Great Advice!
The Chronicle of Philanthropy has an interesting tidbit on how the British universities are learning to be more direct in fundraising. Here's some great advice:Among the advice offered: “After you ask for money, let the request hang in the air, even as tension builds...
Win-Win
Last week, knowing tax day was upon us, I sent my Are You Paying Taxes on Your Charitable Giving? to a couple reporters at the local paper. I did it just see if it would fit into an article they were already working on. Little did I know they'd run it as a "brief."...
Are You Paying Taxes on Your Charitable Giving?
Waterville, ME - If you are not strategizing your giving with your advisors, you may inadvertently be paying tax on your charitable gifts according to Marc A. Pitman, director of the Inland Foundation, Inland Hospital's fundraising subsidiary and founder of...
100 Day Check Up
It's time for another 100 day check up. May 22, 2007 is the 100th day. How are you doing sticking to the plan? Personally, I've had some amazing twists and turns. I started with doing an extensive culling of our list of prospects to get it down to the top 33. That...
Privacy Policy
Does your organization have a privacy policy? It should. If you need help, the DMA has a Privacy Policy Generator. Check it out!
Featured in Leadership Advance Online
"Do It Yourself Fundraising: How to Get Money for Your Nonprofit" is featured in the quarterly journal of Regent University's School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship. You can read it, and the rest of the journal, at: http://www.regent.edu/lao
Executive Coaches helping NPs hire
The Chronicle of Philanthropy has a great brief of a Wall St. Journal article on how executive coaches are helping nonprofits hire employees. The WSJ says this helps the potential employers and the job seekers!
Fundraising Faux Pas
I almost succumbed to the "If I Mail It, They Will Give" fundraising faux pas! We sent about 100 letters to donors telling them about an incredible matching opportunity we have. A donor is matching every new endowed fund with $2500. So far, we have secured 11 of the...
Job Opportunity in OH
This just came across my desk. I'm happy where I am but hopefully this may help someone else! To: Mr. Marc A. Pitman Fm: Colette M. Murray, CEO Paschal Murray, Inc. (Executive Search) 82782 Matthau Drive, Indio, CA 92201 (760) 863-4512 colette@paschalmurray.com Dear...
“Giving Large” article in the Boston Globe
There's a great article about the philanthropy of Myra Kraft (owner of the New England Patriots) in the Boston Globe called Giving Large. It's long but read the whole thing. It's a great insight into what motivates giving. Here's a sample: Kraft treats board work like...
Before & After
Today, I'm giving my Creating Donor Evangelists seminar at the annual conference of the New England Association of Healthcare Philanthropy. Part of that seminar involves posting the pictures of real people that are impacted by your mission. Your organization's website...
Creating Donor Evangelists special ending
Special reminder for Extreme Fundraising Blog readers There are just 13 days left to enjoy the special $14.97 price and free Priority Shipping on the digitally remastered "Creating Donor Evangelists Audio Program." On March 20, the price goes back to the normal $19.95...
Job opportunity: Women’s Edge
There's a terrific sounding Director of Development position open at WomensEdge.org. If I were interested in leaving a freezing Central Maine, I'd definitely look at this! To see all the incredible things this group does go to their website: womensedge.org. The...
Peru’s on time
Sounds like Peru is trying to make time count. According to the news, today at noon sirens will sound and church bells ring and all Peruvians are supposed to reset their clocks and watches. Unfortunately, according to today's NPR's MarketPlace Morning Report, when the...
Sowing and Reaping
In reading the Chronicle of Philanthropy's article on last year's Record Giving Breaking, I came across this nugget: Officials at the California Community Foundation, in Los Angeles, were shocked when they received approximately $200-million from the estate of Mary...
Give and Take
The Chronicle of Philanthropy is now offering a blog that compiles nonprofit related posts from other blogs. I'm please to see The Extreme Fundraising Blog listed on their blogroll (in the "Fundraising" category)! Check it out at:...
More book help
Good evening!! My book "The R.E.A.L. Simple Guide to Asking for Money" continues to move along. And now at least one publisher is interested in publishing it! Here's where I need your help. If you've been helped by the ideas I've shared, would you reply to me and tell...
Free Handouts – GISA wrap up
This past Monday, I had the honor of speaking to the enthusiastic members of the Georgia Independent School Association. They invited my in to speak on the three topics: importance of storytelling, how to ask for money, and how to handle objections. In this edition of...
Great Donor Evangelists tips
Check out this Creating Passionate Users blog post for some tips directly related to creating donor evangelists. I'm intrigued by the sticker concept.
How are the 100 Days?
May 18 is coming faster than you know! How are you doing on your 100 day commitment? I don't know about you but I'm finding it incredibly easy to fill my time with minutia. You know...cleaning the desk, moving the computer moniter, grabbing a coffee. At times like...
Why wouldn’t you report it?
I just don't get this. Why wouldn't you report being an officer in a family run philanthropy? Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and two other Democratic Congressional leaders failed to report their positions as officers in family charities as required by Congressional...
Do-It-Yourself Fundraising: How to Get Money for Your Nonprofit
Here's a free article for people that want to learn how to get money for your nonprofit: Do It Yourself Fundraising Let me know if it's helpful!
Design
Sorry for the many design changes over the last couple weeks. To quote U2: I still haven't found what I'm looking for. But the upgrade of Wordpress to 2.1 necessitated another change!
The Rule of Threes
I'm giving a talk on the Rule of Threes in February. I love using this tool with organizations to help streamline their story. I'd like to add to my collection of "success" stories. If you've used this tool, would you share the results with me? You can leave a comment...
Part of the Carnival
I'm honored to be included in the Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants with a bunch of other great posts. This week the Carnival is hosted at Jeff Brook's Donor Power Blog.
Starting where you are?
Jeff Brooks at Donor Power Blog has a great example of what I was talking about earlier this week in Where You Start Matters. Check out this post which shows an actual letter Jeff got from a nonprofit he doesn't give to. It's scary to think they talk about themselves...
3 Great Times to Ask for a Gift
Jeff Brooks over at the Donor Power Blog has another great post: 3 little-known best times to ask a donor for money If you're not regularly reading this blog, you should put it on your Bloglines before the day is out!
Where You Start Matters!
Reading Andy Goodman's "Why Bad Presentations Happen to Good Causes" reminded me of my post on the Scottish nonprofit Engage's national ad campaign. Goodman says most presenters start with the question "What do I want to say?" And starting here is fatal. You may craft...
Speaking at GISA’s Advance Workshop
I'm honored to be participating in the Georgia Independent School's Association's annual "Advance Workshop" on Monday, February 12. I'll be giving a talk on storytelling and two sessions on fundraising. For a PDF of the program, click here. If you work in schools in...
Denver’s Glass House
On his blog, Seth Godin posts about a $140 million permission project. Take a close look at the sales process these guys used. Wouldn't an approach like this make capital campaigns much simpler?