Category Archives: Annual Giving

Why Your Nonprofit’s Events are a Waste of Time

Fun 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.

Fundraising Silent Auctions: It’s the Items, Stupid

In 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.

Fundraising Silent Auctions: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly, the Easy

Got 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.

The Good

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

Can I Sizzle You a Story? 2 Things Caught My Attention This Week

I know you’ve got a nice juicy steak. And you think that’s amazing.  And it is. But it’s not enough to make me buy it.

Why not? I’ll tell you why not.

You’ve got to sizzle it!

Two articles caught my attention this week, and each provides the answer to how nonprofits can share what they do in a manner that inspires passionate philanthropic investment.

10 Reasons this Fundraising Appeal Hits it Out of the Ballpark

It’s not about the money. It’s about the mission and the impact.  This year-end fundraising blog post from 2013 by a recent nonprofit client of mine, One Justice, absolutely nails why we ask folks for support. It’s about what will happen if we don’t engage in fundraising.

I encourage you to read and consider the full post. For while we may be at the beginning of the calendar year, there’s no reason you can’t use the key elements of this approach year-round. It’s not just about the prose; it’s about the attitude.

It’s Not All about Major Gifts: 10 Ways to Succeed with Small Gift Fundraising

Today I went to research something online and ended up viewing the first entry Google gave me – which was on Wikipedia. To my delight, I ran into an awesome fundraising campaign (this is an occupational hazard with fundraisers – we actually like and admire things like pledge breaks when they’re done well)!

Here’s what I found superimposed at the top of the screen:

Your Donor Won't Eat Your Meal Without Your Secret Sauce

Philanthropy, Not Fundraising

There are many other nonprofits out there doing what you do.

Or some reasonable facsimile of what you do. Many of them have similar missions.  But… there’s something that’s different. Don’t try to serve up what you do without your secret sauce.

Open Sesame! How to Keep Your Fundraising Appeal Out of the Trash

We Have Blast Off!

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.