Smartideas

Straight talk about major, mid-level and legacy gift fundraising to help you be a better fundraiser

4 types of supporters that self-qualify their interest in being in your portfolio/caseload.

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you probably know that I think donor surveys are great for qualifying and prioritizing your supporters… Read More


It’s too bad that nonprofit leaders and board members thwart risk-taking

I think too many in the nonprofit sector fear failure. Unfortunately, that paralyzes people. It prevents them from making decisions and thwarts innovation. In most… Read More


Let’s treat donors like piggy banks, not ATMs!

Stay with me on this. Of course, you can’t expect to get money out of a piggy bank unless you first make deposits. That framework… Read More


Why Your Year-End Fundraising Failed To Generate As Much Revenue As You Hoped

If your end-of-year ‘interruption’ marketing results were not what you hoped for, perhaps my prediction about ‘FUNDRAISING CLIMATE CHANGE‘ (in my book, Engagement Fundraising) is… Read More


The Four Selfs

I think donors like to qualify themselves, educate themselves, involve themselves, and solicit themselves. I call these the “four selfs” of Engagement Fundraising: Self-qualification  Self-education… Read More


Automated Cultivation vs. “Moves Management”

I’ve never really felt comfortable with the phrase “moves management.” If you’re unfamiliar with the term, it refers to a process Gift Officers or other… Read More


Are You Ready to Engage?

If you have been following our past posts, you should have a deep understanding of Engagement Fundraising and its fundamental concepts by now. You may… Read More


3 scientific concepts you should understand and use properly to break through the noise and gain your supporters’ attention.

People are busy. They’re also drowning in information, data, marketing, and fundraising communications. Gaining their attention isn’t easy. Here are 3 scientific concepts to help… Read More


Free Webinar: 9 Useful Proven Strategies To Get The Major Donor Visit (Claire Axelrad)

I’m excited to share that Clairification Claire (Claire Axelrad) will be hosting a webinar with us on Tuesday, January 8th at 2 PM EST. This… Read More


Here are my IN’s & OUT’s for 2019… what do you think about them?

OUTS Being disrespectful, interrupting & annoying supporters Spray-n’-pray marketing Show up n’ throw up presentations Treating donors like ATM machines Asking for money (begging) Counting… Read More


5 Simple Steps for Fundraising Success Thanks to Marc Pitman

A Welcome Discovery! I came across this terrific little book while I was home, nursing a really bad cold this past week. I bought it a… Read More


Exciting addition to the team!

On December 3rd, we shared an exciting announcement that nonprofit fundraising veteran, Dan Doyle is joining our Fundraising Report Card team! Coming on as Chief… Read More


A bunch of reasons why January is NOT necessarily the best time to ‘hit your donor’s mailbox’

Recently I saw a question posted on a discussion board that was inspired by a blog (NOT mine) titled: WHY YOU NEED TO HIT YOUR… Read More


4 simple concepts that can help you raise sophisticated transformational gifts

I like this blog post written by Greg Ring over at The Giving Crowd.  In it, he outlines his Four C’s of Successful Fundraising. Although,… Read More


How to stop over-thinking and start engaging

Confucius said, “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” Engagement fundraising is so darn simple too! You don’t need to over-think… Read More


How to think about major gifts

Ditto! That’s all I can say when I read Veritus Group’s blog articles. Ditto! These guys (Richard Perry and Jeff Schreifels) totally ‘get’ it! For… Read More


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Now you can hear me on the ‘Freakshow’!

My pal Brady Josephson (self-proclaimed charity nerd) had me on his relatively new podcast titled: The Generosity Freakshow. I encourage you to take a listen…. Read More


Free Download: Engagement Fundraising – Introduction and Chapter 1!

Today’s your chance to read the introduction and chapter 1 of Engagement Fundraising for free! We are offering a free PDF of the book up… Read More


How success and happiness relate to the raising of money

Everyone wants success and happiness in their lives. Sadly, too many people are misled or misdirected by the media and teachers about what success and …


Top 8 reasons why you might want to read my new book: Engagement Fundraising

Here are 8 reasons why you might want to read my new book: Engagement Fundraising …


Focus on your donors’ lives, not their wallets

I came across this very interesting article a couple of weeks ago and thought I’d share it since it led me to a terrific new… Read More


Is it time to dump donor ‘scores’?

Are scores really worth the trouble? It seems like every service provider has a scoring system for your donors. They've got capacity scores, likelihood scores,… Read More


The number one thing to avoid saying when you call a planned giving prospect

So somebody was interested in learning more about how to update their will.  You know because they sent in a reply form from one of… Read More


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