Storytelling has become a hot topic in non-profit fundraising. It went from something that you almost never heard about just a few years ago, to the topic of numerous books, websites and conferences today. There’s a reason for this change: storytelling is extremely important to good fundraising. As fundraisers, we need to be carrying on a constant conversation with our donors. Sometimes this conversation happens in person or on the phone. Other times, we talk to our donors through newsletters, e-mails and snail mail letters. No matter how we are carrying on the conversation, a dialog like this ..read more

“Avoid GivingTuesday Like the Plague!” That headline didn’t create much of a stir when we first wrote the article in 2013. During a recent interview with the Chronicle of Philanthropy, I was asked if we still stand by those words. First off, can we agree that headline was pretty harsh? At the time, Giving Tuesday was new and unproven. Now, that we have 10 years of data to inform our opinions, we’re taking another look at the now established trend of Giving Tuesday fundraising. The verdict? Giving Tuesday puts a spotlight on philanthropy, which can’t be bad. But after looking at the data, there ..read more

This is a two part article on how to create fundraising systems for your nonprofit.  In Part 1, we will talk about what fundraising systems are and why they are important for development.  In Part 2, we will show you how to create systems at your organization. One Seriously Stressed Out Nonprofit Let me tell you a story.  It’s about a nonprofit I once worked with.  And this organization was in trouble.  They had one full-time development director on staff, but everyone – including the staff, the board, the volunteers, even the donors – was constantly worried about fund ..read more

An organization’s annual fundraising appeal letter is a yearly letter that gets sent out to your current donors asking for general operating funds for your nonprofit organization.  It usually gets sent to every donor in your donor file (or at least, every donor that has been active over the past several years) and normally gets sent out around the same time each year (the time of year differs by nonprofit, but once you pick a time of year, you normally stick with it). While not every nonprofit organization utilizes annual appeal letters, it has been my experience that most do.  The ..read more

Do you ever find yourself, your team, or your board of directors saying things like: “If we could just get this one big grant, we’d be set for the year!” Or, “I think we should hold a huge gala event.  If we raise everything we need now, we can focus on programs later.” Or, “I keep trying to set up a meeting with that big donor.  Why won’t he meet with me? If he could just hear about our work, he’d give us the million dollars we need to build our new building!  I’m just going to have to wait until he calls me back.” Statements of these are symptoms of a big problem at your non-p ..read more

The following is an excerpt from our class How to Find New Major Donors and Get Them to Give to Your Non-Profit. Who qualifies as a major donor prospect for your organization?  As you are looking for donors to make contact with and insert into your fundraising funnel, you don’t want to waste time.  Who can you truly call a “major donor prospect?”  Far too many organizations reply “everyone is a prospect” or “everyone with enough money is a prospect.”  This is a mistake that costs non-profits valuable time and resources. You Have Limited Resources – Don’t Waste Them! Let’s b ..read more

Last week, I was a panelist on an upcoming panel called “The Ins and Out of Grant Writing for Nonprofits” hosted by NXUnite!  I was thrilled to have an opportunity to speak to the work of The Fundraising Authority and my experience in the nonprofit industry.  Want to hear what I (and my fellow panelists) had to say?   View the presentation here. Thank you to NXUnite for hosting and to the team at Nexus Marketing for moderating! NXUnite connects leaders in the mission-driven space with the resources and people they need for their organization to thrive. From hosting panels w ..read more

How we say "thank you" matters Thanking donors and supporters is to essential any fundraising program. But, not all “thank you”s are equal. A well crafted “thank you” can add meaning to a donor’s life and deepen their connection with your organization. Most thank you letters describe the gift, the gift’s fund, and the organization’s mission and some nice words from the signer. Thank you letters connect best, when we the supporter not only understands your mission and the problem your work addresses, but demonstrate a direct connection between their support and improving the future for lives ..read more

How we say "thank you" matters Thanking donors and supporters is to essential any fundraising program. But, not all “thank you”s are equal. A well crafted “thank you” can add meaning to a donor’s life and deepen their connection with your organization. Most thank you letters describe the gift, the gift’s fund, and the organization’s mission and some nice words from the signer. Thank you letters connect best, when we the supporter not only understands your mission and the problem your work addresses, but demonstrate a direct connection between their support and improving the future for lives ..read more

What happens when your nonprofit uses an A.I. writing assistant for fundraising? You have probably never used an AI writing assistant, but you might want to start. Let me tell you about Fundwriter.ai because this tool has transformed the way I work, and I believe it will do the same for you… Have you ever been faced with writing something and wished that you had an assistant to do the work for you? Maybe you need to create an appeal for an email campaign, a proposal, or a new set of thank you letters. You’re at your desk just wishing that coherent sentences would magically start appearing. T ..read more