A few weeks back, I posted this question: Q: As an E.D., what percentage of my time should be spent on fund raising? I am relatively new at this and want to balance my schedule. My answer was something like, “100%.” And I got some comeuppance. Here are some of the comments: Roger Carr responded: [...]

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Not long ago, I received this great question: Q: As an E.D., what percentage of my time should be spent on fund raising? I am relatively new at this and want to balance my schedule. A: Interesting question. I’m tempted to say 100%. But there are so many variables: If fundraising is your only income [...]

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Q:My organization is building an endowment fund and several people have made generous donations in the past few months. Of course, we’ve thanked them personally, but we want to find a more “public” way of recognizing them. We will include them in a special list in our Annual Report, but you have any additional recommendations [...]

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Q: What are your thoughts about including an annual roll of donors in a (printed) annual report? Our staff is split 50/50 on whether that is still useful, necessary, or appropriate. Thanks. Katie Benston, Dir. of Annual Support Hospice & Palliative Care Charlotte Region Charlotte, NC A: This is a very common question! We all [...]

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Q: Hi Marc! You seem to know much about fundraising…any great ideas on a fundraiser for Cub Scouts…we need to raise $1500 for a new pinewood derby track…however the pack is in an area that the people don’t have tons of money…HELP! I need a jump start. TY Katherine A: Well that seems perfect for [...]

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Q: Marc, I’m embarrassed to admit that we don’t yet have a website. But do you have any advice about choosing a domain name? A: Great question! Getting a memorable domain name is a very important step in online fundraising. All fundraising, really. Donors often check out an organization’s website before making a gift. So [...]

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Q: Do you know of the best way for my web site www.aidsadvantage.org to come up on search results when people type in the words “Aids, South Africa, Africa”? I wish to increase traffic to my web site and since this is unfamiliar territory I thought you could help me with this. A: Great question! [...]

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With the first blog post of 2010, I’m starting a series of posting questions I receive and my answers to them. Sort of a “Dear Abby” for fundraising. I’m calling it “Question Marc” — pun fully intended! It’d be great to have you take part. If you have a question about nonprofits or fundraising that [...]

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I was talking to a friend last week about her fundraising efforts. She was having second thoughts about a mailing that was going to business leaders she knew and respected. I’d rarely heard her confidence this shaken. As we started discussing the letter, I asked her if the letter needed re-writing. Maybe her hesitation was [...]

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From time to time, I get calls by people that equate “fundraising” with “selling stuff.” John emailed me recently and gave me permission to post our email dialogue. Here’s the first message I received. Hello Marc, I found your blog (and your Linked In profile) and I hope you don’t mind me contacting you directly [...]

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