The Early Bird, Time Travel, and Better Grantwriting
Did you ever hear the proverb the early bird gets the worm? When I was a kid, I was very, very literal. I decided that if the early bird got the worm, I had no desire to be that bird! From that came my habit of sleeping in. But now I know better and can apply this...
Are you a BFF?
I've been seeing a disturbing trend of late: a sharp rise in what I call are BFFs: blunt force fundraisers. Nonprofit leaders willfully skipping planning to jump straight to asking. As the author of Ask Without Fear!®, you know I am an advocate for asking. But the...
Can you fundraise in the face of disasters like Hurricane Harvey?
In this morning's note to my weekly Fundraising Kick coaching email subscribers, I offered two ways to respond to a tragedy like the devastation people are experiencing in Texas because of Hurricane Harvey. This message is so timely, I am sharing it here as well. If...
3 Common Capital Campaign Mistakes
Capital campaigns are a wild roller coaster ride of vision-fueled excitement followed by long stretches of slow. slogging. work. The slow parts require incredible discipline to stay on course. I know because I’ve helped run 18 capital campaigns at schools,...
Upcoming Events
I'll be on the road quite a bit this fall. If you'll be at one of these events, let's try to meet up! Atlanta - August 14 - YNPN 2017 I'm looking forward to giving leadership trainings on taking charge of your own career. They've let me offer a $30 discount to people...
The danger of seeking 100% online giving
Online giving definitely is growing. And if you listen to the growth statistics, you may feel you can fully fund your organization using online giving tools. If that's you, stop. Seriously. When something grows from 1% to 2% it's 100% growth, but it's still not the...
Are you just putting out fires?
Here's the text of an email I sent to subscribers of the free #FollowUpFriday email list. Versions of this process helped keep me sane as a fundraiser so I thought I'd share it here. Good morning! Yesterday I felt overwhelmed by the demands on my time. Projects...
It’s not about scaring, but caring
I recently blogged about a storytelling tip for nonprofit leaders that I learned from Kindra Hall. The tip is especially powerful in nonprofit fundraising. Kindra took the millenia old story structure - beginning, middle, end - and reframed it as normal, explosion,...
Nonprofit Payment Processing: The Ins and Outs
Passion may be a key player in determining a nonprofit’s success, but without the necessary funds to make it happen, your nonprofit will only get so far in making a difference. That’s why in order to gain real traction with donors, your nonprofit must first set up a...
Are there other ways to fund your nonprofit?
Have you ever been asked by a board member, "Isn't there some other way of funding our work rather than asking for money?" Or have you thought that yourself? Well, NonprofitHub's CEO Randy Hawthorne says, "Yes!" He is experienced at generating revenue for his...
Is fundraising hurting itself?
Today, the fundraising think tank Rogare published "Less Than My Job's Worth." In this important "green" paper - a paper created for discussion - Rogare's director Ian MacQuillin exams the questions "is fundraising a profession?" and "does it matter if fundraising...
No donor wants to make a donation
Years ago, I wrote about Zig Ziglar teaching that nobody wants a drill. He said millions of drills are sold every year. But no one wants a drill. They want a hole. The same is true with donors. No donor wants to make a donation. Donors want the value the donation will...
Don’t put off fundraising planning to the fall!
Summer. It stirs up thoughts trips, outdoor activities, and school break. A pause in the normal routines of life. Even though we're no longer in school, we still let that "summer mentality" affect us. Rest is good. But taking a break from fundraising in the summer can...
The conundrum of corporate gifts
Last week, I was able to listen to a terrific discussion from business leaders about how their organizations make corporate gifts to charities. It's always good to hear the thought process of donors. But it sometimes raises more questions than it settles. Seeking...
Even in email fundraising location matters
Effective email fundraising can seem like a mystery. As a nonprofit, you take a lot of time to craft your email. You balance images with words. And you often build up to the ask. Unfortunately, donors aren't reading your emails like they read a book! They're skimming....
Help for funding your ministry
We've never met anyone who got into ministry to raise money. Most people sense God's call and start doing service in some area. People are excited for them and encourage them. In the initial rush of excitement, if money even comes up, they try to brush off the thought...
Is there plenty of room on your fundraising island?
As a nonprofit leader, when was the last time you recommended another nonprofit? Plenty of room on the island A while back, Seth Godin wrote about there being plenty of room on the island. He observed that authors regularly recommend other authors even though an MBA...
Why I don’t like crowdfunding
Speaking at a conference recently, fundraisers kept peppering me with questions related to fundraising. Some of those in the audience balanced their entire annual budget on a crowdfunding campaign. That is plain crazy. Yes, crowdfunding has opened up philanthropy and...
Do You Need a Really a Nonprofit Mentor?
The nonprofit sector is a strong and vibrant community full of people willing to help each other out. And now more than ever, it’s important to come together and work as allies and mentors. The value of being mentored seems pretty obvious: new skills, confidence,...
Tithing from the IRA Rollover
Charitable Gift IRA Rollover: The Past In 2006 I was visiting with a donor who was very excited about the recent Pension Protection Act that enabled him to give from his IRA to charity. The Charitable Gift IRA Rollover allowed many donors like him to give a Qualified...
7 Year-End Fundraising Practices That Work All Year
Year-end fundraising is a bountiful time in the life of the nonprofit. Giving Tuesday and holiday-themed asks are just the beginning of the strategies that nonprofits employ for the end-of-year season. But many of these practices are too beneficial to reserve for the...
The missing link in fundraising programs
Whether your fiscal year starts now or is only part of the way through, January is a good time to evaluate your fundraising progress. To help you're planning, here's an email I sent our Fundraising Kick subscribers yesterday. Good morning, Kickers! Listening to a...
3 Great Fundraising Webinars to Kick Off 2017!
These three trainings will get your 2017 fundraising and goal setting off to a great start! The 7 Habits of Highly Ineffective People & How to Beat Them (free) Join neuropsychologist Dr. Theo Tsaousides as he teaches us about the 7 blocks the brain puts in the way of...
3 things to do now that #GivingTuesday is over
I've been glad to hear of my clients' #GivingTuesday success. Matching gifts and leveraging peer-to-peer approaches seem to be the most effective reasons for their success. But #GivingTuesday is over, now what? 3 Post #GivingTuesday Suggestions Start planning 2017's...
Educating donors is not fundraising
I've been hearing a well-meaning but fundraising killing myth while talking to many groups and training many boards over the last few months. It boils down to: "We need to do more education. If people really knew what we did, they would give money and our funding...
How to Use a Street Team to Enhance Your Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is a term you hear thrown around in both the nonprofit and for-profit worlds these days, but few people have really grasped—and put into practice—exactly what it is. The way I’d define crowdfunding is with these three words: online social fundraising....
Thank You Script for Calls
Research has shown that board members calling donors to do nothing more than say “thank you” for their gift can increase donations by a full 25%! Nonprofits get the best of both worlds. Board members don’t need to ask for money but can rest assured that their effort...
Developing a Plan to Approach Companies
Perhaps you already have a list of companies that could donate to your organization. If not, we’ll be helping you with that in our December 6 webinar. Once you have that list, the next step is to determine who the real decision makers are in each company and how you...
Only 6 Nonprofit Storytelling Conference tickets left – #npstoryconf
Only 6 more tickets left to the conference helping attendees double and triple their fundraising and marketing results!
Improve Donor Stewardship with These 5 Proven Strategies
To successfully retain donors, nonprofits need to invest time into cultivating and maintaining long-lasting relationships, from the first donation onward. With a concrete donor stewardship plan in place, donors will feel more valued and invested in your nonprofit....