Raising more money from your current loyal donors through repeat and best-ever gifts
What happens when you don't invest in donor acquisition?
Well, your organisation will face a declining donor base with the need to raise more money from fewer donors. With about 10% of donor bases naturally declining each year, the focus…
How to craft an effective and impactful plan for your next fundraising fiscal year
For many, as the calendars switch to spring, our organisations begin their budget planning season in preparation of a new fiscal year. As a result, development departments are often hard-pressed to come up budget sometimes right in the middle…
How to raise more money through fundraising special event corporate sponsors
What happens next after you develop your sponsorship prospect list for your next special event? Do you send them all the same letter? Do you make personal phone calls? To whom? How do you get in the door? Who should you ask first?
I…
How to take care of yourself as a busy nonprofit fundraising professional
It all happens to us. Time silently ticks away, and deadlines loom. And, then, BAM, out of the blue, a crisis occurs with a client, or some other proverbial "fire" starts burning. Perhaps it is a last-minute grant deadline suddenly arises,…
How to keep your small shop fundraising focus on your major donor work
After having served most of my career as a Director of Development in a small organisation, I understand the realities of trying to handle all of the major tasks and responsibilities that come up daily; plus the fires that seem to endlessly…
We’re growing our interim fundraising division to help YOU reach your possibility.
Let me share a story with you...
A few years back when I first started consulting, I provided organisations like yourself with strategic fund development audits and assessments and then crafted finely honed plans.
What I thought were roadmaps…
How to ensure a successful new nonprofit fundraising year
Now that it is January, you may think that it is time to relax a bit after that hectic holiday season. However, now is the time to ensure that you have strong follow-up to your calendar year-end appeal.
If you have closed out one fundraising…
How to create a manual that ensures your database stays clean and up to date
Now that December is here, I have been running many lists and queries and during those list pulls, I have noted inconsistent data in databases that have caused numerous complications during one of the busiest times of the year.
As a result,…
How to approach your major donors during your calendar year-end campaign
When organisations start to segment their calendar year-end appeal letters, they often start off with segmenting out active donors and non-active donors. Far too many organisations don't think of segmenting out their major donors for more…
How to follow-up on your calendar year-end appeal once it is mailed
Now that your calendar year-end appeal has gone out in the mail, what is left to do?
Well, if you take the "sit back and wait" approach you will be missing out for your organisation.
Here are some follow-up steps that you may want to consider…
How to ensure the health of your development program through your annual fund
Often, groups wonder, on what should I focus most throughout my annual fund?
Over the years, I have determined the most critical factors for ensuring that a development program is not only healthy but thriving.
The health of a development…
How to build your development program with special event attendees
Often, we get so caught up with the small event details at special events that we forget to think long-term. Just this week at a conference that I spoke at, I was asked, "How do I collect all the names of people who are attending my special…
