Category: Fundraising
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The biggest barrier to effective major donor fundraising
What’s the biggest barrier to organizations launching an effective major donor program? My three nominees are: • Lack of connections • Lack of time • Lack of skills Let’s discuss…
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No magic words, but themes matter
I was recently asked by a nonprofit leader whether there are certain words or phrases that the organization should be sure to utilize in major donor fundraising because they tend…
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The Science behind Storyelling
Here’s a really quick, but useful read about the science that explains why fundraising via storytelling is more effective than relying on statistics to mak your case. Why Your Brain…
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Guest blog: Grantwriting as a Team-building exercise
Guest blog by Sami Fournier of Element Exercise. Faced with the prospect of submitting a grant proposal, consider what a great opportunity you have before you. Beyond being a challenge…
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Connecting fiscal management to strategy
I recently published a guest article for 501Commons on the importance of building a fiscal management system that connects with strategic decision-making. The main point: you should track revenues and…
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Ideas for Donor Involvement
I once talked to an Executive Director who resisted inviting major donors to volunteer or become more involved because “I don’t want to seem like I’m bothering them. Their gift…
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Guest blog: 5 Questions to Ask When Using Marketing to Grow Your Non-Profit
Guest Blog by Natalie Henry Bennon — springtalestrategies@gmail.com Marketing gets a bad rap. And sometimes it’s deserved. I don’t like being told I need a new thing when really I…
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Have you sharpened your axe lately?
A friend was recently describing to me a challenge he faced as a new board member of a relatively healthy organization, but one that seemed to have a frenetic culture.…
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Building your donor prospect list
One of the biggest mistakes I see made by both nonprofit staff and board members (and political candidates) is to underestimate their own personal list for who to ask for…
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Don’t make this membership fundraising mistake
I recently was speaking with an organization that had gone to great lengths to identify different levels of membership benefits that would be received by their members based on the…