I raised $85,000 for an organisations in 7 months. How? Grant writing! I bet you didn’t know that was a skill set of DCS, oh but it is! In the past 7 months that I have worked with an elder care facility, I have been busy raising money through grants. In fact, lots of money. […]
In need of some “moves management” suggestions for your donors? Try some of these out: Follow up a thank-you call to a donor with a video or photos of your mission in action. Post videos of your mission in action on Facebook, and ask your donors to share and like it. Provide donors with meaningful […]
It has been almost ten years since I moved into my home. At times, I just can’t believe that it has been THAT long. Where does time go? I do know this, when I moved into my new home it was a monumental thing. I had neighbors knocking at the door, welcoming me, introducing themselves, […]
Why the P.S. in a direct mail appeal letter? Asked the Executive Director… And I say because it works! Direct mail appeal letter writing is not your average writing and there just happens to be a technical science behind it. For one, think about what happens when you read a letter that has a P.S. […]
Often wonder what it is like to be in a small fundraising shop? Exciting, exhilarating and yet tedious all at the same time. You need to be a generalist rather than a specialist. So your skills need to be broad and you need to know a great deal about many things within fund development. You don’t have […]
Does you board of directors give? This all important topic that is so hard to broach. First, lets start where it all starts… Does your organisation have board of directors expectations that you share with them even before they are elected? Do you have them sign and commit to those expectations? Do you evaluate them […]
I know, I know. The BOARD…we all seem to cringe when we hear that word. The board is the way the board is because… Perhaps the board is the way the board is because… we haven’t done our jobs. Whether as executive directors or development professions, we do have a job to do you know! […]
Whether part of an existing gift acceptance policy or a separate written document, your organisation should prepare a written description of the procedures for handling a gift of securities. Where is the organisation’s brokerage account? Who is the organisation’s broker? Who pays the broker’s commission? Who is responsible for overseeing the transfer of securities? How […]
“Different roads sometimes lead to the same castle.” – George R.R. Martin Are you diversified? If you have been a client of mine, you will know that I often talk about the need for diversity in fund development. organisations should not be totally reliant upon a few minimal streams of income especially special events. Many […]
I find myself sitting comfortably at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota waiting for the start of my second year Masters program in Philanthropy and Fundraising. I wanted to arrive a day early before everyone else. Unpack, settle in, and get acclimated to my new home for two weeks. Not a lot to do on a […]
Robert K. Greenleaf coined the term “servant leadership” through an essay that he first published in 1970. According to Greenleaf, “the servant leader is servant first…It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one […]
Before a capital campaign is conducted, it is imperative to determine an organisation’s capacity to succeed. Commonly this is usually done through an external feasibility study. However, I urge most non-profits that in tandem with conducting a market survey, they also, go one step further and conduct an internal audit or assessment of their own […]
It is almost two weeks now until I go away to school to complete my second summer residency for my Masters in Philanthropy and Fundraising. As I reflect back on my career, I am in awe. When I first started in development back in 1994, it was all by chance. I ended up working as […]
Shared from the Chronicle of Philanthropy For the second year in a row, charitable giving barely grew, rising by just 0.9 percent after inflation in 2011, according to today’s release of “Giving USA,” the annual yearbook of American philanthropy. The study estimated that the total donated was $298.4-billion as compared to $290.98-billion in 2010. The […]
Slow fundraising growth in 2011 comes nowhere near to erasing record historic losses—the deepest ever recorded in the report’s five decades—caused by the recession. Total charitable giving last year was still 11 percent below what it was in 2007, before the effects of the recession were felt. Donations to charities dropped by a total of […]
American charities that conduct development and relief work overseas were the only type of nonprofit to outpace inflation by a significant percentage, at 4.4 percent, while donations to environmental causes increased by 1.4 percent after inflation. Giving to every other type of organisation was either flat or declined. Religious organisations suffered the biggest drop, with […]
This week was a very busy week in my world. As I reflect back on it, the biggest “thing” that comes to mind over this past week is the question, “fundraising is it an art or is it science?” I say, it is both. A good fundraiser knows technique, strategies and skill. For instance, they […]
Throughout my career, I have found that it is oftentimes not fund development issues that impact the effectiveness of fundraising, but, larger organisational ones. After doing many development audits and assessments, I can say that the top items that are lacking within an organisation are: a vision for the future, a case for support, and […]
I often get asked by nonprofit organisations, what is the value of conducting a donor acquisition campaign? Well, if you are looking to make money, you probably will not at first. Donor acquisition mailings frequently do not pay for themselves. It is only when donors renew and increase their contributions that the donations from mail […]
If you say you don’t then you are missing out. Donors are like members of our family and they need to be treated like such. A welcome package for new donors is a great way to make them feel welcome and to show them that you are happy that they are part of your organisation. […]
How do you encourage your supporters to share your Facebook content within their own networks? When one of your Facebook fans clicks the “share” button under a wall post or a photo, that content will be posted to their own wall and shared with their network expanding your reach and helping to spread your message […]
Lately I have been approached by a number of different groups all inquiring about special events. So while I don’t necessarily overwhelmingly think that they are a great singular and isolated strategy in your fundraising toolbox, I do think that they have a place in an overall fundraising strategy. Only if done with the aim […]
I was recently approached by my local Catholic elementary schools to put together some thoughts about building an alumni base that could possible provide scholarship fund assistance. Some elementary schools have very robust elementary alumni efforts and some, like my particular community, are non-existent. These days, elementary schools are faced with the need to provide […]
Let’s face it, our donors are not ATM machines, nor should we treat them as such. These days the average thank you, well, won’t do the trick alone. Don’t you think for all that our donors make possible, that they deserve so much more? Here are some questions to ask yourself and your non-profit organisation: […]
quick fundraising ideas for nonprofit organisations
and crowdfund campaign to help you raise more money for your favourite cause. Many organisations when seeking to start their first development office do not which way to turn or where to start first. Far too many organisations often start and end with grant writing. They don’t get beyond this particular strategy. Quick Fundraising Ideas for Nonprofit organisations. It is year-end campaign planning time. Far too often I see organisations using a blanket approach with their donor base. With a few minor tweaks in their strategy, they can increase their revenues by a third, sometimes even double. >