We recently had the opportunity to facilitate a workshop at the 41st Neighborhood USA Conference (NUSA) in Memphis, Tennessee. Participants came from as far as Alaska and Japan. Memphis bustled with energy from these dedicated community activists, and the estimated $750,000 economic impact they made on the local economy. We caught the buzz, and
Part two of a two part series Fear of heights. Fear of snakes. Fear of asking someone to give to a nonprofit organization. While we can’t help with the first two, we can provide suggestions for overcoming fear of soliciting. Personally asking someone to make a gift to a nonprofit you believe in is one
Part one of a two part series Personal solicitation is the backbone of nonprofit fundraising. It is also an area that many organizations and institutions shy away from. Learn how to improve revenue from personal solicitation. Because it is impossible to personally solicit every current or prospective donor, personal solicitation is reserved for individuals who
We recently facilitated two board meetings for two very different types of organizations. One was an institution that is over 100 years old with a multi-million dollar budget. The other was an emerging grassroots, community-based organization. At both meetings the focus was fundraising, and board members were actively engaged. They had suggestions about how to
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” – Abraham Lincoln “I wish someone would take care of all the details.” Such is the lament of fundraising staff who stagger under the weight of never ending activities and details. They try to keep it all
The universe is big. It’s vast and complicated and ridiculous. And sometimes, very rarely, impossible things just happen and we call them miracles. – Dr. Who Windfall gifts are the secret fantasy of every fundraiser. These large, unexpected gifts can take a capital campaign “over the top.” In other instances they are the saving grace
Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. – Albert Einstein Ideally your nonprofit is focused on raising the money you need to deliver on your mission and vision. You have a strong fundraising team with talented staff, enthusiastic volunteers, the right technology, and a communications strategy that
“Learn from the mistakes of others. You can never live long enough to make them all yourself.” ― G. Marx Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us about our recent column on fundraising and proofreading. We heard from readers in Memphis, New York, and California on this topic. They included donors, volunteers, an executive
Have you considered “front loading” your yearend fundraising? Start now. Plan now. Put your systems in place. Mark your calendar. Build your team. Identify your prospective donors. You may think we’re joking, but we’re not. Imagine you are a private business and the bulk of your sales take place in the last quarter of the
Communication is the name of the game. It’s not just what we say it’s also what we write. How are you communicating using the written word? Do you read your reports, emails, and letters before hitting send? Does the thought of grammar and sentence structure make you roll your eyes and think back to days in
