I just returned from a training where I got to hear Mary Cahalane teach on writing good thank you letters. Studies estimate that 53% of donors who stop giving to a nonprofit stop due to the nonprofit’s lack of communication. 53%! When donors don’t hear...
I’ve been getting the same type of question from a wide variety of nonprofit leaders in many different sectors. The question goes something like this: “This guy is rich. What’s my next step?” Part of me wants to applaud them. These leaders are...
I often get asked by event organizers if we should talk about money in our event follow up. It’s a great question because these people are wanting to be transparent but not wanting to hurt future donations. So should you mention how much was raised at the event?...
Capital campaigns are both wonderful and stressful times in a nonprofit. Here are six lessons I’ve learned after 30 years on the capital campaign trail. 1. It’s About the Vision—Not The Money While preparing for a fundraising campaign can be a daunting...
I’ve been seeing a disturbing trend of late: a sharp rise in what I call are BFFs: blunt force fundraisers. Nonprofit leaders willfully skipping planning to jump straight to asking. As the author of Ask Without Fear!®, you know I am an advocate for asking. But...
Whether your fiscal year starts now or is only part of the way through, January is a good time to evaluate your fundraising progress. To help you’re planning, here’s an email I sent our Fundraising Kick subscribers yesterday. Good morning, Kickers!...
