Middle donors, like middle children, are often overlooked. Most nonprofits have defined major gift programs, and annual giving programs for lower level donors. Very few, however, spend the effort to...
Guest Post: The two biggest monthly giving mistakes nonprofits make
I'm launching a new series focused on the biggest fundraising mistakes nonprofits make. To kick off this series, I asked my friend Erica Waasdorp, author of Monthly Giving. The Sleeping...
Google Grants vs. Paid Search Campaigns
Sometimes otherwise smart fundraising consultants give bad advice. I saw that happen last week. A senior-level consultant from a typically reputable fundraising agency completely missed the mark on digital strategy....
Your donors are tired of being crappily asked
Last month Marc A. Pitman wrote on the myth of donor fatigue. Something Marc said stuck with me, and hit home like a hammer when I got an email solicitation...
Should you include a reply envelope in your thank you letters?
I get this question all the time! And I’m sure there are a lot of people who will disagree with me on this topic. My standard response to development directors...
The danger of nonprofits chasing discounts
A few years ago one of our nonprofit clients fired our firm because they found another fundraising agency that quoted them a cheaper price for their direct mail services. This other...
Fundraising Myth Busters: Hope gets better results than need
Welcome to the seventh and final installment of my Fundraising Myth Busters series. I hope you’ve gleaned some valuable information that you can put to work to raise your organization...
Fundraising Myth Busters: Major donors shouldn’t get direct mail
This is a widely believed fundraising myth. It’s one that I personally hear at least monthly – if not weekly. The thinking is that because major donors give more money,...
Fundraising Myth Busters: Cutting acquisition improves revenue
Many nonprofits make the decision to either scale back new donor acquisition or cut it altogether to reduce cost and maximize net revenue. This is the topic we’re going to...
Fundraising Myth Busters: Online-acquired donors are different
Today in the fourth installment of my Fundraising Myth Busters series, we’re going to tackle the belief that you shouldn’t add your online-acquired donors into your other fundraising channels. Hopefully...