Think your website is ‘social’ because you’ve put a and button up there? Think again. We’re introduced to a profound change in the way we’ve been thinking of websites in Social Media Today’s recent post: What Needs to Be on Your Digital Agenda in 2012? We’re told we must have ‘social websites.’ Sure,…
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The current zeitgeist is one of information overload, as highlighted in a recent article, Content Rivers and Information Gluttony. The availability of information is not the problem, however. We’ve been in overload at least since 1970, as described by futurist Alvin Toffler . Our inability to limit our choices is what gets us into trouble. …
DetailsThank you to Jeff Bros’ wonderful post in Future Fundraising Now and Tom Ahern of The Domain Formula for donor newsletters for some great hints on how to raise money with nonprofit newsletters. Confession: this is all them; I’m just sharing. It’s a great roadmap. And *SMIT (Single Most Important Thing I have to tell…
DetailsToday I have an article in The Bridge discussing the importance of actively embracing strategic donor relationship-building management. Seriously, there is nothing important you can do this year. It’s all about relationships – and it takes some work to build and sustain them. What are you doing to show your donors you know them?…
DetailsToday begins the celebration of Chinese New Year — the end of winter, and the harbinger of spring to come. As we enter the Year of the Dragon, what better time to reflect on our lives and make new choices for the coming period? We all have things we wish we might change or do…
DetailsAre you listening to your constituents and acting on what you learn from them? Last month I pondered on How Social Media is Peanut Buttered Toast – it can lead us into some messy situations if we don’t handle it carefully. A particularly sticky trap is cognitive dissonance – seeing what we want to see;…
DetailsWhat is a genius and what does it take to become one in your professional and/or personal life? Let’s toss out the notion that this is about IQ. Thomas Edison famously wrote “Genius is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration.” Simone de Beauvoir wrote “One is not born a genius, one becomes…
DetailsThe last post was about asking. Now we turn to the equally important task of thanking. Where do we go astray? Member # 83,457 Dear Friend, Oh behalf of the board of our charity, thank you so much for your gift. It means a lot and will help us continue to fulfill our mission.…
DetailsNetwork for Good has a great ebo out with 10 Resolutions to Make (and Keep!) for On Fundraising and Marketing Success in 2012. It’s worth downloading the whole thing, but I’d like to talk about the first resolution they highlight: Put fundraising first. Put. Fundraising. First. Give this a minute to sink in. . Of…
DetailsWhat makes us think a perfect stranger, who’s never given to our organization before, will choose to do so? It’s highly counter intuitive. People are likely to continue doing what they’ve done before. We talk a lot in fundraising professional circles about the folly of concentrating too many resources on donor acquisition and too…
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