TIP #1: This is a good month for a brief donor survey. Donor surveys offer you a “twofer.” One is for you (useful information); the other is for your donor (a way to usefully participate other than giving money). [See 2 Reasons Donor Surveys are Valuable]. Find out what it is about your organization your donors like…
DetailsIf you’ve been reading my articles a while, you know I’m a proponent of reframing fundraising as storytelling. And you don’t simply “tell” your story; you “develop” your story. Truly, that’s what it’s all about. In fact, I define “development” sometimes as being akin to developing a photograph. If you’re an artist, you’ll bring all…
DetailsIt’s budget time! And I want to talk about your annual report. If you’re on a fiscal year, you may now be struggling with what expenses you can cut so you can add in others for things like P2P fundraising, monthly giving, mobile fundraising, and making your data actionable (to name a few). One of…
DetailsWelcome to your Monthly Clairification Tip! Who can forget that Valentine’s Day is this month? What an opportune time to show your donors some . Send donors valentines to show them your (if you want to plan further in advance, consider doing something like this for Mother’s or Father’s Day). For some great ideas, check…
DetailsWelcome to your Monthly Clairification Tip! Let’s get the New Year off to a great start by revisiting your Mission Statement. Why? Because everything you do emanates from the WHY of your existence. The Mission answers the question: What would happen if your organization ceased to exist. For example, a food bank’s mission might be simply: “To End…
DetailsWelcome 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…
DetailsFirst, 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…
DetailsIt’s the end of the calendar year. This is the time when your annual fundraising goals will likely be met, surpassed or put onto life support. Because even if you operate on a fiscal year, now is the time when most people do most of their annual giving. So make sure to get all your…
DetailsOf 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 you a…
DetailsThe summer months are a great time to plan to hold an “inspiring philanthropy” (aka board fundraising training) session; then provide volunteers with assignments so they can hit the ground running! These are best held in September/October – in time to fire folks up for year-end major gift asks. Consider inviting a facilitator to run…
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