Is It Tax Time Yet?
If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you know that I don’t typically recommend sending monthly thank-you letters to monthly donors. Instead, I suggest you send one thank-you letter when they join, and in that, you explain that from now on, they’ll start receiving updates on how their gifts are making a difference. […]
Book Review: ’10 Simple Fundraising Lessons’
Over the holidays, I took some time to finish a few books in my stack of fundraising books to read. Trust me, I learn something every time, and I’ve been raising funds for years. Cover image of “10 Simple Fundraising Lessons” by Jim Eskin | Credit: Amazon Jim Eskin wrote a book on simple fundraising lessons, and […]
The Success of charity: water’s Monthly Donor Community
During the final days of the year, I was able to catch up on some presentations that had been sitting in my inbox. I was excited to hear Noah Barnett’s intro and the presentation by Viktoria Harrison, the co-creator of charity: water on the Virtuous Summit. It was, of course, tremendously inspiring for a monthly donor […]
Are You Still Using Return Address Labels?
By now, you probably know I love to organize. I have hundreds of direct mail and monthly giving examples scanned in. And over Christmas, I scanned in a huge box of family pictures. It’s all part of the downsizing and simplifying process my husband and I are going through. I must say, it’s tremendously liberating! […]
Encourage Donors to Give Through Donor-Advised Funds
You know I’m all for small monthly gifts, but two years ago I became intrigued with donor-advised funds, especially after I received some DAF-focused email newsletters from Jack Doyle from Amergent. I highly recommend reading them. Based on Fidelity’s “2020 Giving Report,” the number of donors who have a DAF has almost tripled over the past […]
Things We Are Thankful for This Weird Year
This guest blog was written by Jeff Brooks and posted by moceanic. The Thanksgiving holiday (this week in the US, last month in Canada, with other nations and cultures celebrating similar holidays at different times) is a special time for fundraisers. Because we live on thankfulness. Being thankful is good for you. It improves your […]
Where Would Sustainers Be Without Email?
Last week, I traveled to Europe to present a training on sustainers for an international group based in the Netherlands. Socially distanced and masked, of course, as the rules and lockdowns are even stricter than they are on Cape Cod. The good news is that I was able to visit my 86-year-old mom as well, […]
A Monthly Giving How-To: Use Donor Anecdotes and Your Numbers
Recently, several organizations asked me for help in making the case to provide an easier donation-processing experience for their donors. Especially during these difficult times, an extra investment may be hard to swallow and even harder to “sell” to leadership and the board. That’s why it’s really important to find all the ammunition you need […]
How Essential Is a Fundraiser?
A few weeks ago, I gave kudos to the post office, printers, mail houses, etc. But what I failed to do was give kudos to fundraisers. I recently spoke with John Jeffries, the founder of the New Canvassing Experience, a face-to-face fundraising agency focused on helping nonprofits find more monthly donors. We discussed how essential or non-essential fundraising really […]
Book Review: ‘Donor CARE’ by the late John Haydon
What a tremendous legacy John Haydon left us with his book, “Donor CARE: How to Keep Donors Coming Back After the First Gift.” Sadly, Haydon passed away earlier this year. While I never had a chance to meet him in person, we did talk by phone a few times. He had an amazing following with thousands of […]
