Five Ways to Cultivate Your Donors—Personally
We say you must have two personal contacts per year with each of your major donors. Here are five suggestions for the most personal and effective ways to keep in touch and develop a relationship with...
View ArticleThe Triple-threat of Successful Stewardship: Be Generous, Grateful… and Lazy?
Online Fundraising Change #7: Point More Than You BuildAt about this point in this series, you're probably wondering, "How the heck am I supposed to find time to do all this?" There are two answers for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How Strong Relationships Increase Fundraising Results
Online giving is skyrocketing, thanks in part to the many different ways donors can now give online -- nonprofit websites, donation portals, social networks, mobile. Photo Source: Big Stock PhotoOne...
View ArticleHow “Wow!” Experiences Create Lifetime Donors
Zappos.com is an online shoe and apparel store whose mission is to deliver happiness through a philosophy of providing exemplary customer service to WOW! customers. Ever wonder if your organization...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What Your Donors Aren't Telling You
What exactly are your donors thinking? Have you ever thought about the millions of thoughts running through their heads when faced with the opportunity to donate? Are they thinking certain things and...
View ArticleWhy "I'm Sorry" is So Powerful
I’ve had a lot of chances to practice apologizing, because I’ve made so many mistakes in my life. What’s been so interesting to me is that when I’ve made mistakes at work and publicly expressed...
View ArticleHow to Combat Donor Fatigue
Many organizations say: "We are a small nonprofit with a small, tired donor base. What can we do about donor fatigue?"The Answer? If you have a small, tired donor base, you're not alone. It bears...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The 3 Things Your Donor Thank You Must Do
Want to start the off on the right foot with your donors? Take the time to show your gratitude and to differentiate yourself in a way that advances your mission and deepens your relationships with...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Treat Your Donor Like Your Superhero
When someone makes a donation on your website, what do they get in return? Are you giving donors an earful about how great you are, or do you tell them about how great they are? Here are three dos and...
View ArticleThe 6 Keys to Donor Retention
If your favorite sportswear company is Nike, you're not alone: Seventy-percent of Nike's customers say they would buy a Nike product again. Unfortunately, the opposite is true for nonprofits, and 70%...
View ArticleClik here to view.
3 Special Ways to Show Your Donors Some Love
Sending thank you notes and providing tax receipts are important steps to building good donor relationships—but they're just the beginning. Here are three ways you can go above and beyond with your...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Fabulous Facebook Welcome: Arts of Life
I was pleasantly surprised by a message I received from Arts of Life, a Chicago-based nonprofit I recently "Liked" on Facebook:"Hi Caryn! Thank you for 'Liking' The Arts of Life! We do paintings and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
3 Things You Aren't Using Email For (But Should)
Have you mastered the monthly eNewsletter? Do donors receive gift receipts in their inbox? And do you send donor appeals via Constant Contact like it's no big deal. If so, it looks like you're ready to...
View ArticleYour Recurring Gift Cheat Sheet: 3 Tips for Boosting Donor Buy-In
Your monthly giving program is great way to reach smaller donors who aren’t comfortable writing a big check but are happy to give $10 or $20 per month. Are you maximizing its potential or just hoping...
View ArticleThe Art and Science of Donor Relations
What’s your donor retention rate? At the average U.S. nonprofit, the percentage of first-timers who come back to give again the next year is just 27%. We’re losing seven out of 10 new donors every...
View ArticleBe Your Donor Day
I used to be Donor Services Supervisor for a large nonprofit, which meant my department was largely responsible for how donors were treated. A month into my new job (and I'm embarrassed it took me so...
View ArticleClik here to view.
3 Ways to Improve Your Next Fundraising Appeal
One of the major obstacles you can run into while fundraising online is sending out the wrong message. This is known as the "it's all about us" disease. Many nonprofits fall into this category, where...
View ArticleHow to Cultivate Donors Online: The “Field of Dreams” Problem and How to Fix It
In your quest for online fundraising supremacy you may fall into "The Field of Dreams" syndrome: "If you build it, they will come." That sentiment is completely false when it comes to online...
View ArticleNew Donor Bonding: The Amazing Value of Loyal Donors
New donor acquisition is the life blood of your organization. In order to grow, and reap the benefit of increased revenue, you must acquire more new donors each year than you lose plus more to fuel...
View ArticleThe Seven Things Everyone Wants: What Freud and Buddha Understood about...
There are seven deep human needs to remember when creating nonprofit campaigns. (These are not to be confused with Maslow's hierarchy of needs!) The old marketing and fundraising playbooks don't work...
View Article
