As the town crier for donor love, I have a healthy obsession with donor stewardship. I love finding free and inexpensive ways to virtually steward donors with a personal touch. Why the obsession with stewardship? In a word: retention. According to the Fundraising Effectiveness Report, only 19% of new donors [...]
Blocking Is For Football, Not Twitter In mid-May, sports Twitter was abuzz as insiders were comparing notes about a âvery importantâ topic: Whoâs been blocked by Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger? His official Twitter account had been blocking everyone for quite awhile and no one could figure out why. What [...]
In my prior life as Founder and Executive Director of Girlstart - a nonprofit empowering girls in math science, engineering and technology - we used inexpensive digital printing to send donors Valentineâs and Thanksgiving postcards. We also had pre-printed customized thank-you card stationery for girls to write donor thank you [...]
As the town crier for donor love, I like to suggest free and inexpensive ways to steward donors with a personal touch. When I suggest texting donors, a lot of people respond as if I just suggested something wildly inappropriate. I run into equal amounts of ageism and righteous indignation. [...]
Whither goest now? When coronavirus response fundraising began several months ago, you probably didnât envision youâd still be working from a home office. Or that your âbusiness as usualâ still wouldnât be. Or that you still wouldnât have the ability to plan for a date certain when everything would go [...]
Being productive and saving time are two of my favorite things - right up there with delighting donors and helping make fundraiserâs jobs easier. One of my favorite things to collect, next to drool-worthy fundraising examples, are timesaving fundraising tools. I recently did a webinar with my fundraising friends Rachel [...]
Proper donor stewardship is incredibly important for any nonprofit in the best of times â it makes your donors feel appreciated and engaged, establishes a stronger emotional tie with your organization and could make or break their decision to make another gift. In the worst of times â say, for [...]
You have almost certainly received an email that opens with some version of, âI hope this message finds you well,â or concludes with, âHope youâre well.â Odds are, you have sent a few (or a few thousand) of these same messages to coworkers, donors, friends, and family. Itâs a lovely [...]
We know there is no substitute for in-person communication. We know we can share our energy, passion, and dedication when we come together. That's why major Gift Officers (MGOs) run all over the country meeting with major donors. But itâs hard to have a life when youâre constantly traveling. You [...]
You know when youâre on an airplane and they run through the safety instructions? What do they tell you to do if youâre with small children and the oxygen masks come down? Put on your own mask first! You canât help others unless you first take care of yourself. This [...]
Love it or hate it, whether you use it or not, the reality is that Facebook has changed the face of the world permanently. Whether it be connecting with friends and family, watching funny videos, or checking out news and causes, 2.9 billion people turn to Facebook monthly to get [...]
In today's digital-dominated world, personal touches like handwritten notes and phone calls can break through the noise. Though mostly anecdotal, top fundraisers and consultants have espoused the power of such personal touches, particularly the use of the phone. We even have some data to back it up: McConkey-Johnston International in [...]