Creating a “Grateful Resident” Fundraising Program
If you have ever worked for a non-profit senior residential community, you know the importance that the residents play as a prospective donor constituent audience. It is they, and their families, who are the "warmest" potential prospective…
Planning your first fundraising cultivation event
Cultivation events are great ways to begin to qualify prospective donor relationships and deepen already existing donor relationships. Cultivation events should be a part of any individual giving.However, when first getting started with…
How a matching gift challenge can boost your fundraising donor acquisition and retention rates
Matching gifts offer an excellent way to help organisations raise more money to fund their missions than they ordinarily do on their own. This type of gift program gives donors a sense of immediacy and urgency to their giving.A matching…
Measuring your fundraising programs acquisition and retention metrics
While there are some relatively simple measures for evaluating the effectiveness of your fundraising program, such as Return on Investment (ROI) and the fundraising numbers, you often need to go beyond that to determine the long-term health…
How to acquire new prospective donors while reactivating lapsed ones
According to recent findings in the 2018 Fundraising Effectiveness Project, The Agitator points out that "The warning signs are there – decreasing numbers of new donors and decreasing reactivation rates of lapsed donors."We are apparently…
How to create sponsorship opportunities for your fundraising event
So, you have an upcoming special event and you want to seek sponsors, and now you are wondering how to develop sponsorship opportunities that make sense and that inspire businesses to support you.Well, when I advise my clients on how to…
How to pack your annual operating expenses into a family of funds
Have you ever wondered if all you can ask for is general operating support? Or perhaps, you asked how you could offer different projects for your donors to support without creating restricted donations?I recommend to my clients that they…
How to Find New Major Donors for Your organisation Using an “Inside Out” Prospecting Approach
Soliciting new donors, much like growing your major gifts portfolios and upgrading mid-level donors to give more, should also start with those you already know. Prospects can be hiding in plain sight. It is after you’ve culled through…
How to develop nonprofit membership levels that inspire giving
If your nonprofit organisation has a membership component to it, you may have found that individual’s membership levels remain the same year after year. Or, members seem to be choosing one specific level over another, time after time.What…
How to develop Giving Societies for your non-profit fundraising program
Giving societies can be an excellent way to cultivate, steward, and upgrade donors in your organisation. Some giving societies focus on level, monthly, major, and legacy donors. Generally, non-profits set up various groups at different giving…
How to follow up after a fundraising cultivation event
The cultivation event was a starting point. It’s what you do after the event that counts when it comes to donor cultivation and building sustainable relationships with your attendees. Event follow-up is the critical element to starting…
How to evaluate your fundraising grants management program
The many factors that affect grant writing success are incredibly diverse. They include such things as the reputation and professionalism of the organisation; the quality of the program or evaluation design; the qualifications of proposed…
