Are you a small non-profit who has stayed away from planned giving because you don’t think it is for your organisation? Or you don’t believe that you have the resources to conduct a campaign? Or you are just operating day to day trying to meet payroll with not an eye towards the long haul? I […]
It seems everywhere I turn these days, I hear of more budget cuts heading down the “turnpike” of non-profit funding. Just today, I read about the MA state House Committee on Ways and Means proposes yet another $1.2 million cut to arts, sciences and humanities in the FY13 budget. This is rather common these days. […]
Hmmm…”where do I even begin” is something I am sure that you have asked yourself many times as you contemplate dabbling in social media. Well it is my hopes that this feature will get you started out on the right foot. Here are the places that you at least need to start thinking about: Stake […]
Have you ever wondered if you should conduct a feasibility study for a Capital Campaign? Oftentimes, I have heard non-profit groups saying, “Let’s just start the campaign!” And, if you are a small nonprofit, I would urge against by-passing this important step. There is a lot more that you will find out above and beyond […]
I am often asked questions about donation catchment pages for non-profit websites. The questions range from: How can I make my donation catchment page on my website more appealing to donors? How can I get donors to take action once they are there? What are some best-case practices that I can use when designing my […]
Consultants play multiple roles in fundraising. Here is the top ten list! 1. Facilitator 2. Strategist 3. Coach, mentor, and cheerleader 4. Educator and informational expert 5. Problem solver 6. Partner 7. Communicator 8. Connector 9. Idea generator 10. Catalyst
Government funding was once the mainstay of many nonprofit organisations fundraising efforts. However, this has changed dramatically over the past several years as federal, state and local governments continue to struggle through the budget crises, often times slashing grants to nonprofits in the process. These cuts are even further amplified as foundations have less of […]
This week a prospective client asked me what is an endowment fund and can I get grants to fund it? That question stopped me dead in my tracks. When was the last time an organisation had thought about an endowment fund. Really an organisation needs to have a strong foundation in place first. Most organisations […]
I am not an attorney nor ever claim to be one, but, as a fundraiser I sure can offer you some advice! The first step in forming a nonprofit organisation almost always is forming a corporation. A corporation is an entity or an organisation that has legal standing. It’s established by a group of individuals […]
Direct mail. WE all do it, but, do we do it well? Direct mail is the workhorse of your fundraising program. It allows you to state your case for support, ask for a gift, and build your donor base. But, it does come at a cost. Why should it be the foundation of your program? […]
Have you ever wondered what the difference is between a board of directors and an advisory board? After all, a board is a board, right? Not always! Let me start of by explaining what an advisory board is. An advisory board is a group of individuals who have been recruited with the sole purpose of […]
Fundraising. Development. More often than not, when people hear these terms, their reactions range somewhere on the spectrum from “necessary evil” to “begging” to “selling.” In other cases, these terms conjure up notions of “the office that prints money in the basement.” While you may have found yourself thinking any or all of these things […]
Have you always dreamed of starting an organisation to help others? Do you have vision and passion, but, lack the “know how?’ See a need in your community but don’t know where to begin? Let me give you a few simple steps that you can make your dream of starting a non-profit organisation a reality! […]
The elusive major gift. The amount is different for each organisation. Some organisations might consider a major gift as $500 while others would consider one at $50,000. Whatever your major gift level is, the process to establishing a program is the same. And it all starts with growing your pipeline of prospective donors. First you […]
New to Twitter? Think that this is the place to be for your nonprofit, but, don’t know how to get started? Well, I felt that way too. But, I am going to share with you 5 steps that you can take to get your tweets off to the right start. Here is what I recommend […]
I was taking a glance at a non-profit newsletter today and a few things struck me about the content. Graphical design, I truly don’t care about. Some of the best non-profit engaging newsletters have limited graphical appeal. You can have all the flash and dash that you truly want, but, a pretty picture is not […]
Outsourcing fundraising! And, I don’t mean to India or China either. But, why can’t you outsource the low-end tasks of fundraising? Remembering the 80/20 rule, those in nonprofits with limited staffing need to be keeping their eye on the “prize” and working through the bigger things that will impact the bottom line and greater mission […]
What does the Pareto Principle have to do with fundraising? We oftentimes hear one say, that 80% of the gifts will come from 20% of the donors. Today, in fact, that is more like 90%/10%. But the Pareto Principle applies to much more than just donors and gifts. Have you ever wondered, “why do I […]
Have you ever wondered if you should conduct a feasibility study for a Capital Campaign? Oftentimes, I have heard non-profit groups saying, “Let’s just start the campaign!” And, if you are a small nonprofit, I would urge against by-passing this important step. There is a lot more that you will find out above and beyond […]
Are you operating your fund development without a long-range strategic plan? If so, you might be operating from a reactive crisis-driven position rather than a proactive visionary one. And, that in the long-term will hamper your fundraising success and just how much money you can raise. A long-range plan does not guarantee immediate success either. […]
Do you often time feel unsupported in your fundraising work? Does all of the program staff look at you with blank stares on their faces when you report your success? Do your board members have high expectations for you to bring in the money? Are your donors treated as merely donation ATM machines? If so, […]
Grant writing is an excellent strategy in the fundraising toolbox. Each year there are billions given out to worthy non-profits either through federal and state governments, corporations and private and family foundations. Here is what you need to have in place to raise money from grants to boost your fund development efforts. First things first! […]
A development audit is one of the first steps that a new professional to the field or a new non-profit should always undertake. In fact, all organisations should occasionally go through a fund development review to determine the strength of their development program. Why a development audit? As the number of non-profits grow by leaps […]
How many well-meaning non-profits skip the process of writing their case for support? My guess would be that many of them do. In doing so, they are by-passing one of the most critical foundational pieces of fund development. The case for support is the essential core of all of your development communication pieces and frames […]
