Welcome to The Fundraising Authority! Be sure to check out our Fundraising Basics and Article Archives for tons of great fundraising information.

How to Find Amazing Items to Sell at Your Next Silent Auction (Part II)

Thumbnail image for How to Find Amazing Items to Sell at Your Next Silent Auction (Part II)

Silent auction events are an integral part of the yearly fundraising cycle for many non-profit organizations.  In this two-part series, we’re taking a look at how non-profits of any size can find amazing items to auction off at their events. In Part I, we discussed how to get your board, donors, volunteers and event committee […]

Read the full article →

How to Find Amazing Items to Sell at Your Next Silent Auction (Part I)

Thumbnail image for How to Find Amazing Items to Sell at Your Next Silent Auction (Part I)

As any organization that holds silent auction events can tell you, one of the most difficult aspects of holding amazing silent auctions is finding amazing items to sell at your event. While finding large sponsors and getting people to come to the event are both more important in terms of overall dollars raised, ultimately, if […]

Read the full article →

Fundraising Authority Podcast #21: How to Build Strong Donor Relationships Online

Thumbnail image for Fundraising Authority Podcast #21: How to Build Strong Donor Relationships Online

The donor cultivation funnel isn’t just for offline fundraising.  Non-profits can and should be building strong relationships with their donors online (including through e-mail, social media and on  their organization’s website).  Great online cultivation leads to more donors, bigger gifts, and better donor relationships. In today’s podcast, online fundraising and marketing expert John Haydon teaches […]

Read the full article →

How to Make Better Fundraising Asks

Thumbnail image for How to Make Better Fundraising Asks

How do you feel when you sit down with a donor – face to face – to make a fundraising ask? Do you feel nervous, anxious, or worried?  Or do you go into the ask confident that the donor will say yes – and will thank you for the opportunity to invest in your work? […]

Read the full article →

Steal This Thank You Letter! A Sample Donor Thank You Letter for Your Non-Profit

Thumbnail image for Steal This Thank You Letter! A Sample Donor Thank You Letter for Your Non-Profit

Thank you letters have long been seen by many fundraisers as “gottados” – one of those things you just “gotta do” to get to the real work of fundraising, like writing newsletters and having lunches with major donors at great restaurants downtown. Many development pros are starting to wake up the fact that thank you […]

Read the full article →

The 8 Fundamentals of Supercharged Grant Fundraising

Thumbnail image for The 8 Fundamentals of Supercharged Grant Fundraising

Grants can be a great source of funding for non-profits of all sizes.  While every organization – no matter how small or large – should be focused primarily on individual fundraising, grants canb e a great complement to your other fundraising efforts. If you want to raise as much as possible for your organization through […]

Read the full article →

Thinking Bigger in Fundraising in 2015 (Non-Profit Blog Carnival)

Thumbnail image for Thinking Bigger in Fundraising in 2015 (Non-Profit Blog Carnival)

I’m a big fan of thinking big.  Really, really big. Far too many non-profits play “small ball,” always thinking about how to incrementally move the ball forward, without looking for a way to really turn that dial.  Yet, as non-profits, we are doing life-changing, world-shaking work (or at  least we should be, even if it […]

Read the full article →

What You Can Learn about Fundraising by Playing Poker

Thumbnail image for What You Can Learn about Fundraising by Playing Poker

Poker is one of America’s favorite pastimes – particularly Texas Hold’Em, which has dramatically risen in popularity over the past 20 years. You might play some poker, or maybe not… but either way, did you know that there are several real lessons you can learn as a fundraiser by playing poker? It’s true. And I’m […]

Read the full article →

Thank You!

Thumbnail image for Thank You!

As we enter the home stretch of the holiday season and the end of 2014, I want to thank you for being a part of our Fundraising Authority community.  Most of all, I want to thank you, and everyone at your organization, for the good work you are doing each and every day. Whether you […]

Read the full article →

The Power of Curiosity in Fundraising Communications

Thumbnail image for The Power of Curiosity in Fundraising Communications

Have you ever seen an ad on a website that started, “Use this one weird trick to…”? Or, have you ever seen a link or an e-mail subject line that said something like, “8 Ways to Do (Something) – #5 is Really Neat!” ? Do you know why marketers use ads like those? You can […]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries