Tithing makes the news
Seems the age-old, pre-Moses tradition of tithing is still a timely news topic. Check out Tithing Evolves. Our church received enough requests that we put a link for electronic giving on our site: http://www.vcwaterville.org/resources.htm#offering Just last Sunday we...
Clock’s ticking
The clock's ticking. From my count, the 100th business day of 2007 is Tuesday, May 22. (I'm assuming you didn't work on New Year's Day or on President's Day.) This clock shows how much time you have left. [Update: Apparently the applet isn't supported on the blog. You...
Speak Out: Edgy Ad Campaign
Wow. Strong message, isn't it? As a rule, I tend to favor boldness. But I'm not sure what the point of this message is. Is it to guilt people into giving to kids too? Is it a sophisticated (and costly) way to throw a tantrum and say, "It's not fairt!"? EvidentlyÂ...
The first 100 days of 2007
It's a new year! Do you have a plan for making this your best year yet? In today's issue, Nick Fellers from ForImpact.org share's a powerful way to get it off to a great start 100 Day Blitz by Nick Fellers When I'm working with an organization I like to finish our...
Gift Range Calculator
Looks like Blackbaud's moved the Gift Range Calculator to their site. Give it a whirl. It's a very useful tool!
It could happen to you!
Here's a great story about a woman that left more than $2 million to some local Maine nonprofits. Ilse Westman kept a low profile. When she died in August, she didn't want an obituary in the newspaper, said her longtime friend and attorney, Warren E. Winslow, Jr. She...
Galas–the dying gasp of poor fundraising?
The end of the year is rapidly approaching, so I thought I'd keep this issue of Extreme Fundraising light-hearted. Read this posting from Amy Kincaid and her Fundraising Breakthroughs blog gave me the fodder for this riff. This was posted on her blog: Quotable...
Survey: Year-end Giving
Are any of you trying anything new of different this year for your year-end fundraising? At Inland, we held a widely successful "Fall Pops Concert" in early November. What about you? If you are, post a comment below and contact Elizabeth Schwinn with the Chronicle of...
The Fundraising Coach’s Master Mind Group
Start your new year off right with the Fundraising Coach's Master Mind Group! This special 6-week course, limited to only 12 participants, will focus on the process for asking for money. Since it takes place over the course of a month and a half, you have the chance...
Phone etiquette II
Here's a follow up to my Dialing for Donor (visits) post: Don't be the first to hang up the phone at the end of the call. It just happened to me yesterday. I chatted for close to a half hour with a friend I hadn't connected with in over a year. When we ended the call,...
Do you dare?
I love feedback. I wouid probably constantly take surveys and assessments if I could. So I loved this idea from Katya's Nonprofit Marketing Blog as shared by Jeff Brooks on his Donor Power Blog: "Be Your Donor" day. Read the post and then give it a try.
Mixing careers
I started pastoring VCW after a decade of fundraising. I love pastoring and teaching on financial stewardship but I've been intrigued with the donor stewardship issues. We once got a $5000 check--HUGE for our small, central Maine congregation. As a fundraiser, my...
Dialing for Donor (visits)
I don't talk much about the use of the telephone. I guess I've been scarred by too many phonathons. But the phone is an incredibly important tool in the R.E.A.L. process of asking for money. Especially in getting a solicitation visit. In his terrific book Asking: A...
The store you’ve been waiting for
I'm sure you've been wondering what to get your favorite fundraiser. Check out the Fundraising Coach store at http://www.cafepress.com/frcoach. It's the home of "fundraising is an extreme sport" gear! 😉
An Ode to Fundraisers
A fundraisier stood at the heavenly gate, His face was scarred and old. He stood before the man of fate For admission to the fold. "What have you done," Saint Peter said, "To gain admission here?" "I've been a fundraiser, sir, "For many and many a year." The pearly...
Hospital Fundraising in the Boston Globe
Check out this article in the Boston Globe. Is there a way your nonprofit could adapt the cause-focused "leadership council" idea to advance your donor-centered fundraising?
eTithe
I used our snazzy Google Checkout button to do my offering today! Quick, a lot easier than PayPal, and I didn't forget to bring it to church. If you're going to try using it yourself there are two minor irritants: You must created a button with fields for the varying...
Ten Things to Do Today to Get Business
Here in the US, we're about a week away from Thanksgiving. Have you mentally checked out of work or are you preparing for the biggest time of giving in the calendar year? Before you put your work on hold, consider implementing this tip from Jeffrey Fox's book How to...
Help Needed: X-treme Fundraising?
Greetings! I got a call from a Time magazine reporter asking if I knew of any "x-treme" fundraising: 30,000 bike trips, bungee jumping for dollars, and the like. I didn't--and wasn't really sure how these could make money--but I told him I'd ask the blog and email. Do...
Thanks for your feedback!
Thanks to everyone that attended my Blackbaud sessions. I just received this email: -----Original Message----- From: Ashley Shockley Sent: Thursday, November 09, 2006 10:51 AM Subject: Blackbaud Conference - Top ten speakers! Congratulations! You were voted one of...
Ask Yourself
I've long been an advocate of PYITS: put yourself in their shoes. (I've blogged about it here, here, here, and here.) But during the Q & A portion of my "Taking the Fear Out of Face to Face Solicitation" seminar last week at Blackbaud's Conference for Nonprofits, a...
What’s Your Score Today?
It's easy to "keep score" in our field. We can track dollars raised, new donors acquired, donors retained, etc. But all of these are sort of rearview mirror, views of how you did in the past. Have you ever wondered where the windshield is? In Jeffrey Fox's idea in How...
Blackbaud Conference for Nonprofits
I'm getting really excited about next week's conference! Download a PDF copy of the sessions here.
Y’all are so nice!
I've finally got around to putting up a page with more of the nice things you all are emailing me. I haven't decided where to link it at fundraisingcoach.com yet but the direct link is: https://fundraisingcoach.com/testimonials.htm Thanks so much for letting me know...
Babysitting & Fundraising
No, I'm not going to talk about how much donor relations is like baby sitting--despite how similar they may feel at times! *grin*Â In reading Jeffrey Fox's How To Become a Rainmaker, he devotes a short chapter to advice given to a babysitter. I found it to be helpful...
The Kingdom Assignment
Here's an interesting philanthropy experiment: what happens when you give 100 people $100 dollars? Some of them revolutionize their worlds. Check out the Chronicle of Philanthropy article here.
More on non-events
Cher Hersrud of the The Resource Center in Fargo, ND posted these ideas to the CharityChannel CharityTalk list. (Posted with her permission.) A couple of examples of the non-event from North Dakota: a theatre sold tickets for a Dark Night - people stayed home, the...
Objections or objectives
Another great tidbit in Jeffrey Fox's "How to Become a Rainmaker": The Rainmaker always turns a customer objection into a mutual--customer/Rainmaker--objective. Let's say a donor says, "Gee, I'd love to make a $25,000 gift to the campaign but both my kids are in...
Are you registered?
Amy Kincaid at Fundraising Breakthroughs just posted on a creative fundraising strategy. At least they're thinking out of the box! Would this work for you?
Donor motivation
As much as you may try, ultimately, you may never know what really motivates a donor to give to you. Check out what motivated this donor to give $6 million to the Los Angeles Opera at Jeff Brook's Donor Power Blog. It's certainly not about the money. A trip from LAX...