Your Board Can Make a Difference This Holiday Season
When it comes to fundraising, nonprofit board members are often an underutilized resource. That’s not necessarily because they aren’t interested in helping. In many cases, board members care deeply about the mission but aren’t entirely sure what they can do to help. And for some, the idea of personally asking someone for money can be […]
Make Your Holiday Message Matter
Thanksgiving and Christmas are special times for nonprofit organizations. People are thinking about gratitude, generosity, family, compassion and helping others. For missions and ministries, these themes often connect naturally with the work being done every day. But the holidays also bring an extraordinary amount of competition for attention. Donors receive appeals from numerous organizations. Email […]
Giving Tuesday and Year-End: Time for the Final Check
Giving Tuesday is just weeks away, and December 31 will be here before we know it. For most nonprofit organizations, major decisions about year-end fundraising should already be made. Campaign themes have been selected, appeals are being prepared and fundraising goals have been established.But even the best plans deserve one final review. Now is the […]
Is Your Website Ready for Year-End Donors?
Before you send more people to your website this fall, experience it the way a donor does. Here is a simple assignment. Take out your phone, go to your organization’s website and make a donation. Don’t just look at the donation page. Start where a prospective donor might start. Visit the home page. Find the […]
Your Year-End Stories Start Now
The best December fundraising stories shouldn’t be discovered in December. What story will you tell donors this Thanksgiving? What about Giving Tuesday? Christmas? Your December year-end appeal? If you don’t know, now is the time to find out. Stories are among the most powerful tools available to nonprofit fundraisers because they turn an organization’s mission […]
The Reporter Called. Now What?
How your organization responds can determine whether the media calls again. Last month, we encouraged organizations to begin cultivating relationships with local reporters before the busy fall season arrived. What if the phone rings tomorrow? Getting media attention is valuable, but being prepared to respond when an opportunity presents itself is just as important. Reporters […]
Don’t Let Summer Donors Go Cold
A thoughtful cultivation plan can turn a first summer gift into a lasting relationship. Take a look at the people who made their first gift to your organization this summer. Some may have responded to an email. Others may have attended an event, supported a friend’s fundraiser, encountered you on social media or simply discovered […]
Meet the Media Before You Need Them
This is a great time to start building relationships that can help tell your story this fall. When nonprofits think about media relations, it is often because they have something they want to publicize. An event is coming up. A fundraising campaign is launching. Giving Tuesday is approaching. The organization has an important announcement and […]
The 48-Hour Thank-You
A prompt acknowledgment tells donors their generosity matters, and so do they. Someone makes a gift to your organization on Monday. How long should it take you to generate a receipt? Ideally, no later than Wednesday. Generating a receipt and acknowledgment within 48 hours of receiving a gift is a good standard for nonprofit organizations. […]
Welcome New Donors Like They Matter
Every year, missions invest significant time and resources acquiring new donors. Yet once that first gift arrives, many organizations immediately shift their attention to the next campaign. The challenge is that donor retention doesn’t begin with a second gift. It begins with the first experience a donor has after making the first one. Think about […]