Do you really need to buy a planned giving website?
In most cases, for most nonprofits… NO! You don’t need to buy a planned giving website. Here’s why: For decades, nonprofit leaders and staff have… 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.
May
05
2021
Apr
30
2021
3 reasons why your donors and donor prospects won’t call you back
Frustration! Recently I was visiting a customer and one of the fundraisers was very frustrated. Thanks to our system, lots of donors disclosed that they already left… Read More
Apr
28
2021
Why your job is really about developing heroes, not dollars
People want to see themselves as good, just, righteous, and so on. In other words, they want to be heroic. They want to change the… Read More
Apr
23
2021
Why reciprocity must be an essential tool in your fundraising toolbox
Every single human being in every single society on earth subscribes to an unspoken rule when it comes to reciprocation as follows: If someone does… Read More
Apr
21
2021
Charity vs. Philanthropy and Charitable People vs. Philanthropists
Charity – Helping people in need Philanthropy – Making an investment that stimulates other investments or provides opportunity for others Charitable people – Help others in… Read More
Apr
16
2021
Are you building trust?
Trust is the cornerstone of all meaningful relationships. Fail to build trust and you’ll fail to get the gift. It’s that simple. Build trust… Read More
Apr
14
2021
Think your donors are stupid?
High-capacity donors aren’t altruistic. They want something from you just as much as you want something from them. At a high level, most simply want… Read More
Apr
09
2021
Why your job is to get donors to talk to themselves
Your job is not to come up with words and images that will persuade or convince people to give. No! Instead, your job is to… Read More
Apr
02
2021
Does fundraising training focus too much on the ask?
Often, I find that major gift (and legacy gift) fundraising education, training, and advice places too much emphasis on ‘the ask’. Yet, in many ways,… Read More
Mar
31
2021
It’s about questions, not presentations
Have you ever found yourself spending hours or even days developing presentations for major donor visits? I think most of us have gotten caught up in… Read More
Mar
26
2021
9 ways to be a more human fundraiser
As your supporters get bombarded with more and more messages from advertisers and competitors (other fundraisers) you’ll need to stand out. The best way to… Read More
Mar
24
2021
7 reasons why wealth screening your donor list might be an incredibly foolish activity
Before you send me angry responses to this headline, know these two things first: What I’ve written is NOT coming just from me. I gathered… Read More
Mar
19
2021
3 smart new metrics to measure your fundraising effectiveness
I’ll bet you make lots of calls. You set appointments, uncover needs, make presentations, write proposals and close gifts too, right? I did it too…. Read More
Mar
17
2021
11 best practices for your legacy society communications
When it comes to legacy gifts, most fundraisers spend too much time focused on uncovering hidden gifts or closing more of them. Sure, it’s important to… Read More
Mar
12
2021
7 simple steps to qualify your donors
Unsuccessful fundraisers don’t understand qualification. They don’t recognize its power. They wait for the next wealth screened list. They fiddle with it in Excel or… Read More
Mar
10
2021
Donors give when THEY want to give, not when YOU want them to give
It ain’t about you. Unsuccessful fundraisers want donors to give on their timeline, not the donor’s. They think they can make the donor ‘move’ when they want them… Read More
Feb
26
2021
Your main website sucks at raising major gifts – and here’s why
Most nonprofits have very narcissistic websites that promote how great they are and how well suited they are to accomplish their mission. Sure, it’s true… Read More
Feb
24
2021
Cold calling major donors to arrange appointments doesn’t work – but this method does
No one likes getting cold calls and you probably don’t like making them. That’s why, these days, you need to insert a crucial step in between your marketing/communications and… Read More
Feb
17
2021
Do you care more about your legacy society than the donors in it?
Some nonprofits seem to care about ‘having’ a legacy society far more than they care about the donors in them. There’s lots of evidence supporting my… Read More
Feb
12
2021
Top 10 Ways You Can Benefit from Conducting a Donor Survey
First it’s important to recognize that there are two reasons to conduct a donor survey: To conduct research To raise money Generally you must pick… Read More
Feb
10
2021
Why mistakes are awesome and what to do about them
I know the feeling. A supporter calls to tell you your email or letter spelled her name wrong. She’s pissed! You begin to sweat and your muscles… Read More
Feb
05
2021
Quality vs. Quantity: Which is better for selecting fundraising prospects?
I’ve always felt that nonprofits spend way too much time and money looking at historical donor data to try to predict future giving. I’m not alone…. Read More
Feb
04
2021
Product Updates: February 2021
There’s a new addition to the MarketSmart Dashboard thanks to your feedback. Watch the short tutorial below to get started. We’ve also got an important… Read More
Feb
03
2021
The simplest and most effective 5-step major gift and planned gift marketing strategy ever
Employ donor surveys. Provide valuable engagement offers using the information you learned from the surveys (that way your offers will elicit responses— since you now… 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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