While you no doubt want more donors of all sizes, you especially want loyal donors who make above average size gifts. Because that’s where you’ll get the greatest return on your investment. Today, let’s talk about major donors. Why? They account for the lion’s share of all contributed income. Studies show over 88% of all funds raised come from just 12% of donors. You get a huge bang for your buck from an individual major gifts program, which costs you roughly 10 cents on the dollar vs. 50 cents or more on the dollar for special events fundraising and actually losing money o ..read more

The world reacted with shock and outrage. There was a pervasive feeling of “how could this happen here?” People screamed… cried… prayed. This was five years ago. Last spring. When a fire wreaked devastating damage to something that, for many, represented the soul of a nation. And more. Notre Dame Cathedral is iconic and symbolic.  It’s much more than a cathedral and historic building.  It means a lot of things to a lot of people.  The nature of that meaning may differ from person to person, but… people really care about its existence. When its very existence was threatened, thi ..read more

In the 1967 movie “The Graduate,” some of you may remember the scene where Mr. McGuire takes Dustin Hoffman’s character, Benjamin, off to the side and says “Plastics … there’s a great future in plastics.” Little did we know… While that turned out poorly for the planet, there’s a similar word that could be the future for nonprofits. And the sage who’s offering it up is none other than the inimitable Seth Godin. Plasticity It’s pretty easy for some kids to switch gears. They can go from sad to ebullient in seconds, and switch contexts without much fuss. Others have more trouble. As we get olde ..read more

Today I’m writing about something that’s not fundraising or nonprofit marketing strategy per se. It’s more about how to have hope – and take action – during times that may feel hopeless. For most of us, we’ve perhaps never been in more perilous times during our lifetimes. For a host of reasons. And it’s not just in the United States. The world has been veering towards more authoritarian, less egalitarian, rule for a while now. Existential risks are all around us. If it’s not democracy or civil rights on the line, it’s depletion of the ozone, global warming and the food supply chain. Or it’s pa ..read more

Feeling a bit overloaded? It’s the new plague. And a highly contagious epidemic, from which no one is immune. Are you showing any symptoms? I feel like: I’m working all the time, but not getting that much accomplished. I’m working on 10 projects at once, but none get finished. My ‘to-do’ list never gets completed. I’m in meetings all day and don’t have time to work. I bring my laptop to meetings and pretend to take notes while surfing the web. I’m answering email all day and don’t have time to work. I answer email during conference calls and in meetings. I have less and less time to plan, no ..read more

Once upon a time I let folks know I’d “finagled” a discount for them. After one reader told me the word “finagle” means “to obtain something by devious or dishonest means,” I sent an apologetic “Ruh Roh” email. I received a lot of forgiving (thank you!) feedback. Many kindly supported my initial use of the word “finagle.” Apparently, there is more than one definition of finagle. Susan sent me this: finagle (third-person singular simple present finagles, present participle finagling, simple past and past participle finagled) (transitive) To obtain,  ..read more

This is a great month to do something you’re proud of. And to support others who are showing their spirit and pride. Actually, every month is good for these things! Which, as it often does, brings me to share a bit of wisdom from the sage Seth Godin. Simple five step plan for just about everyone and everything The number of people you need to ask for permission keeps going down: Go, make something happen. Do work you’re proud of. Treat people with respect. Make big promises and keep them. Ship it out the door. When in doubt, see #1. — Seth Godin What do you have to be proud of? Think about ..read more

Everything I learned about saying “thank you” I learned from: My mother. Miss Manners. Penelope Burk. According to Burk’s research from Donor-Centered Fundraising, more than 80% of thank you letters start with “Thank you for your generous gift of…” or “On behalf of the Board of Directors, thank you for your generous gift of…” Y  A  W  N Want to stand out? Want your donor to actually read your letter? Want your donor to feel good about the decision they made to invest in you? Want your donor to feel warm and fuzzy inside? Want your donor to say “Aw, that’s SO nice!” Want your ..read more

I’m going to guess “yes.” I’m sure some will hate me for saying this, but after 30+ years in the nonprofit trenches and another 10+ as a coach and consultant, I’m still amazed at how small many of us think. In 2008 during the big recession, and 2020 during the pandemic, all I heard was cut, cut, cut.  No one wanted to talk about how to grow, grow, grow so that more (not less) needs could be met.  Yes, some efficiencies were created.  But did they result in sustainable organizations? Not so much. Too many organizations are just limping along. What puzzles me is how much the nonpr ..read more

For at least the past seven years I’ve been actively encouraging nonprofits of all stripes to prioritize beginning or ramping up their monthly giving program. Not a lot of nonprofits were really leaning into this then. But, as much sense as it made then, it makes even more sense now. So, I’m going to ask you: How are you doing with this? Here’s why I’m asking. If there’s anything the pandemic years have taught us,not to mention recent climate-related disasters, you need a dependable source of income in order: To be able to sustain programming for problems that never go away. To be able t ..read more