Book Title Survey still going
My book is still a long way from being published. (I’m trying to figure out if I’ll self-publish or use an established publisher.) But you all are being very helpful with the title recommendations! If you haven’t voted yet, the survey is at...
Funding Joke
Tom Suddes of ForImpact.org recently posted this joke to his blog: "There is the story of a pastor who got up one Sunday and announced to his congregation: 'I have good news and bad news. The good news is, we have enough money to pay for our new building program. The...
Proper Use of Spam (revisited)
Just a reminder of the proper use of spam! When you're asking for money, please remember that email addresses are a priviledge. Don't fall into the trap of using email just because "it's so cheap." That kind of use could quickly devolve into spam. And, as the user...
Using Props
Even with the best preparation, asking for money can still be a bit nerve-wracking. Have you ever set up a solicitation appointment and gone to the meeting only to chicken out of asking? I’m sure it’s happened to each of us at least once. One of the best ways to help...
Book Title Vote Survey
Thank you to everyone who's responded to my Would you help me name my book? post! The response is so good, I'm having a challenge quantifying it. So I set up a survey at SurveyMonkey.com. At the risk of being a pain, would you vote again? This time at the survey? I...
FriendRaising by Hildy Gottlieb
CharityChannel.com's Stephen Nill just reviewed Hildy Gottlieb's newest book. I've enjoyed interacting with Hildy on the CharityChannel listservs. We even had the treat of speaking at the Hampton Roads Institute for Nonprofit Leadership this past January. Check out...
Amazing customer service
[Cross posted on my other blog, PursingPassion.com.] This week I bought some perforated paper at Quill.com. It was my first Quill purchase. When it came the next day (very fast), I saw that it was perforated in the wrong place. So I decided to return it. The return...
Reality Check
This morning I set time to start calling prospects to set up solicitations. And I found out I'm really good at distracting myself! I checked GoogleNews. Then I made a call. I remembered I needed to read an article on one of the people before I called. I printed out...
Would you help me name my book?
I'm in the process of finishing writing the first draft of my book on asking for money. I want the book to be a very readable, practical, and inexpensive tool that you can give to board members and other volunteers. Something that will demystify the process of...
Keep It Simple!
Despite my amazing ability to complicate things, I’m a firm believer in keeping things simple. Simplicity has a beauty of its own. Especially in fundraising. Asking people for money brings up all sorts of fears. Once a person overcomes those fears and starts trying to...
Are You Paying Tax On Your Charitable Gifts?
Here's an article I wrote last year around tax time. Perhaps you'll find it helpful. Are You Paying Tax On Your Charitable Gifts?
Calls to Action
The Chronicle of Philanthropy's report on the eNonprofit Benchmarks Study states that emails that "asked supporters to sign an online petition, send a message to a legislator or other decision maker, or take some other action generated responses from, on average, 10%...
eNonprofit Benchmarks Study
Finally a study that aims to create benchmarks and help nonprofits increase the effectiveness of using the Internet in their fundraising. You can download the free study at eNonprofit Benchmarks Study. Guess what, they too found out that fundraising emails delivered...
Tangibilitize Your Ask
So by now you've made your own gift and have been practicing asking for money ("would you consider a gift of $___"). Today let's look at something many of us forget: tangibilitizing the ask. While you probably won't find tangibilitize in the dictionary, you WILL find...
How to become a customer evangelism evangelist
For all of you committed to Creating Donor Evangelists but are having a tough time convincing your nonprofit, check out McConnell & Huba's post on How to become a customer evangelism evangelist!
2/12/2006 Judaisms of Jesus’ Time (Review of Luke 4-9)
Click here for the "Judaism in Jesus' Time" slide. [Update: Oops! This was supposed to go on the church blog! Oh well. Happy listening. *grin*]
Ask Yourself!
We're still in the midst of exploring the "ask"step in the Get R.E.A.L. asking for money process. Last time we've seen the importance of asking a specific amount and asking for a repeated gift next year. How are your solicitations going? Are you finding it easier now...
Question Marc
Thank you to all who've emailed me with questions for the new "Question Marc" section I'd like to start here on the blog. Please keep asking them (and give me permission to post them). Ask exactly the question you have, and I'll obscure the details so none of your...
Seth’s Blog: Flipping the Funnel–new ebook
Check out this Seth's Blog: Flipping the Funnel--new ebook. I just love his take on the getting the word out. Sounds a lot like my Creating Donor Evangelists but he's light years ahead of me. I'm not sure how I'll incorporate this in my day job. And I definitely don't...
Help Needed: Question Marc
I’ve received some terrific questions from EFE subscribers over the years. Most of these questions are ones that would help all of us improve our fundraising and our ability to relate to donors. So I’d like to explore a new feature on my blog called “Question Marc.”...
VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads
I'll be at the VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads conference THIS Friday. (Read the original post here.) Post a comment and let me know if you'll be there, I'd love to meet over coffee! UPDATE: The Hampton Roads Institute for Nonprofit Leadership Fifth Annual Conference was a...
Keep Asking!
"I'd like to ask you to consider a gift of $5,000 to the campaign." Did you practice the question? Is it rolling off your tongue? Keep on practicing. Then try adding higher dollar amounts. I was just speaking with a new colleague who told me a cool story. In a past...
Ask!
All fall, we've been working through the basics of asking people for money with the simple four-step formula: R.E.A.L. Research, Engage, Ask, and Love 'em. Now we begin focusing on "ask." Some of you may be wondering why it's taken so long to get here. After all, we...
Get R.E.A.L. Review
All fall, we’ve been working through the basics of asking people for money with the simple four-step formula: R.E.A.L. Research, Engage, Ask, and Love ’m. I love asking people for money! I hope that outlining a simple process like this will help get other people as...
Leadership Conference in VA
I’ll be speaking at the Hampton Roads Institute for Nonprofit Leadership Fifth Annual Conference on held January 27, 2006. Are you going? Or do you live in the Norfolk area? I'd love to connect over a cup of coffee while I'm down there. Drop me a line at...
Engage: Behind-the-scenes
I’m reading Emmanuel Rosen's "The Anatomy of Buzz." Very slowly. I’ve got it on my PDA and read it only when I don’t have any other book handy. But it’s well worth reading. Really. Last week, during a 70 minute failed attempt to give blood (they kept missing the...
The Charitable Impulse
I'm sitting in my office finally taking the time to read the Public Agenda Research Reports: The Charitable Impulse. This study interviewed donors and charity leaders to find out each others' perceptions. Reading the comments of donors versus the perceptions of...
Engage!
FUNDRAISING BASICS: Get R.E.A.L! Engage! All too often, we're totally backwards about asking people for money. Asking so fills us with fear that we put off the inevitable as long as possible. But at some point, our organizations goes into a financial crisis, and we...
In Charleston, SC
Good morning! Today I'm in a wet Charleston, SC at Blackbaud's Conference on Philanthropy. I'm learning lots already. (I've even was able to attend a Jars of Clay concert. Sara Groves and Chris Rice also performed. It was incredible. Ok, that may not be "learning" in...
Peer Reviews & the CPI Index
I. FUNDRAISING BASICS: Get R.E.A.L.! Peer Reviews & The CPI Index In our last edition, we were discussing some different ways to do the "research" step of the Get R.E.A.L.! Process (Research, Engage, Ask, Live/Like/Love). Now, let's look at two other Research tools:...