The 4 Donor Groups You Need to Contact Before the End of Year
As we've been approaching the end of year, my coaching clients are asking me to help them prioritize their major gift fundraising contacts. Here are some of the ideas I share with them. 1. People who gave in November or December in 2014 but haven't yet this year These...
How to not bore your donors to tears
Do you fear your donors are bored with you? Here's some good news: with all the holiday parties at this time of year, you have virtual laboratory for learning to be interesting! How to be interesting to your donors In his classic How to Win Friends and Influence...
Averting the coming nonprofit leadership crisis – a study
We've been inspired to launch a nonprofit leadership survey. Last month's post on fundraising problems being leadership problems really hit a nerve. And it's no wonder. Charities are getting hit hard from outside pressures but based on my experience with the coaching...
5 Amazing Prospect Research Tools to Learn More About Your Current Donors
I'm pleased to welcome back Bill Tedesco, founder and CEO of DonorSearch, my favorite prospect research tool. I love how easy they make it for nonprofits to do the research that helps you treat your donors well and raise the money you need to fund your mission. In...
Enter into the DONOR’S story
Last week at the Blackbaud conference, I heard yet another story of good fundraising letters being eviscerated by marketing. Unfortunately, it happens all the time. A fundraiser studies her craft, reads the results of fundraising tests, and creates a compelling...
2 morning tasks to super charge your nonprofit social media strategies #bbcon
At Blackbaud's Conference for the Philanthropic Community in Austin this week, I got to hear Austin Graff share tips from his experiences with IJM (International Justice Mission) and Honest Tea. He said two things that are super simple and super powerful for making...
4 Questions to Answer for Monthly Giving #bbcon
I'm attending the last day of BBCON - Blackbaud's Conference for the Philanthropic Community and just got to here an amazing 15-minute session by Brady Josephson. He outlined the four questions you need to answer when setting up your monthly giving program. Here they...
Fundraising problems are LEADERSHIP problems
A couple weeks ago, I shared a story with nonprofit executive directors who get my Fundraising Kick coaching emails. It's important enough that I want to share it with you too. In September, I was privileged to keynote for the Utah Nonprofits Association. My talk was...
The right use of “we” in fundraising
This morning, I read a great post by Terry St. Marie called "The Critical First Step For Great Leadership: The Journey From 'I' to 'We'." His movement from ego-centricity to inclusiveness is something as critical in fundraising as it is in leadership. Normally "we" is...
Declare today – Follow Up Friday!
This morning, I was inspired by reading "The Ball is Always in Your Court" on the ForImpact.org blog. So I'm declaring today Follow Up Friday. In the post, Tom Suddes says that of the three parts of any ask, the follow up is the most important. I agree. In fact, I...
Is your fundraising letter as effective as this bag of coffee?
I like reading obscure things: prefaces to books, notes on receipts, credits after movies. So it's no surprise that I read the marketing message on the new bag of East African coffee my wife bought for us to try. What I read on this coffee bag blew me away Seriously....
A surprising way to increase planned gifts
I love that we live in a time of actual research of fundraising. We're finally moving beyond anecdotes to verified research by groups like the Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy. (In the interest of full disclosure: I am on the Advisory Panel for the think tank...
![[Guest Post] The Most Important Story Fundraisers Can Tell – and it’s probably not one you’ve thought about](https://cdn.fundraisingcoach.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/02230753/VanessaChase-200w.png)
[Guest Post] The Most Important Story Fundraisers Can Tell – and it’s probably not one you’ve thought about
Today, I'm honored to introduce you to Vanessa Chase. Vanessa is a storytelling training powerhouse. Fundraising Coach blog readers may remember her from last year's Stewardship Tutoring Hour. I regularly share Vanessa's tips and blogs in my coaching with clients and...
Upcoming Nonprofit Leadership Talks & Training
Are you in Orlando, Salt Lake City, Austin, Seattle, or Kansas City? I'll be coming to each and would love to get together. Most of my work is private, with individual executive directors and their nonprofit teams. But I also love giving leadership and fundraising...
How To Tell a Powerful Fundraising Story
We've all heard that science proves stories are more powerful than statistics. Kendall Haven's book Story Proof: The Science Behind the Startling Power of Story goes into great detail about hundreds and hundreds of studies. We've seen storytelling seminars for...
Happy National Bow Tie Day!
I love National Bow Tie Day! I knew I'd worn bowties since kindergarten but a while back, my mother found a picture of me wearing a bow tie when I was 3 years old! It seems that my father went through a brief bow tie phase back in the 1970's. I must've caught it from...
![[Guest Post] Telling Your Story In the Grant Proposal Budget](https://cdn.fundraisingcoach.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/02230757/DianeHLeonard-200w.jpg)
[Guest Post] Telling Your Story In the Grant Proposal Budget
I'm thrilled to introduce you to Diane H. Leonard, GPC. Diane is an accomplished grant professional who's been providing provided grant counsel to nonprofit organizations of all sizes for over a decade. Since starting her firm - DH Leonard Consulting & Grant Writing...
Are you giving donors the right clues?
When we're close to a system or procedure, we just assume everyone else knows what we know. We do this all the time with donors and board members. It's like we've set up a system of roads but only put half the road signs up. I explain more in this short video. (I...
![[Guest Post] Communicate More Often to Renew More Donors](https://cdn.fundraisingcoach.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/02230759/dennisfischman.jpg)
[Guest Post] Communicate More Often to Renew More Donors
Today's guest post is by Dennis Fischman. Dennis is the creator of the Communicate! blog, dedicated to helping nonprofits win loyal friends and getting the support they need. In this post, he shows you how to use what you already have to communicate in multiple...
[Guest Post] Communicate More Often to Renew More Donors
Today's guest post is by Dennis Fischman. Dennis is the creator of the Communicate! blog, dedicated to helping nonprofits win loyal friends and getting the support they need. In this post, he shows you how to use what you already have to communicate in multiple...
62 Books to put on Your Nonprofit Leaders Summer Reading List
It's August. If you're like many nonprofit leaders, this is the month of the last minute scramble to get out of the office and grab some vacation. As you're looking to go, consider taking a book with you. And since you're a nonprofit leader, I'd suggest you make that...
Sharpen your saw this July
July can be an odd month in fundraising. Many nonprofits finish their fiscal year, so this is the first month with a new goal. Starting from zero. Even those that don't have fiscal years starting, July is often a challenging month. Donors tend to be less responsive....
How your nonprofit got into its fundraising mess
When people join a nonprofit or start one, they typically think they're going to get to do the "mission" - feeding kids, promoting art, conserving land, caring for the elderly, protecting animals. They rarely think about the funding. (Oddly, many fundraisers often...
[Guest Post] 9 Shocking Stats that Should Convince Your Church to Start Using Mobile Giving Today
Today I am pleased to introduce you to Tithe.ly and Dean Sweetman. Many of you know, I've pastored a church for years. We were early adopters of online giving because I knew people should be able to give when they were doing bills at home if they wanted. I wish there...
Thank you for connecting donors with mission
Happy New (fiscal) Year! For many FundraisingCoach.com readers, today - July 1st - is the start of a brand new fiscal year. The amount raised starts at zero but the goals are set higher. As fundraisers, we rarely get thanked, and that's fine. The nature of our work...
Donor Fatigue – the rest of the story
In his recent post, Jeff Brooks agreed with my "Donor Fatigue" video. And he went a step further. Like a newly minted Paul Harvey, he tells “the rest of the story.” Fundraiser Fatigue I love his concept of “fundraiser fatigue”! He says that we get tired of saying the...
Charitable giving grows again!
The new GivingUSA report is out. The estimates of last year's giving, the most recent on record, appear to be the best in the 60 years of tracking. As a sector, we are still impressed by low-growth. But 5% growth is better than no growth! According to GivingUSA's...
Are you stuck in “professional” mode?
Today I wore a t-shirt...to make a point! As a nonprofit leader, it's so easy to be "on" all the time. Especially if you live in a small town. I used to spend more time than I'd like to admit wondering if I should get back into "professional" clothes before I went to...
The Red Cross and Glass Houses
"Why can’t you tell us where you spent the money and what your expenses were? You obviously have that information. Why can’t the public see it?" - NPR's Laura Sullivan to Red Cross' David Meltzer Last night, I was shocked and spellbound to hear NPR devote an entire...
![[Guest Post] Crowdfunding – Not the Hail Mary You Think](https://cdn.fundraisingcoach.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/02230812/20150507.Crowdfunding101WorkshopDepositaGift.com-forblog2.jpg)
[Guest Post] Crowdfunding – Not the Hail Mary You Think
Today it's my pleasure to introduce you to Dana Ostomel, the founder of Deposit a Gift.com. Deposit a Gift allows anyone - nonprofits, schools, or individuals - to raise money and even sell tickets to benefit events. I love that Dana's background is in marketing....