May92013
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One Huge Mistake You Don’t Know You’re Making with Your Donors

Don’t wait too long to ask. It makes people anxious.

I’ve seen this happen so many times.  I’ll be sitting with an E.D. or a board member at lunch with a prospective donor.  We’ve talked in advance about our roles.  I’ll handle the details and technical questions.  They’ll inspire and, ultimately, make ‘the ask’.

It begins well. It continues even better. They engage in lively conversation about the cause. The prospect leans forward, animated and wrapped up in the flow.  Then, just when I’m sure ‘the ask’ will be made and the prospect will say “yes!”…                    

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4 CommentsDonor Retention
May62013
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What App Developers Can Teach Content Marketers: 5 Tips to Energize Your Brand

Find a need and fill it. That’s Marketing 101.   Well, today some of the folks most clued in to what people want are the apps developers. Why not piggyback on their insight and research to enrich your content marketing strategy?  The key is to tie it to your brand promise (i.e., why you’re on this planet and what folks perceive your value to be to them). Find an angle that makes the trend relevant to your business.

End your constituents’ pain.  This is simply another way to think of taking the consumer-oriented approach that means the difference between failure and success. What’s bothering your community?  What keeps them up at night? How can you help? This is how app developers – and inventors, and successful business start-ups – think. 

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2 CommentsContent Marketing
May22013
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6 Things Matchmakers Can Teach Fundraisers in an Era of Digital Darwinism

Philanthropy; Not Fundraising

In many ways, what’s new is old and what’s old is new.  I read a lot of Brian Solis who speaks persuasively about The End of Business as Usual in an era where technology is advancing more rapidly than our ability to adapt. Yet we must adapt, or die. How do we do this, and what does this mean for fundraisers? I found food for thought in Solis’ recent article, The 9 Laws of Affinity in an Era of Digital Darwinism.

Rapid change can be dizzying. Ground yourself by remembering that though technology has changed, people have not. We have the same drives… needs… yearnings as prehistoric tribes.  It’s not just about survival. Darwin wrote about survival of the most empathic. We long for connection and meaning. In other words, it’s not just about the “fittest” but about the “fitting.”  Philanthropy provides that “fit opportunity” in spades (or, more aptly, in hearts).

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5 CommentsDonor Retention