Ever since my very first Professional Fundraising Conference in 1983, where I met Jerry Panas for the first time, until just last year, Jerry was a fixture at nearly every single one! It was so easy to spot him. Why? He was always the person nearly everyone else went to [...]
I would bet that your fundraising program is the same year-after-year and that its performance has flatlined. I also know that you can and want to do better. With 30+ years behind me in transforming fundraising programs, I suggest that you consider infusing imagination into your fundraising program to vastly [...]
The nonprofit fundraising landscape is more competitive than ever. Gone are the days when you could reasonably plan on cold calls leading to major gifts. Yes, these moments still happen, but they can no longer be considered a sustainable method of generating revenue for your organization. We are in a [...]
Social media is ubiquitous. Try as you may, you can’t avoid it. Even now the social media giants are all trying to address privacy concerns. I was a long-time hold out from using Facebook, or any social media platform for that matter, for fundraising. And though privacy concerns exist, I [...]
Every nonprofit should be consistently asking its board members for gifts. 100% of your Board giving is a critical number for long-term sustainability. Your board should be your most rabid supporters -- they need to put their money up as well. Assuming you're getting 100% giving from your Board, are [...]
One thing I hear often from the nonprofits I work with is that they only ask for money a few times a year. "We have a spring Gala, summer Golf tournament, and end of year appeal. We have ten major donors that we talk to and a handful of grants." [...]
Like so many of you reading this today, I never thought that I would become a professional fundraiser. I started my career in law and business consulting and one day an opportunity presented itself to work with my alma mater on a major capital campaign. That university put me through [...]
We all know older traditions sometimes live well beyond their proper lifetimes. This seems especially true regarding print and online forms. One such form, which comes in numerous flavors, is the fundraising pledge form. I am guessing such forms first came about as part of the early existence of capital [...]
I heard Tom Ahern speak the other day to Bloomerang employees (there are a LOT of great perks of working at Bloomerang, some of our Lunch and Learn speakers and topics are WAY up on that list). Tom was talking about the Ahern Audit and donor centricity in general. At [...]
I've helped to manage my fair share of events: from small intimate dinner parties to galas that raise $200K. For the effort that goes into planning and executing any event, a nonprofit needs to be very pointed about what they are looking to achieve. My favorite ones are those that [...]
Your program staff can be an invaluable resource to fundraising efforts. The more opportunities you give them to spend time with donor prospects, the better those prospects will understand your mission. Here are three ways to get your program staff more involved with fundraising: 1. Make an introduction to those [...]
In this video, Amy Eisenstein sits down with Lori Jacobwith - a master storyteller and fundraiser, and the founder of Ignited Fundraising. Lori shares her storytelling techniques and explains how they can help your nonprofit raise more money. We’re proud to sponsor Amy Eisenstein’s video series! Be sure to check back on [...]