“For those that want to contribute monetarily, there are a number of credible non-governmental organizations (NGOs) doing a yeoman’s job out there. … Their websites are easily accessible. Make sure you indicate the monies are specifically for the ‘Night Commuters’ of Gulu, otherwise the contributions could get lost in some huge, bureaucratic blackhole.”— CNN’s Jeff…
As your mother said, saying “thank you” is really important. For nonprofit organizations, it’s essential. In fact, if you don’t express gratitude quickly and well, your donors are likely to give somewhere else.
What a grand time. FundRaising Success ventured into the tricky awards arena for the first time this year. And even though it was all new to us, it was a terrific experience from start to finish. We had a better-than-expected showing — 33 packages in all, submitted by 10 agencies and two organizations — a small but enthusiastic group of judges and a lot of fun.
August 30, 2005 By Abny Santicola Associate editor, FundRaising Success In his session, "New and Emerging Technologies for Fundraising," at the 2005 New York Nonprofit Conference at the Waldorf-Astoria two weeks ago, Mike Johnston, president of Ontario, Canada-based online fundraising consultancy HJC New Media, discussed the unique impact that last year's tsunami in Asia had on online giving, the changing face of online fundraising and some keys to online fundraising success. Many of the powerful new online fundraising techniques Johnston mentioned put the job of fundraising in the hands of supporters and donors. Some that have gained steam recently include: Social
CASE STUDY: Doctors Without Borders USA/Medecins Sans Frontieres August 18, 2005 By Abny Santicola Associate editor, FundRaising Success In a session on second-gift conversion strategies, Alyssa Herman, director of development for international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders USA/Medecins Sans Frontieres, addressed the strategy her organization used to convert one-time, emergency donors earlier this year. According to Herman, in early- and mid-2004 new-donor conversion was not a high priority for MSF, which was focusing instead on lapsed-donor reactivation. In the wake of the tsunami that struck Southeast Asia on Dec. 26, 2004, MSF acquired more than 130,000 donors in a two-week period, mostly
Folks who do direct mail fundraising for nonprofit organizations can -- and should -- take a lesson or two from commercial copywriters. Among them is the use of the guarantee. Practically every piece of commercial direct mail carries some kind of guarantee, yet what can a nonprofit letter offer? If the donor doesn’t like what we do with his money, we’ll refund every penny? Hardly. But you can adapt the guarantee to offer another kind of protection that reassures the donor his money is put to good use. One way is to tell how each dollar will be spent -- what
Bernard Ross is an authority on fundraising in the nonprofit sector and an inspiring public speaker, but he wouldn’t describe himself as a motivator.
In fact, the influential 50-year-old director of the London-based Management Centre thinks the idea of motivating anyone to do anything often is nothing more than a conceit that managers harbor about themselves.
It’s not something you see every day, especially in the wake of a natural disaster: a nonprofit organization turning away donations.
Almost before the seas had subsided from the tsunami-ravaged southern coast of Asia, Doctors Without Borders had airlifted more than 60 tons of medical, surgical and sanitation equipment to the area. The American Red Cross was mobilizing to support its global sister societies. Lutheran World Relief workers were handing out food and blankets. And Oxfam had sent 60,000 liters of clean, fresh water.
