Help getting into Starbucks
Could I ask you a big Friday favor? Would you help me get Ask Without Fear! into Starbucks stores? My local baristas strongly encouraged me to try to get Ask Without Fear! into Starbucks in conjunction with the National Philanthropy days in November. The...
Feeling guilty about not raising enough money?
I'm really excited to be offering a full day of "Ask Without Fear!" training here in Waterville, ME on Saturday, September 13. This training will be ideal for board members and volunteers who are feeling guilty that they're not doing as much fundraising as they think...
Fundraising Secret #24: Take Time for Yourself Daily
Fundraising can be a grueling occupation. Strategizing, planning, writing, dreaming, asking. Facing rejection day after day. Having people raise the goal year after year. As much as I love it, fundraising can wear you down. That's why Fundraising Secret #24 is: Take...
Book signing at Borders in Bangor!
Today was my first Borders book signing. Honestly, I don't "get" the idea behind a booksigning. I'm still not, but I did sell 18 copies Ask Without Fear!, despite the amazingly dry, sunny weather outside. I guess that just may be the point, eh? Selling books? :)...
Do you know what REALLY bugs your donors?
As you all know, I'm a big believer in actually asking donors what they think rather than trying to read their mind. So yesterday I posted this question on LinkedIn.com: As a donor to charity, what do we nonprofits do that REALLY annoys the tar out of you? What do we...
Invasion of Privacy or Customer Service?
The Chronicle of Philanthropy's Prospecting blog has an interesting post about a new planned giving tool. Apparently, it's a CD that donors can play to see the benefits of making a planned gifts and a charity can customize it to be the "charity of choice" for the...
Check out these “Don’t ‘Almost’ Give” ads!
I just saw a very interest ad by the Ad Council. It was about the things that "almost" happened because people "almost" gave! Check out the ads at: Don't Almost Give. It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes: "No one could make a greater mistake than he who did...
Out of the mouths of babes
Last night, I held a free Ask Without Fear! fundraising seminar to a standing room only crowd at the local library. It's always a rush to speak to a standing room only group. And these were mainly "normal people"--board members and volunteers. I love talking to this...
Story telling tips
Anyone that's attended any of my fundraising seminars knows I'm a big fan of storytelling. The NY Times offers a great article called 5 Tips for Telling Better Stories. In short, they are: Keep it simple Openings and closings are very important Be mindful of your...
Free Fundraising Seminar
The Waterville Public Library is hosting "Ask Without Fear!: An Evening with fundraiser and author Marc A. Pitman" on Tuesday, August 12. The free 60-minute Ask Without Fear! seminar will start at 5:30 p.m. and will be followed by a Q & A period and a...
Why most sales pitches to nonprofits don’t work
From time to time, I get calls by people that equate "fundraising" with "selling stuff." John emailed me recently and gave me permission to post our email dialogue. Here's the first message I received. Hello Marc, I found your blog (and your Linked In profile) and I...
Chris Brogan’s list of 50 social networking sites
Uber web 2.0 guru, Chris Brogan listed 50 social networking/web 2.0 sites at 50 Online Applications and Sites to Consider. How many are you using? More importantly: how many are your donors using? It's wonderfully easy to engage donors where they're already...
Fundraising Secret #23: Test your own system
On a whim, I decided to go through the process of buying my own Ask Without Fear! fundraising ebook from a new listing I'd posted on Craigslist. Oy. What an experience. First, I found out I couldn't buy my own book from the seller's PayPal or GoogleCheckout account....
Would you help me with Technorati?
I've been "on" Technorati since 2005, but I haven't done anything with it. If you find the information on this blog helpful, would you click here to favorite it in Technorati? Thanks in advance!!
Really Tweet Twitter Tips from Anne Jackson
Anne Jackson just posted some great Anne's list!
Golden Opportunity
I just got back from a talk about the changing labor force in Maine. It's a very complex and challenging picture. The short form is that we're facing an aging population without the evidence of a younger people coming in to fill the jobs. And the older people that are...
Social networking and fundraising
This question came across one of the listservs I'm on Is there anyone using social networking sites such as Facebook for fundraising in any way? If so, can you provide details and is it successful? I think we all need to be asking this kind of question! Here's my...
Just “ok”
Sue Hoye over at the Chronicle of Philanthropy's Prospecting blog offers disturbing statistics about donor experiences with nonprofits. The Great American Donor Survey, conducted by Campbell Rinker, a marketing research company in Valencia, Calif., that specializes in...
Fundraising Secret #22: Use a Z-Fold
I promised to provide very practical advice. Here's a quick tip that will improve virtually all your written communications: fold your letters so the donor names shows up when they open the envelope. This simple technique is powerful. Studies and experience show that...
Ask Without Fear! radio show
Well, my intended guest Stephen Nill, founder and CEO of CharityChannel.com was embroiled in nasty network outages that kept him from being on the show. I guess this was bound to happen with a live radio show! 🙂 So I took the unexpected time to wax eloquent on...
Americans continue generous giving
Estimated giving in 2007 grew about 3.9 percent from the previous year according to a recent press release from Giving USA, a group that has measured these statistics for decades. It appears that Americans gave about $306.39 billion. This in a year that had rising gas...
Another frugal $10 million donor
Here's another story in the growing collection of unassuming people that become noteworthy philanthropists by leaving millions of dollars to charity. The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that James Ebbert, the son of a sharecropper, left $10 million to charities in...
Capital campaign feasibility studies on a shoe string
Here's a great question I got today: Hi, Marc! I've got a question for you.... Normally, I think it's best for a third party (read, consultant) to conduct a feasibility study. However, right now we don't have enough of a donor base to consider a wide-spread campaign...
The cure for hospital fundraising woes?
Holly Hall at the Chronicle's Prospecting Blog reported on comments from the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy's CEO, Bill McGinley. The healthcare system is incredibly complex. And hospitals haven't done a great job telling their story and how they contribute...
Direct mail fundraising still has legs
Elizabeth Schwinn over at Philanthropy.com has a great post about direct mail fundraising. Studies are showing that boomers are responding at about the same rate as their parents. Apparently, boomers haven't gotten the news that direct mail isn't working. 🙂 You can...
“Ask Without Fear!” is selling as well as Bill Clinton’s “Giving”
See for yourself. Yes, he has sold millions of copies. But today, he and I are neck and neck on Amazon! 🙂
“Ask Without Fear!” in the news
I just got back from the AMA conference in DC and found this article in the Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems newsletter: Inland Author Strives for Healthy Communities Three years ago, Marc Pitman joined Inland Hospital as director of the Inland Foundation. Since he...
Ask Without Fear! listed as “top read”
Roger Carr just listed Ask Without Fear! as one of the "Top 7 Reads for Nonprofit Marketers and Fundraisers." He's listed it in an auspicious group! Others on the list include Robin Hood Marketing: Stealing Corporate Savvy to Sell Just Causes and Made to Stick: Why...
3 of the happiest thank you notes
I just signed three thank you notes that have given me more joy than any I've had the privilege to sign: one to each of my kids ages 8, 6, and 3. On Father's Day, they gave my breakfast in bed. They also each gave 25 cents to the Foundation. They knew I raised money...
Don Philabaum, guest on the Ask Without Fear radio show
I had a wonderful conversation with Don Philabaum, President & CEO of Internet Strategies Group. Among the things we discussed were: Why most nonprofit online communities fail when Facebook and YouTube succeed; Why most of your nonprofits alumni, members, or donors...