Within the last couple weeks, there was an article about another nonprofit closing. Reading the article, I saw an incredibly common fundraising myth perpetuated. The myth sounds goes something like this: if we only had more businesses and foundation grants, then our...
Last time, we looked at creating a year-end strategy for fundraising letters. But in today’s world, it’s wise to consider complementing these appeals with tools like Facebook and Twitter. According to FundRaising Success Magazine: Between 35 percent to 42...
Have you started your year-end fundraising letter yet? Fiscal people can do funny things to the way we measure time. In our organization, our year-end was September 26 this year. Many schools and colleges work on a July-June calendar. Others end their year in February...
In the last three weeks, I’ve given five talks about social media and fundraising to various groups of development officers. Today I was asked to sum up one of the sessions. Summing up social media without slides is challenging but here was my attempt: Social...
This past week, I’ve been privileged to be on a couple panels introducing nonprofit organizations to social media tools like Twitter, Facebook, and Linked in. While I love these tools, I was quick to express that: They don’t replace all the good...
Do you remember Jean Preston, the unassuming librarian who’d amassed an $8 million estate? Or Helene Whitlock Alley, the $100 donor that bequethed $7.3 million to a diabetes group. Well here’s another entry in the never underestimate anyone category:...
