Handwriting increases performance. Ink on paper (especially blue ink) does wonders for improving results. The added personalization and authentic feel handwriting provides can help increase both response rate and average...
How do your prospects rank on the 3 C’s?
All indications are major gift revenue will rebound throughout 2012 (compared to 2010/2011). This is great news! Are you ready to take advantage of this impending increase in major gifts?...
Direct Mail Fundraising Tip of the Week (#9)
Increase your response rates by including mission-relevant involvement devices in your direct mail. These aren't premiums like address labels. Instead, I'm talking about items that require the donor to interact...
Why Nonprofits Don’t Do Big Things
Phil Stolberg over at Grizzard Communications Group wrote an interesting blog post this morning. In his post, Next Big Things for Nonprofits, he said: ...if one can change television channels...
Direct Mail Fundraising Tip of the Week (#8)
The priorities are 1) Audience, 2) Offer, and 3) Creative. In that order. When building a direct mail fundraising campaign it is often tempting to focus the most time and...
Does Your Newsletter Make These 4 Fatal Mistakes?
Newsletters can be a powerful tool both for your organization's fundraising and stewardship efforts. Often newsletters can raise just as much - if not more - than your solicitations. And...
Direct Mail Fundraising Tip of the Week (#7)
Recency is key in direct mail fundraising. Most nonprofit board members and executives (and even some fundraisers) don't want to believe it, but your best potential donors are those who...
41 Trillion Reasons You Should Have a Monthly Giving Program
Boston College's Center on Wealth and Philanthropy estimates as much as $41 trillion in intergenerational wealth transfer will take place by 2052. Not all of those assets will transfer from...
Direct Mail Fundraising Tip of the Week (#6)
If you want to acquire donors at a higher average gift level, start testing catalog subscriber files. You'll get lower response rates (because these people aren't necessarily qualified charitable donors),...
Maximizing Middle Donors
What's a middle donor? And how do we market to them? How are they different from the rest of our donors? I've been answering these questions a lot lately. At...