Baby boomers most generous – Gen Y most likely to increase donations
Baby boomers represent 43% of giving in USA Blackbaud just released it's Next Generation of American Giving study (and a nifty interactive infographic). According to their research, Baby Boomers accounted for 43% of giving in the USA last year. While I generally trust...
![[Guest Post] 15 Fundraising Mistakes That Have Already Been Made for You](https://cdn.fundraisingcoach.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/02231213/FS_TomHarrison-large.jpg)
[Guest Post] 15 Fundraising Mistakes That Have Already Been Made for You
I'm glad to introduce you to Tom Harrison, the CEO of Russ Reid. Tom and I are members of the FundRaising Success Editorial Advisory Board and were able to present at a recent conference in Philadelphia. He has an amazing mind for nonprofits and a good sense of humor,...
How to get new donors
I'm tremendously proud of being part of 100 Donors in 90 Day. This week, there's a special offer. So I made this video. Alas, the lavalier volume was wonky. And my webcam is no HD. But you still get why 100 Donors is such an incredible program. 100 new donors in the...
5 Things Not to Do at Your Next Major Gift Solicitation
Even if you're working through the steps of the Ask Without Fear! system, asking for a major gift can be challenging. Here are 5 things you definitely want to avoid on your next major gift solicitation visit! 5 Things Not to Do When Asking for a Major Gift Be late...
Upcoming speaking engagements & fundraising training
I regularly get asked "Are you coming to my area?" Most of my fundraising training and speaking is currently done for nonprofits that bring me in to speak to their boards and teams. I also get to speak and keynote at conferences. Here are the upcoming conferences I'm...
Amazon is giving away my book for free today
Amazon is promoting my newest book Nonprofit Social Media: A beginner's guide to building donor relationships from your desk. On Thursday, July 18, Amazon is giving the Kindle version away for free. Just go to http://amzn.to/13jVxup to see if they've set it up for...
7 steps to setting up a major gift solicitation appointment
One of the most common questions my coaching clients ask me is how to set up a solicitation appointment. The very thought of picking up the phone freezes them with fear. Their minds are flooded with worrying questions like: What will they say? How will the prospect...
![[Guest Post] How To Use Google Trends](https://cdn.fundraisingcoach.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/02231221/AndyCrestodina.jpg)
[Guest Post] How To Use Google Trends
Today it's my privilege to introduce you to Andy Crestodina. Andy is the Strategic Director of Orbit Media, a web design company in Chicago. The author of the incredibly helpful SEO book Content Chemistry, he's amazing when it comes to helping your website receive...
5 Surprising Fundraising Books for Your Summer Reading
It's July 2. Thousands of you are trying to pick up the pieces from the end of your fiscal year. It's time to let your hair down and enjoy a little rest. (Yes, I know that however well you did last year, on July 1, your goal was raised. You still need a break!) (Was...
2 of the least common words fundraisers hear
Happy New (Fiscal) Year! July 1st is the start of the new fiscal year for 100's of 1,000's of nonprofits. You've just closed the books but now you have an even higher bar to reach. Here's a quick video with a sincere message to all who fundraise: thank you. Don't see...
![[Guest Post] The money making secret of effective donor newsletters](https://cdn.fundraisingcoach.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/02231226/Ahern_2012_France.jpg)
[Guest Post] The money making secret of effective donor newsletters
I'm a huge fan of Tom Ahern. The very first time I heard him speak, I learned tactics that transformed my fundraising writing and made it much more effective. He even convinced me donor newsletters could be actual fundraising tools! So when I saw this blog post in his...
WGN’s Bill Leff Show: Keeping donors safe, and a little Stanley Cup smack talk
Last Friday, I got to be interviewed by WGN Radio's Bill Leff We talked about the Tampa Bay report on the 50 Worst Charities and how donors can protect themselves. We also engaged in a little friendly Stanley Cup smack talk. 🙂 You can hear the 10 minute interview on...
Flipboard features the new magazine “The Fundraising Life”
I love using Flipboard. It's a handy app got me back into regular blog reading. This spring, they created a way for users to build their own magazines. It is a simple way for users to curate content. Content curation is a huge life skill, at least for online work. So...
The secret for nonprofits recovering from a recession – Giving USA
Yesterday I wrote about Giving USA's 2013 Report and the highlights about giving last year. At the end of the npVOICES interview with Gregg Carlson of the Giving USA Foundation, Steve MacLaughlin asked for Gregg's impressions for fundraisers. With 50 years of tracking...
Charitable Giving Recovering Faster Than Anticipated – Giving USA
In the latest edition of npVoices, host Steve MacLaughlin interviews Gregg Carlson of the Giving USA Foundation about the 2013 Giving USA report. Giving USA 2013 The latest Giving USA report is fairly encouraging. In 2012, $316 billion was given to charity. This means...
Developing Your Personal Giving Strategy: A Donor’s Guide to Safe Giving
The tough economy in the wake of the "Great Recession" has made giving tough for many. Add to this the seemingly constant news reports of scam charities ripping off donors, and the joy of giving is practically stolen. I'm creating a guide currently called "Developing...
What an effective email fundraising subject line!
As a fundraising coach, I take a critical look at fundraising letters and emails. It's always thrilling to be pleasantly surprised! Last week, I was pleasantly surprised to look in my inbox and see this email subject line: Email subject line: "You made this happen."...
Content calendar templates for social media
Earlier this week, I wrote on how to jumpstart your year end giving. In it, I mentioned scheduling your social media updates to complement your fundraising letters. Keeping up with your own blog as well as Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn can be daunting....
3 ways to jumpstart year end giving by planning your fall fundraising now
Nonprofits are making a big mistake when reading studies that show that over 50% of charitable giving happens in December. They are putting off their year end appeals until December! Did you notice that last December? My inbox was flooded with nonprofit emails begging...
An anonymous letter to a nonprofit board member on how to fundraise
This month's Nonprofit Blog Carnival involves writing an anonymous letter to your board. Anything was fair game. Here is my letter. An anonymous letter to a nonprofit board member Dear Jane, Thank you. Thank you so much for giving your time and money to make our world...
![[Guest Post] Helping board members maximize fundraising effort](https://cdn.fundraisingcoach.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/02231237/peter-headshot.png)
[Guest Post] Helping board members maximize fundraising effort
Peter Genuardi & I are fellow bloggers for npENGAGE. I finally met him at NTEN's annual conference a couple months ago. He's the Founder & CEO of Strenth in Members. He helps organizations build better relationships with their supporters by finding social influencers...
Free fundraising tips and ideas in 3 podcasts!
In the past week, I was privileged to be the guest on three terrific podcasts! In each I was asked various aspects of fundraising. Ted Hart's Nonprofit Radio On Ted's show, about 15-20 minutes in, we talked about Ask Without Fear! and the ins and outs of major gift...
Self talk, body chemistry, and being successful at fundraising
What we say to ourselves can sink our fundraising program. He's probably not interested. I'm probably bugging her. They get "hit" by everyone so they won't want to talk to me. When we say things like that, we think we're being "honest" or "realistic." But we're...
Fundraising for ministry support
A couple weeks ago, I gave a series of lectures at the Funding Your Ministry Symposium to over 100 coaches from around the world. These people represented 48 different missionary associations including large organizations like The Navigators, InterVarsity, Cru, YWAM,...
![[Guest Post] Using Gallup’s StrengthsFinder to help your board fundraise more effectively](https://cdn.fundraisingcoach.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/02231240/johnfulwider.jpeg)
[Guest Post] Using Gallup’s StrengthsFinder to help your board fundraise more effectively
Today it's my honor to introduce you to John Fulwider. I'm a guy who loves helping people find their strengths and talents. John is the first person I've met who teaches nonprofit boards how to use the Gallup StrengthsFinder to find their strengths. He's a...
Throw statistics out of your fundraising letters!
A couple weeks ago, I was grounded in Newark, NJ so I got to listen to some NJ radio. One ad for a nonprofit caught my attention and then quickly failed. I blogged about it at Does the phrase "tax deductible" kill donations? And I gave some suggestions on how the ad...
21 Social Media Tips for Nonprofits from Top Experts
I love nonprofits. And I love social media. But nonprofits don't always "get" social media. While there are few truly firm rules about using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, or any of the other myriad of platforms out there, there are some things that bug donors....
Shame on UNICEF for attacking “slacktivism”
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...
Overhead isn’t the issue – and it’s not a fundraising tool
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...
Does the phrase “tax deductible” kill donations?
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...