There’s a gap between your organization and your donors. Savvy fundraising organizations know that donors don’t know as much about your beneficiaries or cause as your organization does. That donors often don’t care quite as much as you care. That donors often use different words and phrases than you would.  Savvy fundraising organizations know that the people on the other side of the gap are not likely to close the gap themselves.  Donors are quite happy as they are, thank you very much.  They don’t have a felt need to be educated, learn new jargon, or grow to an expert’s level ..read more

There are 6 main types of “asks” that I see in fundraising.  Let me tell you what they are, then make a couple of observations.  As I go through these, look for the type that your organization tends to use… More General Asks The ask is Organizational The donor is asked to support the organization. “Will you please support our work?” “Please join us as we…” “Will you partner with us?” The ask is Conceptual The donor is asked to do or provide something that’s a concept. “Will you please provide hope to a person” “You’ll help provide refuge…” “Will you walk alongside someone as they ..read more

Today I’m sharing a simple tool to stay in touch with your donors… an e-story. What’s an e-story?  It’s a reporting email for donors that’s short, simple, personal, and story-forward – written as though you couldn’t wait to share a story of success with a special donor. I challenge you to write an e-story (maybe right now?!) and share it with your donors this summer! Here’s the big idea: the email shares one story of success, one person your organization helped or one thing your organization accomplished. And here’s a template (I guess it’s more of an outline) to get you started! Dear < ..read more

This Independence Day we’re reminded of the line, “toward a more perfect union.” Not perfect, but trying to get better every year. Just like fundraising. Happy Fourth! The post Happy Fourth! appeared first on The Better Fundraising Company ..read more

Hey friend, I’m reaching out to you today because I want to encourage you. Being a fundraiser can be a difficult and lonely job. It’s a job where it often feels like nothing is ever truly done. The hours can be long and – honestly – fundraisers rarely hear these important words: Thank you – you are doing a GREAT job! Because you ARE doing a great job. Friend, you have chosen to do a job not many people can do. You combine your passion for your cause with your ability to invite donors to do something meaningful. You make a lot happen without a lot of resources. When things get tough, you dig in ..read more

There’s a phrase I see used in direct response fundraising that always has me scratching my head. Having access. For example: Your gift will make sure a child has access to healthy meals. Or your gift will help a cancer patient have access to treatment. Or your donation will make sure a student has access to education. I’m not sure why this language is so enticing to organizations, but “having access” doesn’t provide a compelling reason for a donor to give. And it’s just not language that regular people use in their everyday life. If you put on your donor hat, here’s something to puzzle over ..read more

We all want more people to just show up at our nonprofit, love what we do, and become donors for life.  Yet we all have “the donors who need to be convinced.”  The donor with a complaint who, after a real conversation, gives their biggest gift ever. The Foundation that just doesn’t get it… but once convinced, becomes your biggest fan. And we know those donors make a huge difference to the bottom line. It’s nicer when it’s easy.  It’s not convenient to stop what you’re doing to talk to someone with a complaint or questions.  It’s not efficient to email the foundation for the ..read more

You know how when you start making pancakes, the first couple of ‘em aren’t quite right? Either the batter’s too thick, or the pan isn’t hot enough, or that little brown ring around the edge of the pancake that you like doesn’t happen. The point is, you need to make a couple before you get everything dialed in, and then pancakes come out the way you want. Your fundraising is the same way. If you’re only sending a couple pieces of fundraising a year, there’s almost no chance they come out perfect.  Because each time you make one, it’s been so long since you made the last one that you just ..read more

As a fundraiser, it’s tempting to dream about something big and amazing that would change everything for your organization. A surprise million dollar gift. An unexpected bequest. A knockout appeal that shatters previous records. And, I’ll admit, you can do a lot of good when those big and amazing things happen. But there’s a simple tactic that nearly every fundraiser can employ that, over time, can be just as powerful. I call it “a little bit more” fundraising. Here’s the idea: Whatever you did last year, do a little bit more. For example, you could do one or more of the following: Add one or ..read more

A long time ago, at an Agency far, far away, I was part of a team that tested two phrases against each other to see which one worked better in an organization’s fundraising. Here are the two phrases: Your gift will provide clean water to a person Your gift will provide clean, disease-free water to a person The phrase that included “disease-free” was the clear winner – more people gave money and more clean water was provided.  (Apologies to my fellow nerds out there, this was 20-something years ago and I don’t remember the exact results of the test.  But I do remember it was statistic ..read more