The year is coming to a close so it’s the season for “Top 10 Lists,” right? Here are the list of the top 10 most popular posts published here on FundraisingCoach.com in 2011. # 10. was actually a tie between both: 3 Easy Phone Tips and 3 Tips for Effective Fundraising Letters # 9. My [...]

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Since Thanksgiving is in November here in the USA, I always spend most of this month thinking about gratitude, gratefulness, and thankfulness. I wanted to post some really off-the-wall creative way to say thanks. Something that would wow you and get you to retweet this. But then I attended a donor appreciation event last Monday [...]

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If you’ve been waiting to join Google+ until your nonprofit or organization could have a presence on Google+? The wait is over. About 30 minutes ago, Google opened up Google+ Pages! I’ve scoured their introductory material and have found references to pages being for “businesses, organizations, and groups.” There appear to be no explicit restrictions [...]

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I love it when people come out with practical, nuts-and-bolts books to help nonprofits. It’s even more fun when it’s with people I know! I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Sandy Rees and ask her about her new book Get Fully Funded. [affiliate link] The Fundraising Coach: Why did you feel compelled [...]

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As the economy continues to falter (or barely grow), we need people’s donations more than ever. But if we operate from a place of “need,” we can start sounding like we think we’re entitled to people’s money. We never are. So it’s more important than ever that you have your donor relations system in hand. [...]

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Let me say it for the record: board term limits are for a reason! But they can feel hard to enforce, can’t they? There are two very real risks with board terms: The leaving board member will feel left out Nobody likes it when people they care about feel left out. But here, this is [...]

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Yesterday, I got an email from Red Box asking me to take a picture of myself hugging a Red Box. Hugging a huge DVD dispensing box. Why haven’t I done this with my nonprofit?! This is a simple tactic of creating buzz. And it’s really easy! If you’re Western Kentucky University, you could have a [...]

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Today, Joe Meehan pointed me toward’s the article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy about President Obama’s new bill limiting charitable deductions. As expected the outcry was fast and strong. At the risk of being a bit controversial: Who cares if deductions are limited? I mean, really. Are nonprofits just another special interest, complaining about government [...]

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I get the opportunity to work with a lot of faith-based organizations. I love helping them get excited about raising money and showing them that others in the Bible did too. But I’m amazed by a persistent cop-out so common among Christian causes, I’m adding it to my “Fundraising Myths” category. The cop out is: [...]

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Every so often, like last spring, I get calls from potential clients desperately hoping I will give them donors. It’s like they think I have some sort of “magic Rolodex” that I’ll offer them, a list of people anxiously looking for worthy causes to give to. I’ve never found that Rolodex. Fundraising is a long [...]

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