As a fundraiser, who do you consider to be your most important stakeholder? Think about it for a while. Actually, you probably didn’t need to think about for very long at all. You said donors, Read more…
I think it is quite ironic that most nonprofits and fundraisers have so much trouble with money. The ways we consider the money we raise and the money we spend are still measured and defined Read more…
Who’d have predicted the events of 2016? We’d all love a crystal ball to see what the next few years hold for us all. In relation to fundraising, here’s the next best thing. In autumn Read more…
Have you ever, in your first few months of a new job, asked a question and been told, “That’s just the way we do things here”? Have you ever been the person frantically multitasking to Read more…
I remember volunteering for Childline. Kids would phone, text or e-mail with all sorts of questions and stories – from horrific cases of abuse to completely nonsensical banter. Many calls were pranks…groups of kids phoning Read more…
I’m proud to call myself a Fundraiser. It’s who I am, it’s what I do, it’s kind of in my core. But there is a challenge. A donor really, really doesn’t want to be ‘fundraised’. Read more…
If the donor experience, not fundraising targets, should be at the heart of future fundraising strategies, how will our organisations achieve what they need? Some years ago I squirreled away a cryptic comment from a Read more…
If you are able to keep your donors longer, you will raise more funds for your cause. Simple as that. The simplest way I can explain it: We invest in our staff and our fundraising Read more…
Recently I ordered two pairs of shoes from an online retailer. There was a problem on the order confirmation and so I had to call the company to sort the issue out. In that ten Read more…
a.k.a. how much money would you raise if you knew anything meaningful about ‘your’ donors? Do you recognize her? She’s been on your house file for three and a half years now. Each month she Read more…
Imagine this. You’re in a meeting with a donor. So you’ve done the hardest part already: you got the meeting. This donor really wanted to meet with you and she actually invited you to her Read more…
I’ve stayed out of the current relationship fundraising debate, a little unsure what to say that I haven’t said many times already in the past 20+ years. But I found myself wondering why hasn’t the Read more…
Last week Jeff Brooks reminded his readers how to write an effective thank you to your excellent donors. In order to “thank your donors so they really feel thanked” you need to know the following Read more…
I once had a rather nice Italian linen suit. Back in the day when a rather baggy disheveled look was cool. Or so I thought at the time. One day when I went to collect Read more…
With so much concern about how the charity sector treats donors and those it hopes will become supporters, suddenly the donor is right there in the spotlight. What do donors want? How can we meet Read more…
Sooner or later, you’re going to get a donor like me. I’m that awful donor who expects to be thanked immediately, is quick to take offense, and won’t hesitate to contact you if I’m unhappy Read more…
There’s been a lot of discussion about supporter experience recently, and as a massive advocate of long term relationship fundraising, I’ve been asked several times about KPI’s and ROI’s on supporter experience. It’s not an Read more…
You can’t do that. **** Last week, Olive Cooke killed herself by jumping off the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol UK. The Coroner has not yet established the cause of death, but her family has Read more…
Let’s call the charity in question Mr. Big. After all, they are a household name, and I am sure you’d know them, but I’ve made a promise never to kiss and tell. We got off Read more…
This is the second of two blogs looking comprehensively, and provocatively, at the state of relationship fundraising In the last blog, we defined relationship fundraising, and looked at its implications, strengths and weaknesses. Today, we Read more…
or The ENORMOUS difference in value between ‘what’ and ‘why’ Charlotte and Emily have never met. They are the same age, live in the same area, have the same income, the same outgoings and the Read more…
“Oh no, no another post on retention” I can hear you crying…
Is it not something out of the Middle age of fundraising? Is it not really common sense?
A prompt acknowledgment and thank for the donation, a regular update on what the donation has helped to achieve (and don’t forget to ask again!) and voila the donors are ours forever, isn’t it like that? Not really. (more…)
Almost 10 years ago Roger Craver gave me the book Moneyball from Michael Lewis. I was excited, because I have played ball since I was a kid. I love baseball. The book is about the Read more…
So, you have a new donor. What now?
“My mother thanks you. My father thanks you. My sister thanks you. And I thank you.”
Yankee Doodle Dandy
It all begins with two magical words; thank you. Not hard to say. Someone has gone out of their way to send you a donation, so the least you can do is take the time to respond properly. Don’t treat donations as simply items to be processed, no matter how big your mountain of mail. (more…)
In the UK 2014 maybe the year that we finally come out of recession, but like all economic changes it will take at least two years truly to filter through to fundraising results and impacts. Read more…
