channel is dynamic, on the front-lines of fundraising. Even aside from the dollars and positive donor cultivation, telefundraising is also an immediate, laser-focused marketing research vehicle. But can it survive the age of the cellphone?...

Death to the Phonathon?
September 16, 2016 at 9:41 am

Earlier this week, Stanford University sent ripples though the fundraising community. Except this time it wasn't for a multimillion dollar gift announcement, it was to declare the end of its phonathon program. It sent communications to its alumni and friends that were clever and witty, grasping what many of our donors already feel about fundraising…

Considering the Nonprofit Uses of Text Messaging
August 13, 2015 at 2:59 pm

According to a Pew Research Center report from April 2015, 64 percent of American adults own a smartphone, and 46 percent believe they cannot live without them. But, are nonprofit organizations paying enough attention to these important statistics, and are they applying them to their brand outreach and fundraising? One nonprofit in California recently started using…

Survey Says: Fundraising at the Register
July 15, 2015 at 1:52 pm

If you walked into a Walgreens pharmacy in the month of May, there’s a good chance your trip to the checkout counter involved more than just the usual assortment of two-for-$3 candy specials and glossy magazine covers. That’s because Red Nose Day—a premier celebrity telefunding event in the U.K.—was readying its May 21 U.S. debut,…