So, last week we talked about why we need to plan.   To refresh, we need to plan because it’s the best way you can meet that year-end financial target.   But it’s not just planning – it's formalizing a fundraising plan.   And there’s great value in developing a plan because you have all of your initiatives mapped out under one big umbrella.  Don't ya love beach umbrellas! Whether you do direct mail, special events (in person or virtual!), foundation grants...the list goes on...it’s all in one plan.   And developing that pla ..read more

Last week, we talked about the budget. Oh, those numbers can be tricky but they’re such a big piece of getting your fundraising plan solidified.   What’s next?   You pitch to the board to get their buy-in.    You’ve prepped everything   You created line charts to show revenue, expenses and projected growth  You know your numbers   You prepared a script  And the day comes for your pitch...  >>>>>>And they tear it up.  Well, not literally but they ask question after question and they don’t trust the numbers and you get fluster ..read more

You work a small- to mid-sized charity. You're the sole fundraiser or you have a small team. You're wearing multiple hats and fundraising is just one of them or fundraising is your only focus.  Whatever the case may be – what we know is this:   It’s your job to meet your fundraising target each year.   And how do you do that?   You plan.   And by plan, we mean plan your fundraising plan.   Let’s face it.   >>Some of us wing it and can meet that target at the end of the year but it’s pure luck.   >>Some of us put it in a budget and we kin ..read more

Before we launch into why you need a budget, I want to touch on the fundraising plan (cause why have a budget without a plan?).  Last week, we talked about the value of a fundraising plan. The week before, we talked about why it’s important to plan at all.  Here’s a bit of a recap...  The plan is where it all happens. So, when you carve out time to start writing your plan, you start by asking some questions - this list is not exhaustive.  What fundraising initiatives are you currently using that are working?   What fundraising initiatives ..read more

Multi-channel marketing: it sounds all fancy shmancy. And there are a lot of moving parts to it but here's what it really means: using a variety of marketing channels to reach your target audience. This can include direct mail, email, social media, paid social, paid search, telemarketing, traditional media like radio, TV... the list goes on... And it can be challenging when you’re the sole fundraiser to implement it. So why do it? Because increasing the number of channels or platforms you use will increase the likelihood that more people will pay attention to your message. It allows your organ ..read more

You know when you’re witness to a pivotal conversation? This is one of them.   Cathy Mann is joined by special guest, Sharon Redsky from Redsky Fundraising. Sharon is a resident of Winnipeg and First Nation member of Shoal Lake #40. She has extensive experience in working with Indigenous-led organizations and was awarded the YMCA-YWCA Women of Distinction, Community Champion Award in 2017.  Cathy and Sharon sit down to talk about resiliency, correcting disparities and the need for right relations.  Indigenous people have always been philanthropists and active in taking care ..read more

Cathy is joined by special guest, Maureen Lymburner from Home Again Furniture Bank, who wants to implement mini fundraising education sessions for her board. Maureen shares with Cathy that they have added new members to the board and are recruiting more. The educational sessions will help as the board members are coming in from different organizations with different levels of fundraising knowledge.  "Most hear the word fundraising and want to hide under a table!" But really, fundraising is about asking people to engage in important work and making change for their community ..read more

Oh data…we love you but why is our relationship a struggle sometimes? You know, every client we’ve ever worked with needed to work on their data. So if you feel like your data needs some work… You. Are. Not. Alone. Your database can do so many important things…if it is well configured. We have a lot of clients vociferously tell us just how bad their donor database is. When we ask a few more questions, we usually discover that they are using a not bad off-the-shelf donor database software system. But invariably, what we find when clients complain about their database is that the system was set ..read more

Oh man, today’s topic is so important! We’re talking thank you letters. They’re a critical piece to your fundraising mix but often, they’re either not done well or sometimes not even done at all. So, I’m going to answer the age-old question: how is a thank you letter like a drag queen? Doesn’t everyone ask that? Before I share a story, let me talk about why we even need thank you letters. Did you know that something like 60% of first-time donors do not make a second donation? And apparently, they say - they being the donors - that a simple thank you would change their minds and inspire ..read more

Have you ever heard of the old Zen saying: If you don’t have time to meditate for 5 minutes, then meditate for an hour. (ummmm….I can’t do that with my legs) Now, I’m not sure if you’ve ever tried meditating but when you are a fundraiser, you are b.u.s.y. And there are only so many hours in a day. And as a fundraiser, you have multiple projects that need to be worked on concurrently. You have… A direct marketing (DM) campaign that needs to get out A couple of big foundation grants (due around the same time as the DM campaign) A board meeting to plan for Giving Tuesday around the corner And a ..read more