Are your letters to major donors and donor prospects any good?
Direct mail is NOT dead! However, ‘spray and pray‘ direct mail should be! Long live one-to-one, highly relevant, personalized communications—…
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GUEST POST: A Great Idea… Connecting With Donors Through Photo Books
This is a first! I’ve never had anyone write a guest post for my blog. But when I saw what…
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If you like VERITUS GROUP and you like me… now you can get both together!
Alignment. Have you ever met someone for the first time but felt like you had known them forever? Like you…
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At last, the Fundraising Report Card is now 100% free for nonprofits
In case you’ve never heard of it… The Fundraising Report Card is a little application I had my staff build…
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A perfect example of ‘spray and pray fundraising’
This email wasted my time and annoyed me because… I don’t know this person I don’t know this organization I…
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Why You Need Tech-Enabled Donor Discovery
For decades, fundraisers have sought a ‘magic box’ to identify the most ideal donor prospects for outreach, relationship-building, and solicitation.…
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Why your capital campaign feasibility study could be leaving a lot of money on the table.
I think most campaign feasibility studies leave a ton of money on the table. Here’s a hyper-simplified description of how…
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A digest of last year’s best blog posts (titled ‘The Best Of SmartIdeas’) is now available… for FREE.
If you’ve ever hoped for a digest of my best posts, today is your lucky day! Each year, my staff…
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Here’s what’s missing from moves management.
Something about the term moves management has always made me feel uneasy. When I first heard the phrase I figured…
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Giving increased .7% but you won’t hear many people celebrating and that’s really too bad
They were wrong. Remember when the Lilly School predicted at least a $13 billion drop in giving due to the…
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Now Available: Executive Summary (PDF) of My Webinar On ‘Fundraising Climate Change’
A few weeks ago I hosted a webinar about Fundraising Climate Change (a term I developed some time ago and…
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When you should NOT conduct face-to-face fundraising
Essentially, there are two types of face-to-face fundraising. When fundraising staff, leaders, and board members (or other supporters) meet with…
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Engagement Calling Metrics for Lead Outreach Associates Tasked With Arranging Meetings With Major Donor & Legacy Donor Prospects
Engagement calling, not cold calling! About 1 1/2 years ago I introduced the concept of Engagement Calling as the best…
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Why hardly anyone reads your planned giving newsletter (and what you can do about it).
Confusing? Too often planned giving newsletters are written by lawyers and the lawyers at nonprofits think they are just dandy.…
More18 takeaways from my recent appearance on the Giving Back Podcast
This was a super-fun interview on The Giving Back Podcast. But if you don’t have time to listen to it,…
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Musical chairs, your donors, and fundraising?
I think fundraisers should recognize that donors are playing a lifelong game of musical chairs. The people you consider to…
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Why treating philanthropists like s#!t is hurting our society.
From bad to worse When I first saw the pictures of the flames engulfing Notre-Dame, I thought to myself, “That’s…
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Channel Fragmentation (EF-S04-E03)
0.75x 1x 1.25x 1.5x 2x 0:0009:31 Channel Fragmentation (EF-S04-E03) Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsShare Leave a ReviewListen in a New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe on…
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3 tips for your fundraising career
1. Always add value. The best way to ensure that you have a job all the time is to make…
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Today I think I’ll take a victory lap. Will you join me?
I get things wrong all the time. Back in 1993 when I quit my first ‘real’ job in the newspaper…
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Will You Become an Engagement Fundraiser?
For the sake of donors, volunteers, advocates, and members everywhere who want to change the world but need an organization…
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How You Can Build Relationships With More Hi-Value Supporters at Lower Costs
Your job is tough! If you’re like most fundraisers, you’re already working hard. You don’t have enough time, you’re pulled…
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Follow This Example To See How Automated Cultivation Can Work To Meet Donor Needs.
If you were a fundraiser at my alma mater seeking a donation from me for a new building, a progressive…
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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…
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