Last night, I was asked for some tips to help my fellow board members with a fundraising dinner on Thursday. Fundraising events so often devolve into board members huddling together in tight groups of people they all ready know. But money is raised when board members act as ambassadors and hosts. Here’s what I wrote. [...]

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A couple days ago, I offered some tips on public speaking. 2 1/2 tips to be exact. Since then, I thought of 2 more: 3. Be able to give your talk without electricity There’s nothing more embarassing to watch than a presenter who’s completely lost without their PowerPoint slides. Stuff happens. Projectors go to sleep. [...]

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Let’s face it, fundraising involves speaking. Lots of it. We speak to individuals. We speak to groups. We speak to volunteers, donors, staff, peers, bosses, everyone. And some of the best exposure we can get for our cause is doing public speaking to larger groups like service organizations, or depending on your cause, even conferences. [...]

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I was just checking in with Facebook, when an NTEN ad caught my eye. It wasn’t the image. (Not sure what that is.) But it was the “You’re already a fan of NTEN…” line. Let’s face it, most Facebook ads are as effective as community bulletin boards at the supermarket–very easy to ignore. But this [...]

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This week, I’m pleased to introduce Sherry Truhlar. Sherry is an auction expert so I’ve asked her to come and share with us how to make our nonprofit’s next silent auction better. Be sure to check out her free guide of auction items — listing the 100 best-selling items to sell in your benefit auction [...]

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Last month I had the privilege of interviewing some Twestival organizers, Stéphanie Montreuil @fleur_de_lotus of the Ottawa team and Chris Penbernthy @chrispenberthy on the Plymouth team. I love how both of these organizers are going about creatively helping charities in their communities. These clips are full of great ideas. Happy watching! There are more Twestival [...]

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I’m pleased to be providing fundraising coaching for Twestival organizers around the world. Here are some tips the team has developed over the last couple years. I’ve updated them this year and made sure they fit in 140 characters! Hopefully these will be helpful even if you’re not organizing a Twestival. (Organizers, these are also [...]

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I love going to Disney World in Florida. Disney has celebrations worked out to a science. Looking at this t-shirt today, I realized three things Disney’s taught me about celebrations and special events: Find excuses to celebrate Disney seems to celebrate everything. Even a 1 year anniversary merits parades and fanfare. Think about your nonprofit. [...]

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This week, I’m honored to introduce Vivanista. Vivanista is a member-based, lifestyle community for charitable volunteers. I really like their practical tips as well as their emphasis in women in philanthropy. Check out their tools at Vivanista.com This top 10 list was put together by Vivanista’s founder, Layne Gray, a Bay Area entrepreneur and experienced [...]

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How To Become a Fundraising Hero – International Bowl Expo 2010 View more presentations from Marc Pitman. Here are my slides from today’s session How to Become a Fundraising Hero at the 2010 International Bowl Expo here in Las Vegas, NV. I really had a blast talking to for-profit businesses and helping them help nonprofits [...]

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