Nonprofits turn to awareness campaigns to increase their visibility and ride the wave of relevancy, often as part of designated awareness weeks and months. While there’s some good advice out there for putting together a campaign that drives people to act, the traditional marketing funnel is failing us when it [...]
A nonprofit faces a financial crisis. The sky seems to be falling. The temptation is to put those money woes at the top of the list as to why you and your volunteers are fundraising. The urgency provides the case for supporting the annual campaign, right? In the long run, [...]
At this point, it may be safe to say that we know the value of content for our organization’s fundraising program. Content – especially for annual giving donors – helps us build relationships by thanking, stewarding, and cultivating donors. It’s content that does the legwork when we can’t make personal [...]
It may be 2019 but in case you've been living under a rock, I'll take this opportunity to remind you that relationships are still essential for fundraising. Yes, even in this digital era of fundraising that many of us are operating in relationship building must be at the forefront of [...]
Through the introduction of text-to-give, social media fundraising, and online giving, combined with the chance to reach thousands of your targeted demographic with $20 in Facebook ads, people wonder if the time-consuming efforts of getting to “Know-thy-donor” and relationship building are still worth it. Can’t an organization raise more just [...]
My friend hates the word ‘donor.’ She isn’t a fundraiser...No, she’s a real person in the real world. And when she gets letters asking her to become a donor her mind strays to giving blood or donating her kidney. This blew my mind...how can the word ‘donor’...so ingrained in my [...]
There’s a good reason why videos are increasingly popular. They’re easy to consume and they can be inexpensive to make. You can do a lot armed with just a smartphone. You don’t need an expensive crew, equipment, and studio to produce a decent-quality video. Three Steps to Scripting a Memorable [...]
Keeping pace with the rapidly evolving mediums of communication these days is no small task. When you’re a small or medium-sized nonprofit, incorporating all the latest developments can seem daunting. So, if your online and social media experience has evolved into something of a runaway train — a little, or [...]
I get asked all the time about what non-profits can do to stand out in fundraising and communications. For a long time, my understanding of why people ask me for advice about this boiled down to the increasingly noisy space non-profits are operating in. We’re all on the same social [...]
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Let this favorite love poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning be your template for sending a little #donorlove to your supporters this February 14th! Valentine’s Day offers the perfect opportunity for donor stewardship! And you’ve still got time to send a [...]
My first trip outside the United States probably ruined me for “normal” travel. I had an opportunity to work in Kuwait out of college and I took it. Little did I know that experience would whet my appetite for a lifetime of travel to, let’s say … different places. To [...]
Over the last few years, New Year's Eve has started to feel a little bit like Giving Tuesday, with a flood of email appeals touting expiring match opportunities, goal shortfalls and giving deadlines bordering on aggressive. [spoken in a curmudgeon's voice] Spending some time today unsubscribing from nonprofit emails. Like [...]