July-August 2022 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 2021 Tip

Text messaging is becoming an increasingly important fundraising tool. Is it right for you? Probably, assuming you have donors with cell phones (wink-wink). But there are different varieties of text messaging, and different ways to use this messaging medium. The key is to choose the tool that will work best for you, given your resources, needs…

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May 2020 Tips

The time to assure you’ve got a manageable plan in place so you’re ready for prime fundraising season next Fall is now. 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 Tip 2021

This is a good time of year to focus on reactivating lapsed donors. April showers bring May flowers… as it is said. 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? The point is you have to…

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March 2021Tip

I recently received a question from a grant writer who was unsure whether they should share their input on the types of programs that could further their mission and meet a funder’s objectives/focus.  I am just a grant writer. I am not generally involved in the strategic planning of our organization, but do have input…

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February 2021 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 ‘ of humanity’ – aka philanthropy. Robert Payton, the first full-time Director of the Center for…

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January 2022 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 2020 Tips

Welcome to your Clairification Dashboard and Monthly Tip! 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 50% of their annual contributions from October to…

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November Tips 2020

First, please know how very special my Clairification School students are to me, and how grateful I am to have this opportunity to share my experience and wisdom with you. It gives me a warm glow to know there are so many folks like you endeavoring to make our world a better and caring…

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October 2020 Tip

Of course you’re working on your annual appeal and year-end fundraising plan. And if you want detailed specifics on how to do either you can grab one of my E-Guides: Anatomy of a Fundraising Appeal Letter plus Sample Template Year-End Fundraising Solution Kit – To-Do’s + Checklists Right now I want to give several specific, timely tips…

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