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The Four Key Fundraising Roles of Your Board of Directors

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Far too many non-profit fundraisers approach board fundraising as if they have boards full of movers and shakers who know how to raise money, even when that’s not the case. These fundraisers and non-profit managers get annoyed and frustrated with their boards, which doesn’t help anyone, including the organization itself.  Acting like your board is […]

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The Best Ways to Identify a Planned Giving Prospect for Your Non-Profit

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Guest Post by Ryan Woroniecki from DonorSearch A planned giving prospect is a donor who makes preparations in the present to donate money to a nonprofit in the future, either through a trust or will. While most planned giving donations are made through a will and are monetary in nature, donors can also plan to […]

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The Power of Positive Donor Communications  

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Over the past month I’ve received one fundraising letter and two fundraising e-mails that attempted to shame me into making a gift. One asked why I hadn’t given in the past. One told me all of the sad things that were going to happen if I didn’t donate.  And one hinted that doing nothing (by […]

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5 Great Silent Auction Ideas for Your Next Event

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Guest Post by Zach Hagopian from Accelevents You’ve decided to use a silent auction at your fundraiser… before finalizing plans, you will first need to collect amazing silent auction items to sell at your event. Great silent auction items will not only help you attract a larger donor base for your event, but will also create some […]

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When it Comes to Fundraising, Go for Big Wins… Not Small Savings

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Most development offices are resource-starved. They don’t have the money or manpower to do everything they want to do, so they have to make choices about where to focus their efforts. For most fundraisers, I would estimate that about 75% of that time and effort necessarily involves maintaining the status quo… making sure that this […]

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The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Fundraisers

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Every non-profit fundraiser is different. We each have different strengths and weaknesses, and we each have our preferred strategies and tactics. And that’s ok – every non-profit is different, each with their own unique development needs… thus, there’s room for almost every type of fundraiser imaginable. What I have noticed, however, is that there are […]

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Can Stronger Systems Make You a Better Fundraiser?

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As non-profit fundraisers, we are often focused on the urgency of our front-line activities… We need new prospects.  Now! Our organization has to raise $10,000 more.  This week! I promised the board I would add 500 new names to the e-mail list.  I better find some names pronto! With the amount of work to be […]

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Are You Using the Hierarchy of Fundraising Asks?

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During presentations to non-profit groups, I often talk about the “2-Ask Process.” This is my concept that for every prospect you have at your organization, you should be prepared to approach them with two different asks, after you have properly cultivated them. The first is an ask for money… you are asking them to make […]

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How to Hire Great Frontline Fundraisers

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Every non-profit needs to fundraise.  That means every non-profit needs to hire someone to do the fundraising.  We call those people who actually meet with donors, shake hands, do fundraising calls and make asks “frontline fundraisers.”  Every non-profit has at least one. At large organizations, there may be a team of frontline fundraisers, all reporting […]

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Two Qualities Donors Need To See Before They Invest Big

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As fundraisers, we often focus on planning and tactics: what five things are we going to do to raise $200,000 this year?  How are we going to shift our direct mail strategy to find more mid-level donors?  What’s our social media fundraising plan? Tactics are important.  Strategy is important.  We can’t ignore them: that’s why […]

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4 Tips for Feeling More Comfortable When Making Asks In Person

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Here’s a secret you won’t hear from your boss or read in most fundraising books… most fundraisers get nervous when making asks in person.  Even those grizzled development veterans at your office or leading fundraising seminars sometimes get nervous before a big ask. Of course, that feeling of nervousness subsides, and many times even disappears, […]

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How to Campaign-ize Your Fundraising for Maximum Results

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Capital campaigns are extremely effective at raising large amounts of money in a relatively short period of time. They’re a lot of work, but non-profit fundraisers have developed a system over the past 50 years for running successful capital campaigns for organizations large and small. The lessons they have learned running capital campaigns need not […]

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Turning Everyday Donors into Major Donors

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Guest Post by K. Michael Johnson You need big donors… who doesn’t?  Sure, you have some… but to truly fulfill your mission, you know you need more.  So, where are they going to come from? I have good news for you. Many of your next major donors are already giving to you.  Studies show that […]

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7 Tips for Better E-Mail Newsletters for Your Non-Profit

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Does your non-profit use e-mail newsletters to cultivate and steward donors?  If not, it should… e-mail newsletters are one of the easiest and best ways to stay in touch with donors, update them on your work, and make them feel like part of your team. If you are going to be sending out e-newsletters, though, […]

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How to Renew and Upgrade 95%+ of Your Event Sponsors Year After Year

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If you are holding an annual event (one that your organization holds each year), the first step in signing up sponsors for the event is sponsor renewal – the best sponsor prospects for your event are those companies and individuals who have previously sponsored the event.  I highly recommend that you try to upgrade your […]

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Watch Out!  Your Non-Profit Could be Missing a Pot of Gold

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Lots of times, people (and non-profits) don’t see the true value of what they have.  They take things for granted, and underestimate the capacity of the people they are closest to. Here’s an example: for decades, the United States Postal Service was pretty disparaging about junk mail.   They had to tolerate it, but most of […]

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