A FundraisingKick: An easy email fundraising idea from Zappos
I don't normally share my messages to the Fundraising Kick folks here on my blog...but I am today. Here's what I sent them this week. Two weeks ago, I got an email that got me thinking “why couldn’t nonprofits do that?” Here is the entire text of the email: Dear Marc...
Can The Second Mile survive this scandal?
Over the weekend, a friend asked me if The Second Mile had any chance of surviving. After all, it now looks like it's founder, Penn State's Jerry Sandusky, created it as a place to prey on children. Can a nonprofit overcome this type of scandal My first reaction was...
How to Write Posts People Will Remember
I'm honored to introduce you to Darren Rowse, uber-blogger. I've learned alot from Darren over the years and finally got to meet him last week at BlogWorld Expo in Los Angeles. This post seemed perfectly suited to help your nonprofit retool your blog so Darren's...
6 tips to help board members work a room at a fundraising event
Last night, I was asked for some tips to help my fellow board members with a fundraising dinner on Thursday. Fundraising events so often devolve into board members huddling together in tight groups of people they all ready know. But money is raised when board members...
Google+ is open to nonprofits
If you've been waiting to join Google+ until your nonprofit or organization could have a presence on Google+? The wait is over. About 30 minutes ago, Google opened up Google+ Pages! I've scoured their introductory material and have found references to pages being for...
10 Take-aways from BlogWorld Expo
Day 2 of BlogWorld Expo was completely different from Day 1. I had some Fundraising Coach work to attend to. And I just kept getting into great conversations with cool people. But here are 10 things I got today. Read them and think about how they apply to your...
10 Things I Learned at BlogWorld Expo Day 1
This is my first BlogWorldExpo and I ended up speaking twice. I knew about one of the sessions. But I filled in for a person who didn’t show too. But even in the few sessions I could attend where I wasn’t speaking, I have learned a ton! Here are 10 things I learned in...
5 Reasons Google+ is great for job seekers
A couple months ago, I was asked why I thought Google+ is great for job seekers. Here's what I replied: I am an executive coach and a geek who loves G+. Here are five reasons I think G+ would be fabulous for job seekers. Like Twitter, you can follow anyone without...
An interview with Get Fully Funded author Sandy Rees
I love it when people come out with practical, nuts-and-bolts books to help nonprofits. It's even more fun when it's with people I know! I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Sandy Rees and ask her about her new book Get Fully Funded. [affiliate link] The...
3 Ways + 1 to Get Your Head Back in the Game
Fundraising is hard. You're asking people to do something they probably haven't considered doing yet. So they need to be helped through the process. (After all, they've given it far less thought than you have!) And then there's the news. It can distract and...
3 Tips for Traveling Spouses
I've been doing a lot of travel lately. As a result, I've learned to savor the time at home. Here are some things to consider if your job has you traveling and you want to stay married. Take half days when you are home Travel isn't the most productive time for work. I...
I’m not your ATM
As the economy continues to falter (or barely grow), we need people's donations more than ever. But if we operate from a place of "need," we can start sounding like we think we're entitled to people's money. We never are. So it's more important than ever that you have...
How much cause marketing is too much? A trip on Delta
My friend Joe Waters got me to seriously think about cause marketing. Thanks to him, I've now been seeing cause marketing everywhere...sort of like when you buy a car and then start seeing them all over the place. Enough already Today was a bit over the top. I was on...
Join me at BlogWorld LA!
I'm thrilled to be speaking at BlogWorld 2011 in Los Angeles in November! 501 Mission Place is co-sponsoring the "Cause" track. My presentation will be on Google+ for Nonprofits! For more information, click on the image. [affiliate links]
Term limits are for a reason!
Let me say it for the record: board term limits are for a reason! But they can feel hard to enforce, can't they? There are two very real risks with board terms: The leaving board member will feel left out Nobody likes it when people they care about feel left out. But...
Get a free month of 501 Mission Place!
I'm thrilled to announce the relaunch of 501 Mission Place! A year in the making We started 501 Mission Place because we were tired of seeing our nonprofit friends and colleagues get burned out. Running a cause can consume your life and be thankless at the same time....
Nonprofit job openings on the West Coast of the USA
I recently received an email from Waldron HR about job openings in on the West Coast. There are positions for EDs, CEOs, Directors. There's even an odd listing for a City Manager (not sure how that's "social enterprise" but hey, why not?) You can check them out by...
FREE webinar on Monday: Social Media Increases Fundraising
I am thrilled to announce that Blackbaud's Frank Barry will be joining the 501 Mission Place hosts for September's webinar. The webinar is about recent research that shows Social Media Increases Fundraising. And to celebrate our 501 Mission Place relaunch, we're...
Looks like Google+ is open
My wife opened Google tonight and had a big blue arrow. When I opened Google the arrow was there too. Are you seeing it too? When you mouse over it, it says, "You're invited to join Google+." Jump in, the water's fine I'd encourage you to check it out. There are some...
Are you as creative as Red Box?
Yesterday, I got an email from Red Box asking me to take a picture of myself hugging a Red Box. Hugging a huge DVD dispensing box. Why haven't I done this with my nonprofit?! This is a simple tactic of creating buzz. And it's really easy! If you're Western Kentucky...
Is your cause so weak it depends on a charitable deduction?
Today, Joe Meehan pointed me toward's the article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy about President Obama's new bill limiting charitable deductions. As expected the outcry was fast and strong. At the risk of being a bit controversial: Who cares if deductions are...
3 Tips for Effective Fundraising Letters
Every other Tuesday, I send out my free email newsletter. I'm amazed that next year will be it's tenth year in publication! I bet that makes it one of the oldest email newsletters in the industry. (10 years ago we called them "Ezines" so this is still called The...
More travel tips for fundraisers
A few months back, I offered 12 travel tips for the flying fundraiser. Christina Attard left a list of her own in the comments. Her suggestions were so good, I wanted to make sure you saw them! So here they are! (You can follow Christina on Twitter @GPtekkie.) by...
Writing goals and focusing your subconscious
I'm a huge believer in goal setting. Especially in the power of writing down goals. Every December, I write a list of 100 things I want to accomplish in the next 12 months. This technique isn't for everyone, but it's fun to see how well received it is for people who...
Book Review: Cause Marketing for Dummies convinced me
Cause Marketing For Dummies by Joe Waters & Joanna MacDonald As a development director and long time major gifts guy, cause marketing has always seemed to dilute philanthropic giving. Moreover, it always seemed reserved for the “big boys” in cancer...
Goofy video fun poll: Which promo do you prefer?
I'll be speaking at the Social Media FTW conference on September 22 in Portland, Maine. The organizers have asked each of the presenters to do a quick video promoting why people should come to their session. Would you help me decide which video to send to the...
Should we hire a fundraiser and pay him a percentage raised?
One of the most common questions I get from board members and nonprofit leaders is some variation of: We're a small nonprofit without any fundraising program. Are there ever any conditions where it makes sense for us to hire a fundraiser that gets paid a percentage of...
6 year olds and high-D people
As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, I love the DiSC personality system. And I'm amazed at how obvious these character traits can be in real life! High-D's High-D types are people that are extroverted, fast-paced individuals more focused on getting tasks done than on...
So many great free fundraising resources – Tom Ahern
There are so many great, free fundraising resources. I'm just now catching up on Tom Ahern's wonderful newsletter. Tom is an amazing wordsmith of fundraising prose. Every couple week's, Tom sends out an email filled with anecdotes backed by statistics, reminding us of...
Fundraising Myth: If we build it, God will fund it
I get the opportunity to work with a lot of faith-based organizations. I love helping them get excited about raising money and showing them that others in the Bible got excited about fundraising too! But I'm amazed by a persistent cop-out so common among Christian...