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I know, I know… Dan Pallota thinks charities need a defense council to inform the public that administrative costs are a necessary part of a… Read More
So you want to know the real reason why people make major gifts and bequests? Ok. But first, I must share a quote. Confucius once… Read More
I bet you already know that each and every one of your supporters has a unique reason why they first got involved with your organization—… Read More
In the late 1800’s, a motivational speaker gave a speech over 6,000 times. His name was Russell Conwell and his traveling lecture was titled Acres… Read More
I have always felt that the word “fundraiser” stinks! As a donor, I feel like “fundraiser” screams “salesperson”. When a fundraiser calls me, I know… Read More
Too often people engage with charities but get very little in return. Yet, they keep trying. They’ll involve themselves with your charity over and over… Read More
Thanks to engagement marketing (for private businesses – like MarketSmart!) we have driven up our conversion rate for setting up meetings with fundraisers. Now we are… Read More
Most nonprofit websites really stink! There, I said it. Why? Because they are simply online brochures or, worse, filing cabinets of stuff you… Read More
You are not a fundraiser. You are, instead, an engagement facilitator. Tweet this! And, the purpose of your engagements with donors is to discover why… Read More
Hi-end hotels = Service is everything Amazon.com = Convenience is everything Hardware tools = Reliability is everything Home alarm systems = Security is… Read More
Ways to fail 1. Listen to your marketing staff, family, friends, board members, or your “gut” 2. Listen to your donors (even they do not… Read More
Fundraisers can learn a lot from private business experts and entrepreneurs. One of my favorite bloggers, Thomson Dawson, recently wrote a post about his strategy for… Read More
Recently I was asked to attend a nonprofit’s Board of Directors meeting. My client wanted me to present some data about the results we’ve been… Read More
Crowdfunding is growing. In 2012, the amount of funds raised from this amazing technological innovation hit $2.7 billion (yes, with a “b”). That was an… Read More
Don’t get tricked into measuring meaningless stats. Here are the 4 email metrics that matter most for major and legacy gift marketing: 1- Click-thru rates… Read More
Commercial businesses and charities both have to fulfill needs in order to survive. But whose needs do they serve? You might think that commercial businesses… Read More
I don’t like the term “moves management”. Why? Because it focuses on you and your organization. It’s about your moves. Sure, it uses alliteration so it sounds… Read More
Last week Jeff Schreifels did it again. His Passionate Giving Blog (for Veritus Group) gave us 5 ways to provide what I call “The Disney Experience”… Read More
Once again today I’m beating the drum about marketing. Forget about the word “fundraiser” because, folks, you are marketers! And every marketer has a product… Read More
I love these quotes but only for major gift marketing. If you apply them to planned gift marketing you’ll miss out on tons of gifts… Read More
I finally got around to reading a terrific book titled The 7 Faces of Philanthropy (Prince & File). Boy am I sorry I waited so… Read More
At the 2013 Bridge Conference last week, you could walk through a wonderful “museum” of award-winning direct marketing fundraising packages. They were neatly on… Read More
In Ken Burnett’s awesome book titled Relationship Fundraising, he lists 18 reasons why people give. I love the list but there’s one thing wrong here…. Read More
Feeling like your job is getting harder because donor expectations have changed and competition for the charitable dollar is growing?
Finding that the old orthodoxies and conventions espoused by so-called experts in online echo-chambers and at conferences don’t work anymore?
Want to help more people make impact by facilitating their acts of philanthropy but feel like too many obstacles keep getting in your way?
Then this book is for you.
Engagement Fundraising was developed from the perspective of a donor who discovered firsthand that the impersonal, spray-and-pray approaches of his beloved charity were not only offensive but also wasteful and ineffective. So he took action. And now, you can too.
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