AFP

The right mix of technologies can help your organization convert annual and even ermegency donors into committed monthly givers.

April 25, 2006 By Abny Santicola, editor, FundRaising Success Advisor In his session on monthly giving at the AFP International Conference in Atlanta earlier this month, Harvey McKinnon, CFRE, said monthly giving benefits organizations in a few ways. *It increases your income; *It builds better relationships with donors; *Donors give to your organization longer; and *It provides a predictable source of donations. Seven essential components to a monthly giving program, according to McKinnon, are: 1) A donor base; 2) An appealing mission; 3) An ability to communicate your message; 4) An effective processing system; 5) An integrated marketing strategy; 6) A focus on

After the Ask: Three Things They Could Say -- and How You Should Respond April 4, 2006 By Abny Santicola, editor, FundRaising Success Advisor In the session "Major Gifts: I Asked ... Now What?" Monday at the 43rd AFP International Conference on Fundraising in Atlanta, Laura Fredricks, vice president for philanthropy at Pace University in New York, addressed the issue of what steps fundraisers should take after the ask, sharing techniques to ensure consistent communication with each solicited prospect. The first step, Fredricks said, is laying out a three-part test to any response that you, as a fundraiser, might encounter. The three parts are:

Identify Program Outcomes in Minutes April 4, 2006 By Vivian M. Linderman Following is a summary by Vivian M. Linderman, MPA, of the session "Leadership & Management Issues: Outcome Measures Made Easy," which she presented Monday at the 43rd AFP International Conference on Fundraising in Atlanta. Nonprofit organizations work in a very competitive environment when it comes to building a diverse revenue base. Whether you're seeking foundation funding, individual contributions or government grants, it's to your advantage to be able to state how your clients' lives have changed due to your program activity or intervention in their lives. You often are asked to list

Tapping Into the Power of Multicultural Philanthropy Nov. 29, 2005 By Kelley Chunn The estimated economic clout of Asians, Latinos, African-Americans and Native Americans exceeds $1.3 trillion, and they aren't afraid to flex their economic muscle -- especially in terms of philanthropy. Shortly after Hurricane Katrina, for example, The Twenty-First Century Foundation, an African-American philanthropic organization, reportedly raised $400,000 for black survivors. The Associated Press reported that when two storms slammed Central America this fall, it brought into sharp focus a trend among U.S.-based development organizations and Hispanic community groups: When disaster strikes, many groups send money directly to community organizations in the affected

The 2004 Association of Fundraising Professionals’ annual survey cited two important trends. First: Large organizations once again outperformed smaller organizations in fundraising — no surprise there. Second: Major gifts and planned gifts are on the rise.

More than 80 percent of AFP’s 3,000 survey respondents said they expect revenue from major gifts and planned giving to remain strong or increase in 2005, while casting direct mail as essentially flat.

You Get What You Pay For April 26, 2005 While nonprofit execs have long grappled with high turnover, searching for ways -- sometimes fruitlessly -- to retain the best and brightest that pass through their development departments, a new Association of Fundraising Professionals' survey reveals that money might no longer be a stumbling block. According to the AFP, which recently surveyed members in the United States and Canada about their compensation and benefits packages, the median salary of U.S. fundraisers rose last year by more than 15 percent, to $72,050, or roughly $100,000 more than in 2003. Chief development officers fetched a median salary