Fundraising

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The Savannah Bananas’ Lesson for Fundraisers: Focus on Fans

On one of my recent, daily walks, I tuned into Pat Flynn’s Smart, Passive Income Podcast.  (I keep a running list of podcasts I like on my Resources page). The episode featured Jesse Cole, owner of the Savannah Bananas, a summer league baseball team for top college players from around the country that is headquartered in Savannah, Georgia. All 4,000 seats at Savannah’s historic Grayson Stadium have been sold out for the Bananas’ home games since the team first started…

The Nuts and Bolts of Email Fundraising

With 38% of online donors worldwide saying that email inspires them the most to give, this mode of communication is still a vital piece of the fundraising puzzle. (Mobile Cause, Multichannel). So how do we make the most of it? Because it’s been around for a while, experts have analyzed a lot of data on email fundraising and distilled it into best practices.  Here, we’ll look at those around setting email campaign goals, audience segmentation, writing and design effective fundraising…

How to Thank Nonprofit Donors

The focus on fundraising that comes with #GivingTuesday and the typical December annual appeal make this time of year ripe for focusing on how to thank nonprofit donors. But, as one source points out, thanking and recognizing donors is something that should be at the forefront of our minds year round: “It is important to embed the spirit of gratitude in the very fabric of your organization.” (I. Ibrisevic, 10 Ways to Thank Your Nonprofit Donors). You also want to…

A Giving Tuesday Campaign Primer for Small Nonprofits

There are many of us running small nonprofits who certainly know of Giving Tuesday but are skeptical of launching a Giving Tuesday campaign. In this post, my goal is to (1) define the initiative and its origins; (2),outline reasons to consider putting together a Giving Tuesday campaign and (3) offer some practical ways of implementing one quickly, i.e., in about a week. How much work am I talking about? Once you decide on your on fundraising project, you will need…

Nonprofit Annual Report Writing Simplified

I've scoured the Internet, gathering and synthesizing the latest best practices on how to write a nonprofit annual report. You can find my sources for this post at the very end of what's below. Here, we’ll cover (1) why annual reports are important, (2) things to consider before we begin to write, (3) the basic elements that a report should include, and, (4) finally, where to go for inspiration, i.e., where to find examples and templates. 1. WHY creating a…

The Basics of Nonprofit Marketing Messaging

The Basics of Nonprofit Marketing Messaging After you’ve described your audiences, delineated the right media for your messages to them, and decided on the channels for delivery of those messages, you need to think about what you’re going to say.  In this post, we’ll discuss: (1) Why nonprofit marketing messaging is important; (2) Four components of a good foundation for nonprofit marketing messaging; (3) Three key nonprofit marketing messages that you should develop and keep in your back pocket; (4)…

EASILY IMPROVE NONPROFIT FUNDRAISING LETTERS WITH THESE SIMPLE STRATEGIES

Now that the holiday season is almost upon us, it's important to consider what we can do to improve nonprofit fundraising letters.  Because those of us running small nonprofits work hard and do the impossible when it comes to meeting our missions in spite of our shoestring budgets, we are understandably inclined to tell our donors and prospects about our marvelous successes in terms that we believe are quite convincing. Here's an example:  “With our new ABC vaccination outreach program,…