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
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Helping you qualify, cultivate and prioritize major donors and legacy supporters so you can have fun closing more gifts more efficiently.
Nov
09
Nov
07
How Your Restaurant Waiter Can Teach You About Fundraising
The theory of reciprocity is powerful. And nowhere is it displayed more dramatically than in restaurants every day. Think about it. Your waiter is basically… Read More
Nov
05
16 Simple Things Your Best Donors Want
Here’s my list of essential major donor needs that you must aim to fulfill: 1. Your best donors want you to do the important work… Read More
Nov
02
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
Oct
31
Here’s What Supporters “Buy” When They Donate to Charity
I think buying and donating are the same. Here’s why. When I give money to a charity, I am buying: A chance to be moved by… Read More
Oct
29
How I leave voicemail messages that get returned
Generally here’s how I leave messages that get returned: APPRECIATION: I say ‘thank you’ (and I get sort of ’emotional and gracious’ in my tone……. Read More
Oct
26
The Definitive Menu of Engagement Fundraising Marketing Channels
We know that it’s not always easy to determine where you should be focusing your efforts (and your dollars). So we developed this nifty little… Read More
Oct
24
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
Oct
22
Are you ready for the 24/7 donor?
Accenture – the world’s largest consulting firm – says that we’re in the era of the “nonstop consumer”. According to their website, “A customer’s path… Read More
Oct
19
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
Oct
17
Are you avoiding your donors?
Too often I’ve seen some ‘fundraisers’ do whatever they can to avoid actually talking to donors. “I can’t call ’em yet. I’m waiting for the… Read More
Oct
15
Is your job really to raise money?
Og Mandino, author of The Greatest Salesman in the World wrote: “The only certain means of success is to render more and better service than… Read More
Oct
12
Why you need to think of yourself as a facilitator
Supporters give to satisfy a need. Supporters give because they trust your organization to satisfy that need. Supporters give because they see you, your colleagues,… Read More
Oct
10
Top 10 Reasons Why Gift Officers Won’t Make Outbound Calls to Donors
The reasons why fundraisers won’t make outbound calls to donors are because they are: FEARFUL: They fear rejection. CONFUSED: They don’t know what to say…. Read More
Oct
05
My Simplest Explanation of How Engagement Fundraising Works
Engagement fundraising (a phrase I coined many years ago) is powerful. I’ve been talking about this for about 10 years (ever since I revamped my marketing… Read More
Oct
01
The 8 core components of engagement fundraising and why you desperately need them
Most fundraising is based on what I call “single shot” strategies. For instance, it’s an event, gala or golf outing. Or, perhaps it’s a mailing,… Read More
Sep
27
Engagement Fundraising in 7 simple bullet-points
Focus- Focus your marketing (especially your expensive marketing like face-to-face meetings) on people who have a lot of money Generate leads- Generate highly-qualified leads among… Read More
Sep
17
Why you should use nostalgia to promote more giving
I recently stumbled upon a neat paper titled Nostalgia: The Gift That Keeps Giving. Here’s a summary: Overview 1. Nostalgia is a very personal, social emotion that… Read More
Sep
12
Why you should worry less about reducing overhead and more about delivering value.
Fundraisers and donors are in a pickle. They have been unfairly subjected to a broken system for decades. It isn’t their fault, but it is… Read More
Sep
07
Is your annual fund tail wagging your major gift dog?
I always find it stupefying when a major gifts team tells me they need to get permission from the direct marketing team or higher up to… Read More
Sep
05
3 big reasons why nobody talks about the single most important fundraising tactic on earth.
Let’s jump right in…. The single most important fundraising tactic on earth is appointment setting. There! I said it! Don’t believe me? The late Jerold Panas… Read More
Aug
27
How are you doing compared to your peers?
Claire Axelrad, J.D., CFRE (an expert on fundraising, social media, and nonprofits) pulled together these nuggets from my Fundraising Report Card app. For that, I owe her… Read More
Get the book!
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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