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...
![[Guest Post] 7 tips for sharing stories about your nonprofit work](https://cdn.fundraisingcoach.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/02231124/LJacobwithJuly2013HeadShot-150w.jpg)
[Guest Post] 7 tips for sharing stories about your nonprofit work
Today I'm pleased to introduce you to Lori Jacobwith. Lori and I have interacted over the last few years and finally got to meet in Minneapolis earlier this year. I've asked her to share her top tips on storytelling. You can check out her step-by-step storytelling...
3 things to NOT do in your next Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign
Crowdfunding has opened up funding for some wonderful projects. But according to their own stats, the majority of Kickstarter projects fail. And a full 10% never raise any money. How to stay out of the majority of crowdfunding campaigns I'm going to show you three...
Fundraising is farming, not Powerball
Nonprofits often mistake hiring professionals like fundraising coaches or consultants as buying the winning lottery ticket. No matter what they've been told, they think the professional will magically find them funding. Fortunately, that is actually great for...
How to effectively ask for advice
Last week, I was at a meeting and heard a board member say: "Ask a man for advice, and he'll give you money. Ask a man for money, and he'll give you advice. Isn't that the truth? Think about the times you as a board member or nonprofit employee told someone you were...
The secret behind year-end fundraising fall appeals
Fall is upon us and that means year-end giving is right around the corner. If you haven’t written your year end appeals over the summer, then now is the time to get those done! As a broad generalization, I recommend sending a mailing: now (late Aug/early Sept) in...
Happy National Bowtie Day!!
Today, August 28, is the day you've long been waiting for: National Bowtie Day! To celebrate this sartorially splendorific day, I'm giving away my bowtie cards for free. True, I always give them away for free. But today, I'll even mail them to you. 🙂 Just fill out...
Facebook promotions just got easier for nonprofits!
Like to be entered Facebook promotions used to be a weird thing. Nonprofits did them but technically, they risked Facebook deleting their page. Facebooks changes its terms again. This time for the good! Now according to Facebook's blog you can run those promotions...
![[Question Marc] What are the best donor management systems?](https://cdn.fundraisingcoach.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/02231313/questionmarc.jpg)
[Question Marc] What are the best donor management systems?
I get lots of questions similar to this all the time: Quick question: Do you have a few favorite donor database software recommendations. Especially for collecting donor giving habits. My answer Here are the ones I hear good things about from clients. I'm most...
Some people make excuses; others raise money
Are you making excuses or raising money? If I had a dollar for every fundraiser that's told me they're not making major gift calls because "August is a slow month," I'd be able to make much larger gifts to nonprofits! I actually like hearing that, in a twisted way....
![[Guest Post] 3 Changes You Should Make To Your Nonprofit Blog Right Now](https://cdn.fundraisingcoach.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/02231209/StevenShattuck.jpeg)
[Guest Post] 3 Changes You Should Make To Your Nonprofit Blog Right Now
Today I get to introduce you to Steven Shattuck, Vice President of Marketing at Bloomerang, the exciting new donor relationship management software that makes it easy to focus on donor retention. I'be been getting to know him over the last few months an love his...