Your steering wheel: the single most important tool for making effective fundraising asks
The response to my "it's not the donor's first date" post to CEO's has been wonderful! I've received emails, tweets, and comments saying this was the best post they've seen in years. As Heather Stewart points out in the comments to the post, major donors actually get...
Story Conference for Nonprofits: Last day for pre-early bird
Hollywood expertise for your nonprofit For years, Chris Davenport has creating videos for nonprofits, employing the storytelling techniques he honed in Hollywood. For the first time ever, he's going to share them! I speak all over the world, and I get to work with...
CEO’s: It’s not THEIR first date!
Over the last 18 months or so, I've been hearing a similar phrase from a number of my nonprofit executive coaching clients. The phrase? "I don't ask on the first date." This is often said with a self-righteous smuggness, as though the CEO is taking the moral high...
Fundraising certainly is fun!
I often remind people that fundraising is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes hard work, strategic planning, and most importantly consistent execution of the plans. But it's important to remember that fundraising is fun! We get to connect donors' assets with their...
![[Guest Post] 5 Principles to crowdfunding success – a case study](https://cdn.fundraisingcoach.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/02231042/Renee-September-2012-cropped.png)
[Guest Post] 5 Principles to crowdfunding success – a case study
Today it's my distinct pleasure to introduce you to Renee Tougas. I've known Renee and her husband Damien for more than a decade. They're not your typical fundraisers, so when their crowdfunded Kickstarter campaign for $16,000 raised over $19,000, I knew I wanted...
Are you using that all wrong?
Sometimes, we get so used to using something, we don't realize we're using it the wrong way. Here are three tools that nonprofits use all the time. And many use the wrong way. Common uses and a better way Donor Database Common use: Recording gifts and keeping...
Upcoming Leadership Trainings
One of the joys of my work is getting to speak at conferences and inspire boards. Since, I'm often asked "When are you coming to my area?", I thought I'd share my upcoming speaking gigs. March 9-11: Closing Plenary at the New England Association for Healthcare...
Yet another unassuming donor gives multi-million dollar gift
Today The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported about Lotta Fields. According to the New York Times, Ms. Fields was an avid reader and a regular donor to the New York Public Library. Her regular gifts were only described as "modest." But when she died, she left the...
Exclusive Code: Almost 20% to FundRaising Success’ ENGAGE Conference
I'm thrilled to be speaking at FundRaising Success Magazine's ENGAGE Conference on April 10 in Philadelphia. They've let me extend an exclusive offer of $75 off the registration to readers of my blog. Just use this code in the registration: MARCP75 Note: This MARCP75...
![[Guest Post] Correctly setting up your nonprofit’s Google+ Community](https://cdn.fundraisingcoach.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/02231051/GabrielReynoso-200w.png)
[Guest Post] Correctly setting up your nonprofit’s Google+ Community
A few months after I wrote the book Google+ for Nonprofits, Google+ released a new feature called "Communities." In the time since the introduction, have become a great tool for interacting on Google+, both in raising awareness and in interacting with supporters. As a...
Nonprofit executives: fundraising advice, tips, and exhortations
Since both Valentine's Day and Presidents' Day are observed in February here in the USA, we're taking a look at the "care and feeding of nonprofit CEOs." We know in CompassPoint's recent national survey of nonprofit fundraising, that CEO's are particularly feeling the...
The 5 Best Leadership Books for Nonprofit Leaders
An executive coaching client recently asked me about my favorite 2 or 3 leadership books. Here are the first five that came to mind. Not surprisingly, each one is within easy reach of my desk. And I find myself thinking about their concepts or quoting them practically...
3 myths of email fundraising
More and more of people coming to me for coaching seem to think that fundraising can be done 100% online. They want help setting up a website and getting on social media. It's as though there must be a great pool of donors just waiting to give and putting up a website...
Nonprofit Blog Carnival call for submissions: Care and feeding of presidents
I'm honored to be hosting the February 2014 Nonprofit Blog Carnival! In previous years, February has been dedicated to how to show yourself (the fundraiser) some love and how to show donors love so they'll want to keep coming back. This year, we're going to take a...
Donor stewardship and Acres of Diamonds
A couple weeks ago, I was working with my son on a school project. We are having him study 10 great speeches from USA history. In looking at top 10 and top 100 lists, I was thrilled to come across Russell Conwell's Acres of Diamonds. I'd read this dozens of times...
Great sale on powerful tools for nonprofit fundraising – http://bit.ly/January2014Sale
Chris Davenport over at 501Videos surveyed nonprofit professionals and board members last week. The top two things they said they wanted help with were: finding new donors, and keeping the donors they already have So over at NonprofitBestPracticesStore.com, he's...
The Secret to Raising More in 2014
Every week, I have a conversation like this with a nonprofit leader: Nonprofit Leader: "We need to find new donors." (As though there's a magic bullet, a secret place to find new donors.) Me: "Why do you want to find new donors?" NL (incredulously, like I'm an idiot):...
Top 13 Readers Favorite Fundraising Coach Posts from 2013
Happy New Year! A record number of people came to FundraisingCoach.com for fundraising help in 2013. Here are the the top 2013 posts based on website traffic! They cover everything from social media tips, to strategies on year-end fundraising, to how board members can...
Is there a Ron Newell in your donor pool?
Did you hear the latest story about an unassuming millionaire? According to Foster's Daily Democrat, Ron Newell was a quiet truck driver in Dover, NH. He liked kids and animals, especially dogs. Last August, Mr. Newell passed away at the age of 78. Last week, two...
How to do telephone fundraising in December
At this point in the year, you’ve already sent your direct mail fundraising letter. (You have, haven’t you?) So this can be an awful time, marked by nail biting and incessantly looking at database reports to see if anyone has given. It can feel like fundraising is...
It’s #GivingTuesday!!
#GivingTuesday is here! Last Thursday was Thanksgiving here in the USA. Last Friday was "Black Friday," the day retailers hope to sell enough to end the year in the black. Yesterday was #CyberMonday, the online retail version of Black Friday. Today is #GivingTuesday!...
CyberMonday/GivingTuesday Special: A year of coaching “kicks” and a free coaching call!
For the past three years, Fundraising Kick has been helping nonprofit leaders raise more money than they thought possible! Each week, Fundraising Kick subscribers get a short email with an extremely practical strategy for making 5-10 major gift calls that week. Can...
Is your nonprofit ready for #GivingTuesday?
Giving Tuesday is right around the corner. Does your nonprofit have a plan? What is #GivingTuesday? Here in the United States, the Friday after Thanksgiving has become known as "Black Friday"-- it's the day many retailers sell so much that they end the year "in the...
3 Things to Make Your Ask Easier
This is the time of the year to be asking people for money. Based on conversations with clients from around the world, December 31 is a powerful motivator for people's giving. As I've been telling my Fundraising Kick members, you need to be out asking people between...
Emergency relief in the Philippines and fundraising for your nonprofit
Congratulations to Facebook and the Red Cross for making it ridiculously easy to support those devastated by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines! Even if you don't have the connections or relationship to get this type of top billing on Facebook, there are loads of ways...
Who pays the tab at a meeting with a donor?
During a recent coaching call, my client asked me to walk her step-by-step through an upcoming donor meeting. I love doing this! We established her top goal for the dinner, talked about the environment, and scripted a couple questions for her to ask as the meal...
Does Amazon’s new “Smile” mean a windfall for your nonprofit’s year-end fundraising?
I'm not a fan of "fundraising sales" like cookie dough, pizza kits, wrapping paper, raffle tickets, or popcorn. I think they do have a place in the realm of fundraising. But while I love asking for money, I don't like doing this type of sale. So it's probably no...
![[Guest Post] What’s Scarier? Witches, Goblins, or Fundraising? 7 Ways to Stop Being Afraid](https://cdn.fundraisingcoach.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/02231122/Claire-Axelrad.jpg)
[Guest Post] What’s Scarier? Witches, Goblins, or Fundraising? 7 Ways to Stop Being Afraid
It's been my pleasure to get to know Claire Axelrad and her great blog Clairification. I've always said my best Halloween costume was to dress as a fundraiser! As a guy who teaches how to ask without fear, I love the post she's sharing. In it, she asks what's truly...
Bing is surprisingly important for your nonprofit marketing
I'm a huge fan of Google. I've written about Google Calendar, Google Trends, Google+ for nonprofits, and do most of my work in Gmail and Google Drive. So tools like Bing fly under my radar. Don't miss out on Bing Google is still the biggest search engine on the...
Ambiguity is killing your fundraising
A few weeks back, I shared with my Fundraising Kick members a conversation I had with a friend asking me for a donation. In short, he asked me to consider "supporting" his nonprofit. I'm thrilled he asked. That is a huge start. But I couldn't resist the opportunity to...