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10 Steps to Take Charge of Your Nonprofit’s Major Donor-Investor Plan

Major individual gifts are the single largest source of philanthropy, by far. The most recent data from Giving USA[Free Summary Download] shows 72% of gifts come from individuals’ annual gifts and an additional 7% from bequests.

The process of individual donor development proceeds along a continuum – from awareness… to education… to involvement… to investment.  People must first be made aware of the organization’s existence and its mission.  Once this occurs, people who share values enacted by your organization can be identified, further educated and majorly involved.

When the relationship is sufficiently built – and only then — the prospect can be invited to significantly invest to assist in furtherance of your organization’s mission.

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Leave a commentMajor & Legacy Gifts

Future of Fundraising Clairity Click-it: Social; Mobile; Listening; Autoresponders; Nonprofit Websites; WIIFM Sponsorships

Wondering about the future of fundraising? Check out this week’s links!

Social and Mobile

Click-It: Nine reasons why social and mobile are the future of fundraising. I bring this to you because there’s been debate going on, instigated by our provocative friends at The Agitator.  Tom Belford wrote a post — Crafting vs. Producing… Writing Songs vs. Jingles — somewhat dissing email appeals in favor of traditional mail appeals. Why? Supposedly a more rewarding, bonding emotional experience to ‘open’ rather than ‘click.’ I don’t buy it.  I’ve seen plenty of moving email appeals. They’ve inspired me to give; I’ve seen others inspired to give. Sure there are too many that are dry as dust. But there are dull, flat snail mail appeals as well. Good email appeals work. Heck, there’s no one right channel for all people anymore. Far from it.

As fundraising professionals it’s up to us

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October Nonprofit Blog Carnival Call for Submissions: Tricks or Treats – How Do You Get and Sustain Major Gifts?

I’m majorly S C R E A M I N G with delight to be hosting this month’s Nonprofit Blog Carnival!

So majorly, in fact, that the subject this month is TRICKS or TREATS – How Do You Get and Sustain Major Gifts?

Tell us your tricks – the ones that work! Do you HAUNT prospects through a series of managed ‘moves’?  Do you fly in on a BROOMSTICK and just drop in spontaneously? How do you put them under your SPELL?

Tell us some treats – ways you wow your donors! Smile like a JACK-O-LANTERN every time you think of them; then figure out a way to let them know? Give them lots of virtual CANDY (seriously, do you use social media for any part of your major gifts strategy)?

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Get Your Nonprofit Email Opened – Take a Quack at it!

A quack at it?

Yes! Because I’m guessing you don’t have your ducks lined up to make this year’s email appeal worth all your effort.  What do I mean? I mean the lion’s share of folk receiving your email is simply going to hit ‘delete.’ And that’s just not going to pay your bills.

You need to get all your duckies in a row. And I know exactly which two are missing.

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2 CommentsOnline Fundraising

Weekly Clairity Click-it: Year-End Planning; Online Donations; Storytelling; Social Media; Sample Fundraising Letters

Planning your year-end fundraising? Check out this week’s links!

Year-end Planning

Click-It: 5 Things to do now for year-end fundraising success. From Network for Good  comes this checklist of all the stuff you should be thinking about. Now! Here’s my favorite: Now is the time to put yourself in your donor’s shoes and thoroughly test your donation process, website, emails, and any other donor-facing elements. Identify any pain points and fix them now while you have some time. None of the above steps will matter if your supporters get hung up on your donation page, are stymied by your website, or can’t reach a real person when they attempt to contact you.

Online Donations

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Weekly Clairity Click-it: Corporate Partnerships, Street Fundraising, Fall Fundraising, Online/Young Donors, Major Gifts, Email Fundraising

Such great links this week. Let’s get started!

Corporate Partnerships

Click-It: Safeway Foundation: 6 Tips on How to “Partner” with a Corporation Thanks to the folks at Third Sector and guest blogger Christy Duncan Anderson, E.D. of The Safeway Foundation for this great insider perspective on the sometimes mysterious business of securing business sponsors.

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Will Your Year-End Fundraising Be Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing?

I love my Agitators, I really do. I’m hoping they meant to provoke, and were really being tongue-in-cheek with their recent article.   Forget About Donor-Centric is very provocative, and certainly there’s truth here. Nonprofits do seriously ramp up their fundraising activities at this time of year, and it may appear they’re thinking more about money than their donor. It’s solicitation time, not stewardship time.  And “Donor Tom” (Tom Belford) tells us he understands. He reasons that at this time of year he’s going to be so bombarded by appeals that he’s not going to be thinking about building a relationship with you. He just wants to give to those he’s already given to and “escape with some spending money for Christmas presents.”

That’s exactly the perspective you don’t want your donor to have.

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Leave a commentAnnual Giving
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Are You Leading Your Nonprofit Backwards? How to Change

Philanthropy, Not Fundraising

More than ever before nonprofit leaders must lead from vision, not mission.  Why?  The world is moving really, really fast.  Blame it on the digital revolution if you wish.  But why waste time laying blame?  It is what it is.  Instead, get into the 21st century. Now.

The present (what you’re doing) is nothing more than a springboard to the future (the change you’re endeavoring to bring about). That’s what folks want to invest in. Positive change.

Nonprofits have tended to forget their visions in order to justify continued existence.  Sometimes founders and other leaders become too wedded to the status quo.  They can’t let their babies grow up. 

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5 CommentsStrategy & Management