It simply makes sense to follow the money. Where is it? Let’s begin with that elephant-shaped piñata in the middle of the room. It’s filled with 80% of all philanthropy. You’ve got to figure out how to get the goodies out of it or you’ll just be scrambling for spare change. The most recent data…
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Why is it so hard to set up a time for a visit with a prospect? It just is. People screen their phone calls. They don’t answer your es. They’re busy. And, let’s face it, they know what this is about. Some folks will avoid the ask because they’re thinking about it in terms of…
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“Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop.” So wrote Lewis Carroll in Alice in Wonderland.
It’s the same with major donor fundraising, except you don’t ever really stop. You just start up again. You do follow a prescribed path, however. And here’s what it looks like:
If you do this correctly, it becomes a transformational process for the donor. They want to stay connected and engaged and invested. Which is why you don’t stop. You follow up with “Some More.”
But first…
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Too often ‘Fundraising’ is made to sit in the corner while her step-sisters, ‘Content Marketing’ and ‘Online Communications’, get busy dressing up for the ball.
Poor ‘Fundraising.’
Her step-mother and step-sisters think raising awareness is more important than raising money.
They think all they have to do is look pretty, and they’ll naturally get chosen. Nobody wants to be bothered to include Cinderella (aka Fundraising) in the planning. After all, she’s “dirty.”
There are some basic strategies that ensure a successful nonprofit grants program.
They’re surprisingly straightforward.
If you follow this formula, you’ll succeed.
But you’ve got to be methodical, detail-oriented and focused.
Grantsmanship is not an “I’ll just wing it” proposition.
Applying for grants is hard work.
You must:
Let’s take these one at a time.
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I cannot tell you how many times I begin a consultation with a small nonprofit, only to discover they have no real donor database.
They’re still using Excel or Filemaker or something that was developed for the program or finance department many moons ago.
I also find many nonprofits that do have a decent fundraising database, but they aren’t really using it to their advantage.
It’s the equivalent of having a 747; then using it to drive down the block to the corner store.
If you’re not exactly maximizing the resources you have, or if you simply don’t have the resources you need, it’s going to adversely affect your fundraising results.
We live in an era of ‘Big Data.’ Which means that understanding why data is important, what data is most meaningful to you, and how to prioritize data collection and evaluation strategies to help you reach your goals has never been more important.
If your fundraising and marketing strategy is not currently undergirded by data, I guarantee you’re missing opportunities, working inefficiently and leaving money on the table.
Could you use a bit of guidance?
Read on…
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By now you undoubtedly know you’re losing too many first-time donors.
In fact, the Fundraising Effectiveness Project report shows you’re losing an average of 77% of these folks!
Today I want to talk about a subset of new donors who don’t renew. They’re called “third party donors,” and they come to you through a variety of portals:
Reality check.
What is your real goal with fundraising?
Think about this carefully.
Obviously (I hope), it’s not just to raise ‘money.’
Money is only as good as the purpose to which it’s applied.
So what’s fundraising for?
Have an answer?
Jot it down.
Okay… let’s get to it.
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In a recent 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.
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In Part 1 of this two-part article I described the importance of:
Part 1 also included links to a lot of articles I’ve written previously about mastering online social fundraising. Some of them are on Clairification. Others are guest posts I’ve done for other blogs.
I truly, passionately, want you to master the integration of a robust online communications and fundraising strategy with an equally robust offline strategy. In our digitally revolutionized world, they are two halves of a whole.
You need to rock them both.
Today we’re going to layer on with some other important essentials if you want to succeed with your online fundraising.
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