Interviewed on The Frazzled Entrepreneur
Add this to my "15 minutes of fame": H. Les Brown interviewed me on his Frazzled Entrepreneur Show. Click here to listen to our interview.
Ask Without Fear! – the first week
A week ago tomorrow, I got my first copies of Ask Without Fear!. Caleb even made me a sign! What a whirlwind of a week! My kids helped me pack up the 70 or so boxes: And we finally got them done: Here's a link to the rest of the photos.
Sandra Sims’ Mythbusters
I have the honor of being included in Sandra Sim's Mythbusters series. You can see the blog post at: http://stepbystepfundraising.com/fundraising-myth-its-great-to-be-cheap/
Recession Proof Fundraising Press Release
Well, the PRWeb approved press release is live and available at: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/04/prweb855134.htm
New Author Gives Three Ways to Recession-Proof Your Nonprofit
[PRWeb didn't like this because it wasn't "self promotional" enough...which is exactly why I liked it!] Waterville, ME April 14, 2008 -- Experts still debate whether it is a recession but fundraising expert Marc A. Pitman author of the new book Ask Without Fear!...
Fundraising Secret #16: ALWAYS be interested in the donor as a PERSON
In the spirit of the last fundraising secret People give to people, I offer Fundraising Secret #16: ALWAYS be interested in the donor as a PERSON not as a pocketbook. Relationships are always our most vital asset. Whether or not people give to us, they are...
Recession proof your fundraising
Pundits are predicting a soft economy for the coming months. This could be great for fundraising. Soft economies help us tighten wherever we can and cause us to be even stronger. But many nonprofits make fatal mistakes during times like these and end up having to...
Speaking Schedule
Some readers have asked where I'll be speaking so here's the current schedule: Blackbaud's Conference for Nonprofits, May 1 & 2 in Montreal. Direct Marketing Association, July 14-16 in Washington, DC Maine Library Association, October 23 in Bethel, ME. (The leaves...
Economic impact on fundraising
Last week, I posted a bit about the counter-intuitive relationship of the economy and people's generousity here in Maine. Now planned giving guru Robert Sharpe's April Newsletter comments on it from a much better researched perspective! Here's a bit: With all the...
How to propose a fund raising project to organisations, fundraisers or individuals?
Here's another question I received in my inbox from Emile Dillis: How to propose a fund raising project to organisations, fundraisers or individuals? The Lord has led us to a place in the mountains of Northern Italy. Here our ministry shall be hospitality. Holiday...
Looking forward to May!
This month's Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants question is: "What are you most looking forward to in the coming weeks and months?" My immediate answer is: Montreal in May! I've been invited to give two talks at Blackbaud's Conference for Nonprofits. On Thursday, May...
Nonprofit boards need training
Just read a news brief from the Chronicle of Philanthropy's daily entitled Small Colleges Say Board Members Have Been Poor Fund Raisers. In the article, Wesley Wilmer is quoted as saying: “If college presidents and development staffs are unhappy with board members’...
Looking for coding help
I'm looking to hire someone to create a web-based gift range calculator like the on that is at Blackbaud.com. But I want to change the formulas to be closer to what I recommend my clients aim for. Do you have any leads you can send me? It seems fairly simple but it's...
The Big Give – Georgia
Just watched the latest episode of Oprah's The Big Give. (And I'm commited to keeping this post far shorter than the last Big Give post!) The final words of the judge Malaak Compton-Rock really get at what I mean when I teach seminar attendees and coaching clients...
The “Ask Without Fear!” fundraising book is coming!!
I just heard from the publisher. They expect to have the printed copies of Ask Without Fear! "on or about" April 4th! I'm thrilled! This process has taken a l-o-n-g time. Special thanks go to those of you who've purchased copies over the last few months. To celebrate...
Oprah’s The Big Give – Miami
This was the It Could Happen to You episode of Oprah's The Big Give! I suspect, most viewers thought it'd be incredibly easy to give away $100,000 in 24 hours, even with the quirky restrictions. But it's not as easy as it seems! First I want to highlight a couple...
Question Marc: Is online pledging a good option?
Here's a question that appeared on LinkedIn.com: Question: If donors that have the option to give online would it be a good idea to give them the ability make online pledges? Here's My Answer: If you're asking as a nonprofit looking at implementing a system, my answer...
It’s NOT the economy, stupid!
Just read this in MaineBiz: Report: Maine philanthropy has grown Maine philanthropy has increased dramatically in recent years, according to a new report from the Maine Community Foundation and the Maine Philanthropy Center. "Giving in Maine: A Report on Philanthropy...
Fundraising Secret #15: People Give to People
Reading Stephen Hitchcock's Open Immediately: Straight Talk on Direct Mail Fundraising, I've been reminded of one of the great truths of fundraising, one I'm calling Fundraising Secret #15: people give to people. This is one of the reasons fundraising letter templates...
“The Big Give” stirs up conflict
On LinkedIn.com, I asked what people think of "Oprah's 'The Big Give'" now that it's been on for a month. Little did I know how deeply emotional the responses would be! Most people answering are hostile to reality tv, the premise of the show, and Oprah's intent. It's...
Tips on Fundraising Events
I'm not an "events" person but they do seem a necessary evil in our field. And to be fair, they do have lots of other benefits: visibility, engaging volunteers, etc. So when I saw that this month's Giving Carnival topic was "Tips For Successful Fundraising Events," I...
Google for Nonprofits
I read an interesting post on the Chronicle of Philanthropy about the Google for Nonprofits portal. Looks like things many of us are already using, or ought to be using, to promote our organizations. (Granted, it's probably a bit odd to have a "Google Checkout" badge...
Oprah’s The Big Give – Houston
Another episode of Oprah's Big Give. I've watched all three episodes in three different ways: via recording on my DVR on TV like I did in the 1990's 😉 on abc.com! Who knew TV shows could be so adaptable to technology? This week's program brought out two interesting...
Job Opportunity – Bangor, Maine
From time-to-time, I learn of job opportunities. Here's one in a cool city here in Maine: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR BANGOR HUMANE SOCIETY The Bangor Humane Society (BHS), founded in 1869, is the oldest and largest animal care & adoption facility in the State of Maine. BHS...
Fundraising Secret #14: Don’t be hard on local businesses
I originally wanted to call this fundraising secret: Don't be a jerk—business people often don't have liquid assets. That seems to get the message across more bluntly. I'm amazed at how poorly we treat business owners. Especially sole-proprietors. We approach them in...
Bulk fundraising letters
Catching up on my blogs today, I came across an interesting rant from Hildy on Direct Mail Fundraising is Junk Mail. Here's a taste: Have our organizations ever spent as much time trying to engage the people who come through our doors as we spend trying to “acquire...
Lessons from the Big Give
Last week, I blogged about what I like about Oprah's show "The Big Give" and about my concerns. I still like it. I loved the way the guys teamed up for the Denver orphanage. The shock and gratitude on the directors face moved me to tears. Another person got voted off....
Searching for fundraising help
Thanks to everyone that responded to my "how do you find fundraising help in the web" email last week. Many asked me to share my results so here they are: Fundraising search terms non-profit capital campaign, planned giving forms, annual campaign, foundations, grant...
Inspire Evangelists
Reading through a recent issue of Contributions Magazine, I was delighted to stumble across a summary of a new book, Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits. The authors underwent an incredibly thorough research project to try and ferret out the...
Facebook “Ask Without Fear!” fan page
I'm playing with Facebook some more and have created and updated my Ask Without Fear! Facebook page. If you're on Facebook too, would you become a fan? The link is: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ask-Without-Fear/7433235241 While you're there, feel free to become my...