For many of you, this is your fiscal year-end. That means you need to make sure you don’t lose any of those donors you took such pains to acquire last year. It also means tying up loose ends to assure you don’t leave money on the table. For those of [...]
For many people, the holidays are the most magical time of the year. Not for fundraisers. For fundraisers end of year can easily feel like the most stressful time of year, which is why they need an end of year fundraising pep talk. As many as 28% of nonprofits raise [...]
Are you finalizing your direct mail year-end appeal? Just a few simple edits could help you raise more! If your year-end appeal hasn’t gone to print or your year-end email appeals are still in the draft folder, these tips can guide you through a few last-minute changes. Your appeal letter [...]
I’m a sucker for makeovers, especially any kind of home makeover. Do you know what is just as consumable (not to mention important)? End of year appeal makeovers. Could your year-end fundraising appeal use a makeover? I have a handy-dandy free checklist you can run it through to see how [...]
Don’t hit ‘send’ until… You’ve considered all these magic tricks to boost year-end response to your fundraising emails. And, by the way, if you’re not planning a lot of email communications you should know what you’re missing. Per different NextAfter studies, email brings in 199%... 666%.... 117%... more revenue than [...]
Vanessa Chase Lockshin will share her email writing and storytelling tips that helped one of her clients raise more than $190k in September 2020. Full Transcript: Steven: All right. Vanessa, I've got a one 1:00 Eastern here. Is it okay if I go ahead and get us started officially? Vanessa: [...]
If you are like most nonprofits, you’ve got a lot riding on your end of year fundraising success. Many organizations raise as much as half of their entire operating budget at end of year alone. With stakes that high, what could possibly go wrong? A LOT! I’m detailing the worst [...]
Giving Tuesday has earned the reputation of being the single biggest giving day for nonprofits. Many nonprofits take to social media, engage in livestreams, and send direct mail appeals to raise money for their mission on Giving Tuesday. Many of these campaign strategies ask supporters to give, but they don’t [...]
Did someone say “donate now?” We’re headed into the busiest, most lucrative time of the year with year-end fundraising. A time when many nonprofits raise 25-50% of their entire budget. But the season to give is not a reason to give. Have your ever gotten a year-end fundraising appeal that [...]
It was the peak of end of year fundraising. I was talking to a scared, frightened fundraiser working at a homeless shelter. She had crafted a well-written appeal she poured hours into writing. There was just one problem. Her boss said no photos. Specifically, no photos of anyone who looks [...]
This is it! We are in the final push to get those needed gifts in to close out the year. And what a year this has been! In the first quarter of 2020, 83% of nonprofits reported that they experienced a reduction in revenue. Although there was revenue recovery in [...]
Our Ask An Expert series features real questions answered by Claire Axelrad, J.D., CFRE, our very own Fundraising Coach, also known as Charity Clairity. Today's question comes from a fundraiser who is worried about sending mail through the USPS right now. Dear Charity Clairity, I’m curious what others are doing [...]