Shame on UNICEF for attacking “slacktivism”

UNICEF Ad Against Slacktivists

The Chronicle of Philanthropy just posted a note about an article in The Atlantic called “UNICEF Tells Slacktivists: Give Money, Not Facebook Likes.” This really bothers me. How dare we as NGOs or nonprofits command people in how to support us. How dare we berate them for “only” helping their friends know we exist by [...]

Overhead isn’t the issue – and it’s not a fundraising tool

Overhead is NOT an effective fundraising appeal

Last week, in my weekly email to Fundraising Kick subscribers, I told them to stop talking about what percent of their budget goes to “overhead.” I won’t go into the entire message I sent, but here’s a summary. You need to know the percentage People are talking about the percentage of a nonprofit’s budget that [...]

Does the phrase “tax deductible” kill donations?

Does 'tax deductible' kill radio fundraising appeals

Last night my flight home to Maine was cancelled, presumably due to the manhunt in Boston. So I got to spend more time in NJ. While there, I turned on WDHA, a rock station in New Jersey. In the midst of a commercial break, I heard an add about an organization that helped people get [...]

[Guest Post] Why Donors Stop Giving

Infographic & Guest Post - Jay Love "Why Donors Stop Their Support"

I’ve been a fan of Jay Love for years. I even interviewed him for my radio show back in 2008! He gets both databases and effective fundraising. So I asked him if he’d write a post on donor retention. Jay is a serial entrepreneur, the creator of eTapestry and now the creator of Bloomerang a [...]

The Donor Retention Project works!

An image of all you'll get with The Donor Retention Project www.DonorRetentionJazz.com

Last week we released The Donor Retention Project. Yesterday, I got this email from an already satisfied customer: Thanks for the Donor Retention Project! I’ve finished the first two segments. We’re doing a lot of what is recommended and it’s sparked a couple more ideas. So grateful this is helping our staff, CEO and Board [...]

Give a lunch for professional development

Image of a man drawing for Ideas for Nonprofit and Fundraising Professional Development

I run into so many nonprofit leaders who don’t “have time” for professional development. “I have so much to do I don’t have any time for myself.” One of the interesting things about self-talk: what we say over and over, especially with emotion, can hypnotize us. It may not change the world around us, but [...]

Making it easy to spread your message

Marc Pitman's profile picture tricked out for the #enditmovement

Thanks to our digital age, people can now spread the message of their favorite cause further than ever before. But is your nonprofit helping them? The End It Movement Does It Right! Today, I saw a post about the End It Movement. I was thoroughly impressed. They’ve created a site that makes it easy for [...]