In Part 1 I covered how quality trumps quantity when it comes to networking with your supporter base. It’s not so much about counting fans as it is about developing fans you can count on. In this two-parter I’m offering 8 ways to reframe your nonprofit marketing and fundraising stewardship objectives so you actually get…
DetailsCollecting — whether business cards, numbers of followers on Twitter or ‘likes’ on Facebook — is meaningless without a strategy to turn those relatively “blank” connections into meaningful relationships. If your marketing and/or fundraising strategy is based on counting, it’s time to rethink this strategy. Collecting is merely the “on ramp to build new relationships.” In his new book “Power Relationships,” author Andrew Sobel tells us there’s a better approach to networking.
DetailsThis is a special social media edition of the Clairity Click-it, since so many folks tell me they’re not doing as effective a job as they wish they were. Help is at hand! Take a look at these practical, and sometimes thought provoking, tips from some of my favorite nonprofit and for profit marketing gurus.
DetailsWhere do you go to look for new donors to support your nonprofit in 2014?
If you’ve not yet tapped into the power of electronic communication to find new supporters – social, mobile, email, crowd funding, online donating — read my recent post on Maximize Social Business: The Answer to Finding Nonprofit Donors: Social Media.
While this is in no way a slam dunk, neither is any type of lead generation strategy a magic bullet to converting leads into donors. You still have to do the hard work of building relationships with these folks. Yet…
DetailsFun events may bring in hundreds of attendees, but a fundraising event is not an end in and of itself. Often the charity never sees these folks again (or at least not until the next event) because these folks are golfers or ‘thoners, not donors. These events are a waste of your precious resources.
Don’t tell me that you “raised awareness.”
Unless you raised awareness towards a particular end (usually generating greater philanthropic support) – and you have a plan to intentionally build on this awareness — then everything your attendees may have learned about you will go in one ear and out the other. Awareness that isn’t reinforced lasts about two seconds.
Don’t tell me that you “raised good money.”
Did you really? Well, think again.
DetailsAn eclectic mix this week – mostly designed to make you think. We don’t take enough time to think about what we’re doing and why we’re doing it, do we? In the end, thinking saves us a lot of time, preventing us from doing the wrong things (even if we do them the right way). So… gives yourself some thought space.
DetailsIn my last post I talked about the Good, the Bad, the Ugly and the Easy of silent auctions.
Today I want to talk about the big kahuna: The Items
If you’ve got the right items, the auction is a winner for all concerned: the bidders, the donors, the item solicitors and your organization. If you’ve got the wrong items, not so much.
DetailsGot a silent auction coming up?
Silent auctions are a bit like the story of the little girl with the curl in the middle of her forehead: When they are good they are very, very good; when they are bad they are horrid.
Silent auctions can be a great way to increase event revenue and entertain your guests.
The very best events I’ve witnessed are those where
DetailsI know you’re strapped for time. But that’s no excuse for slapping your communications together with the sole purpose of “getting them out there.” Why bother? Checking this task off your list (and maybe reporting to your boss and/or board that you did so) may make you feel a bit better. But it won’t help your readers (and potential supporters) feel good.
If you want to get gifts you must give them. Consider your communications a gift to your supporters. Don’t give something generic. Give something your recipient will appreciate. Ask yourself…
DetailsSometimes it seems as if bequests actually do come from storks. They drop out of the blue, and you have no idea why. The gift isn’t from someone you recognize as a major donor. Often you don’t recognize the giver at all.
Because they seem mysterious, it can be hard to know where to look for bequests. So what do you do?
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