The answer to today's question comes from Claire Axelrad, J.D., CFRE, our very own Fundraising Coach, also known as Charity Clairity. Dear Charity Clairity, I understand the importance of being donor-centered, but no one else in my organization ‘gets it.’ Not only do I worry about our receptionist being rude, [...]
Think about how you get more people to open a direct mail piece. It begins with the outer envelope. It really doesn't matter what's inside, if people aren't moved to open the envelope. The same holds true with an email appeal. In this case, your email envelope is the subject [...]
In Not Using Content Marketing Wisely? Your Nonprofit’s Leaving Money on the Table I defined ‘content marketing’ so you could better understand the centrality of this concept to the success of your overall fundraising and marketing communications strategy. We talked about how to create a nonprofit content marketing plan, and [...]
Let’s begin by defining ‘content marketing’ so you better understand how central this concept is to the success of your overall fundraising and marketing communications strategy. [Emphases below are my own.] Wikipedia says “Content marketing attracts prospects and transforms prospects into customers by creating and sharing valuable free content. Content [...]
Content comes in many forms. Some are more digestible… interesting… inspiring… persuasive than others. Others are a bit hard to take. When you serve up content to your constituents, you want it to go down easily. You want folks to enjoy what’s on your menu. Yummy, not yucky. Here’s what’s [...]
Current donors are warm leads. When a donor has given to you once, you at least know they have some sort of linkage, interest or connection to what you do. They’re not with you for the long term yet, but getting them to give again isn’t like making a “cold [...]
Does your nonprofit have a blog? If not, why not? I happen to be a huge fan of nonprofit blogging, which is why I’ve put together this quick guide touting a ‘Top Ten’ list of benefits. What? You say you have a nonprofit newsletter? They’re not equivalent. Blogs are fresh, [...]
What would it be like if you knew all your supporters, and they knew you? It would be fan-fricking-tastic! Gosh darn it; don’t you get tired of being one of the anonymous masses? Your donors feel that way too! Don’t you just love it when you feel personally welcomed? When [...]
When the concept of ‘personalization’ first came into vogue, it was due to a reason: People were tired of being treated all the same. Personalization is related to specialization. People tired of sameness long ago. In 1962 Malvina Richards wrote a song called Little Boxes. It was about social conformity [...]
Do you have a culture of philanthropy at your nonprofit? You either do or you don’t. There’s no in-between. All it takes To destroy your nonprofit's reputation as a force of goodness in the world is: One rude receptionist. One program staffer who doesn’t return phone calls promptly. One harried [...]
Wondering how to increase your nonprofit’s reach on social media? Let’s face it, the social media space today is a noisy one. It’s hard to cut through the clutter. Social media influencer strategies can help without resorting to paid advertising. In fact, these social media influencer strategies can be more [...]
It does you no good to drive folks to your website… have them follow you on social media… or even hear about you in the news – unless they take an action that furthers your mission. Trust me, I know. At one nonprofit where I worked we asked folks to [...]