![[Guest Post] Why Donors Stop Giving](https://cdn.fundraisingcoach.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/02231258/GuestPost-Jay-Love-Why-Donors-Stop-Their-Support.png)
[Guest Post] Why Donors Stop Giving
I've been a fan of Jay Love for years. I even interviewed him for my radio show back in 2008! He gets both databases and effective fundraising. So I asked him if he'd write a post on donor retention. Jay is a serial entrepreneur, the creator of eTapestry and now the...
The Donor Retention Project works!
Last week we released The Donor Retention Project. Yesterday, I got this email from an already satisfied customer: Thanks for the Donor Retention Project! I've finished the first two segments. We're doing a lot of what is recommended and it's sparked a couple more...
Give a lunch for professional development
I run into so many nonprofit leaders who don't "have time" for professional development. "I have so much to do I don't have any time for myself." One of the interesting things about self-talk: what we say over and over, especially with emotion, can hypnotize us. It...
Making it easy to spread your message
Thanks to our digital age, people can now spread the message of their favorite cause further than ever before. But is your nonprofit helping them? The End It Movement Does It Right! Today, I saw a post about the End It Movement. I was thoroughly impressed. They've...
FREE npEXPERTS Webinar Tomorrow
I'm honored to be giving the first webinar in Blackbaud's npEXPERTS series! Donors Don’t Live in One Place so Why Do Your Communications? I'll be sharing four ways to make sure you are integrating communications for your online donors and your offline donors. We'll...
![[Guest Post] 6 channels to call in the crowds to your crowdfunding campaign](https://cdn.fundraisingcoach.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/02231300/brett-scott.jpg)
[Guest Post] 6 channels to call in the crowds to your crowdfunding campaign
I've been fascinated by the rise of successfully crowdfunded projects through sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. I think nonprofits can take lessons from them to apply to their own fundraising. So I when I read a thorough analysis of Brett Scott's successful...
Explosive growth: The Donor Retention Project
Wow! Response to The Donor Retention Project has been so strong, you all crashed the servers yesterday! Fortunately Chris at 501 Videos has the situation fixed and they were up and running within a few hours. What's all the fuss? Donor retention is, that's what. Some...
![[Question Marc] Conversation starters for cold calls](https://cdn.fundraisingcoach.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/02231313/questionmarc.jpg)
[Question Marc] Conversation starters for cold calls
I recently received this question from a client: I have a question for you. I have a list of wealthy prospects, many have given our hospice small dollar amounts thru memorials. My intent is to build a relationship with them, can you give me an example of what to say...
What keeps you up at night?
For her weekly FundRaising Success Magazine post, Jo Black Sullivan asked a bunch of us fundraiser-folk what kept us awake at night. People like me, Roger Craver, Jeff Jowdy, and more. Here's the video of all of us. It cut out the screen-printed bow tie on my t-shirt...
Just do it already!
Now That person you've been scared of asking to make a specific contribution to your nonprofit? Ask her now. That note of appreciation to your board member that you've been putting off? Write it now. That staff member that just did something that makes your job...
Shoe Shine guy gives $200,000
This man, Albert Lexie, shines shoes at a hospital in Pittsburgh. Over the last 30 years, he's given all his tips to the charity care fund at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. That's added up to $200,000 so far! From a shoe shine guy! All that glitters... I love...
![[Guest Post] Three Ways Nonprofits Can Use Promotional Products Effectively](https://cdn.fundraisingcoach.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/02231305/FogelGuestPost4.png)
[Guest Post] Three Ways Nonprofits Can Use Promotional Products Effectively
I met Elaine Fogel a few years ago when she organized a conference in DC. I've been impressed with her commitment to nonprofits and her knowledge of promotional items. (I call it schwag.) So I asked her if she'd write a post on how nonprofits can use them effectively....
What if we just called them part of the family?
A couple weeks ago, I had the privilege of hosting the Nonprofit Blog Carnival. I asked some of the nonprofit industry’s top bloggers how they kept donors coming back. 16 experts shared their best tips. 7 out of 10 don’t come back One of the shocking statistics is...
[Question Marc] How do I recruit new board members?
From time to time, I have a feature I call Question Marc?. [Pun fully intended] A coaching client who is a board member for an arts organization recently sent me this question: We are trying to quickly build up our board since it is small. I am planning on asking 3...
Check your Google+ page image
Your Google+ page just changed. Google has increased the cover image size to 2120 x 1192, from 940 x 180. And the profile image is now an ugly circle, not a square. I'm not a fan of the change. If you have a Google+ page, and you should, check it out to make sure it...
New free ebook “npEXPERTS: Online Marketing Insights for Nonprofits”
I'm honored to be one 20 experts included in the ebook: npEXPERTS: Online Marketing Insights for Nonprofits. In this ebook, we share tips, tricks and stories on "how to use nonprofit marketing to connect with supporters, activate your donor base, and raise money...
16 experts tell you how to keep your donors wanting to come back
Since we celebrate Valentines Day in February, I thought I'd have this edition of the Nonprofit Blog Carnival focus on long-term donor relationships. I like to think of it as showing them "love." A few weeks ago, I posted this question to nonprofit bloggers: How do...
Donor’s don’t need another best friend!
About a week ago, I was able to do a Twitter chat on “loving your donors” and showing them appreciation. You can read a transcript here: http://storify.com/audiencedevspec/auddev-chat-2-14-noon-et-loving-your-donors Do you have to answer donors' questions? One of the...
![[Guest Post] Special events: Make them worth the effort](https://cdn.fundraisingcoach.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/02231309/Clover_about.png)
[Guest Post] Special events: Make them worth the effort
From time-to-time, I get to introduce you to a rock star in my universe, a colleague I trust implicitly. Today I'm thrilled to introduce you to Clover Frederick, a fundraising and marketing expert from Lincoln, Nebraska. I love her idea of fundraising events being a...
Free Valentine’s Day Bow Tie Card
Whether for you or that special Valentine in your life, get them a free bow tie card this Valentine's Day!
Humor is the lubricant for spreading great ideas
I love helping nonprofits communicate their story more clearly. Last week, the tweets from the “Great Super Bowl Blackout” provided a great object lesson in how to harness social media platforms like Twitter for getting attention. Even for getting free media coverage....
[Question Marc] How do we get more people to open our email?
I recently received this question from a reader in South Africa: Just a quick question.... Do you have any resources or help that can ensure that we get more people to read our mails? We have an extremely low rate of about 11% at the moment. My answer: Getting more...
Future fundraising trainings…near you?
I love speaking to groups, helping people get excited about fundraising, and helping groups communicate more effectively. My team is looking at expanding the number of trainings I do. Every month we have people asking to attend a public session near them. If you’re...
Did Charities Sleep Through The Great Super Bowl Blackout?
Last night the power went out at the Super Bowl for 33 minutes and 55 seconds. And brands had a field day using Twitter to add humor and garner brand recognition. CNET reports that during the blackout, Twitter activity was around 231,500 tweets per minute! Tamsen...
Nonprofit Blog Carnival: How do you keep your donors wanting to come back?
I am honored to have FundraisingCoach.com host February's Nonprofit Blog Carnival! Last month the Carnival looked at Your Big Dream for 2013. This month, we're asking: how do you keep donors engaged for a second gift? According to studies in the USA, the average...
3 ways fundraisers can slow the revolving door
Last week, I mentioned the new report by CompassPoint called UnderDeveloped: A National Study of Challenges Facing Nonprofit Fundraising that is getting lots of press. Two of the findings the press and bloggers are reporting on are: more than half of all fundraisers...
The Art of Fundraising – as a 140 second Icarus Presentation
Wednesday, I had the opportunity to join over 375 people to hear Seth Godin speak at MIT. He was sharing ideas from his new books The Icarus Deception: How High Will You Fly? and V Is for Vulnerable: Life Outside the Comfort Zone. After he spoke, he invited six of us...
3 ways CEOs can slow the revolving door
A new report by CompassPoint called UnderDeveloped: A National Study of Challenges Facing Nonprofit Fundraising is getting lots of press. Two of the most sensational headlines are that: more than half of all fundraisers want to leave their job, some even the entire...
How to get donors to enable images in email
As a rule, I don't enable images in emails. And I've blogged about how annoying it is to get blank emails from businesses and nonprofits I'm interested in. The solution obviously is to send emails in both text and HTML. But that doesn't look as pretty and it makes it...
How to get donors to enable images in email
As a rule, I don't enable images in emails. And I've blogged about how annoying it is to get blank emails from businesses and nonprofits I'm interested in. The solution obviously is to send emails in both text and HTML. But that doesn't look as pretty and it makes it...