August 2024 Tips

I really don’t want you to ignore the power of legacy giving, even if you don’t currently have a formal program. Because there are a few simple things you can do to assure folks know you welcome these kinds of gifts. And you don’t need to get fancy. Let me share a question I received…

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July 2024 Tips

It’s not too early to begin planning your fundraising strategies for the fall and end of the calendar year.  You’re probably already thinking about your appeal.  But what about person-to-person major gift fundraising? For most nonprofits, the lion’s share of money comes from the smallest group of people. Many of these folks respond well…

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June 2024 Tips

For many of you this is your fiscal year end.  That means making sure you don’t lose any of those donors you to such pains to acquire last year. It also means tying up loose ends to assure you don’t leave money on the table. For those of you on a different fiscal year, skip…

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May 2024 Tips

Now is the time to assure you’ve got a manageable plan in place so you’re ready for prime fundraising season next Fall. This month’s tips are designed to help you figure out how to prioritize and manage everything on your plate. A task management system may help a little. Here’s one some of my clients use…

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April Tips 2024

What better time than spring (at least in the northern hemisphere) to focus on the same cycle of renewal that many parts of the earth go through? This is a good time of year to focus on reactivating lapsed donors. The point is you have to plant the seeds and water the plants before your…

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March 2024 Tips

As we move into Spring in the northern hemisphere, and Fall in the southern regions, I have a few tips to “spring” on you and some best practices for you to “fall” into! [NOTE: Did you know modern medicine changes somewhere around half its “best practices” every few years?  We should be thinking about, re-evaluating…

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February 2024 Tips

Consider February, with Valentine’s Day smack in the middle, as #donor month.  Why not? The you speak the language of to your donors, the they’ll shower you with in return. And by ‘,’ I mean philos () + anthropos (humanity). That’s right. Philanthropy = ‘ of humanity.’ Robert Payton, the first…

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January 2024 Tips

Consider these tips your New Year’s Resolutions. They’re simple to accomplish, relatively inexpensive, and they’ll give your fundraising program a big boost in the coming year. As the folks at Nike would say: JUST DO IT! Tip One: Correct Your Bad Addresses Give donors the gift of reconnection! Did you know in the U.S., at any…

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December 2023 Tips

Welcome to your Clairification Dashboard and Monthly Tips! You’ll find something new here each month — paralleling what you’re likely thinking about during this time period. This month I’m giving you multiple tips because, heck, it’s a very critical month for fundraisers! Did you know nonprofits receive, on average, 50% of their annual contributions from…

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November Tips 2023

Why not declare November ‘Gratitude for Blessings’ month? This means finding opportunities to demonstrate gratitude. Let me begin with how grateful I am for you, my readers. Whereas donors are the center of your nonprofit’s universe, you are the center of mine. You are the reason I write.  When I can’t share my ideas, it’s…

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