I’m here with some truth bombs. “The season to give is not a reason to give.” Want the #1 way to ensure your donors give and give generously to your cause this holiday season? Tell them now what kind of impact their most recent gift had. Tell them even if [...]
Imagine this scenario: Your organization received a donation from a donor once or twice but have not received anything this year. Some nonprofit professionals may say well that donor is gone, time to find a new one. WRONG! Studies show that it costs less to retain, or re-engage, a lapsed [...]
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 [...]
Our own Steven Shattuck recently joined our good friend Jeff Jowdy on his Beacon Podcast to discuss creative ways nonprofits can engage with donors. You can listen to the full conversation here. Be sure to check out previous episodes of The Beacon Podcast here >> Full Transcript: Announcer: Welcome to [...]
If you write your annual appeal, then you know how frightening the job can be. So much rides on you finding just the right words … for the right audience and at the right time. And like a scary movie, there are many other things that are out of your [...]
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 [...]
The answer my friends is a resounding YES! Numerous studies reveal donor satisfaction is the single biggest driver of donor loyalty. According to world-renowned fundraising researcher Adrian Sargent, donors indicating that they were ‘very satisfied’ with the quality of service provided being twice as likely to offer a second or [...]