H E L P! I need major donors!

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)?

What does it take to get a major gift these days? Where do you find prospects? Tell us anything you’re finding that works. Tricks to get the visit. Treats to get another one. And so forth. That’s what we’d like to discuss in this October’s Blog Carnival. (Wondering what a Blog Carnival is? It’s not SPOOKY at all… step right this way  … don’t be scared.)

Hope you’re GOBLIN this carnival stuff up!

If you’re a blogger:

Write up a post with tips, tools, tales, tricks or treats  — anything you like, really, as long as it involves major gifts fundraising. Feel free to DRESS UP a past post if you’ve written something recently that fits the bill.

Email your permalink to nonprofitcarnival@gmail.com by Monday, 10/27 (and tell your friends to do the same).

We’ll sift through the BAG OF TREATS we receive and choose the yummiest ones that fit the theme (you know, the Hershey’s bars, Reese’s cups and Snickers; forget the hard candies and gum!). Posts that are easy to read and were written relatively recently (within the last month or two) are best. And if you wrap in some holiday spirit – BOO! – so much the better!

Show us whatever major gift WITCHCRAFT you’ve got! Check back at Clairification on Wednesday, 10/29 to see if we’ve included your post, and enjoy a bump in traffic as we promote the Carnival to friends and followers.

If you’re a reader, stay tuned—we’ll be back at the end of October with a full roundup of TRICKS or TREATS – How Do You Get and Sustain Major Gifts, collected from nonprofits and experts around the web. (Get in the SPIRIT with About.com’s September roundup of nonprofit social media wisdom, hosted by Joanne Fritz).

Your post can make quite a stir!

We’re hoping to collect a CAULDRON full of all your best ideas, so start sending them our way at nonprofitcarnival@gmail.com. And if you’d like to become part of the Carnival COVEN and receive monthly reminders about each month’s topic, please sign up here.

What’s a nonprofit blog carnival, and is there CANDY CORN and POPCORN BALLS?

The Carnival is a monthly roundup of posts on topics relevant to nonprofits. It travels from blog to blog;  the host declares a theme, collects  posts WITCH fit the topic from around the web, and brings them together for you to read and comment.

ORANGE you glad you asked?

Photos: Flickr, Highway6; Dave Han

REMINDER: Last Week to Learn to KEEP YOUR DONORS

Want a system to get gifts that keep on giving? There’s one simple thing you can do — and I’ll bet you the price of this course you can do it much better than you’re doing it now!Learn how to tap into the incredible Power of Thank You with this 4-week, self-paced e-course I’m teaching with the fabulous Pamela Grow (check out the full syllabus here).  You’ll get tips you can use immediately! Each week brings you a downloadable jam-packed workbook with templates, checklists and exercises PLUS bonuses galore – two webinars, teleseminar, eBook and script, video tutorial and more! Reserve now before we begin on October 7th. Take my bet?