New Monthly Donor Stats From M+R Benchmarks
I always look forward to when M+R Strategic launches its annual benchmarks. It just released this year’s edition, and you can find the full report right here. As you can see, and as I’m sure you expected, it was a great year for digital engagement in general. I, of course, tend to focus on monthly giving […]
Book Review: The Surprising Gift of Doubt
Credit: Concord Leadership Group “The Surprising Gift of Doubt,” written by Marc Pitman of Concord Leadership Group, is a book that’s not just about nonprofit leadership. It can be applied to leaders in any situation, especially if you, as a leader, need some re-grounding or refocus. And who doesn’t need that during this ongoing pandemic? Even […]
Why Automatic Monthly Gift Upgrades Are a Bad Idea
A few weeks ago, The New York Times published an article on automatic upgrades of monthly gifts and the number of upset supporters when that happened. This is scary stuff and could have a very negative impact on other nonprofits looking to grow their monthly donor programs. I’m going to leave politics out and look at that […]
A Monthly Shot of Prevention
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” This quote by Benjamin Franklin came to mind as I was lucky to get my second vaccine. There’s something amazingly liberating about knowing that you’ve done everything in your power to stay healthy. Not to mention that I’m really excited about traveling some more. When […]
Subscriptions Are Just Not the Same
I love subscriptions. I have for years. I started out my direct mail and fundraising career working on subscriptions and loyalty programs. Subscriptions are great! And they certainly have and continue to have a huge impact on recurring gifts. They’ve allowed people to become much more comfortable paying for things automatically. They’ve opened up automated giving to […]
Turn Instant Gratification Into Something Surprising
Have you noticed? Lately, when you order something through Amazon, you get an email with a picture of the item showing up in front your door. This happens as you’re hearing the delivery truck’s engine rev up to leave. Is that cool or what? I call that instant gratification. Often, until I open the package, […]
Is the Interest in Recurring Giving Really Growing?
Nonprofit PRO just published its “2021 Nonprofit Leadership Impact Study” and while I like what I’m reading there, it’s still not quite where I’d like it to be. Or should I say, where it really ought to be to make and keep nonprofits sustainable. One of the conclusions from the report is: nonprofits need to […]
Does Your Nonprofit Have Backup Plans?
For the past few years, my husband and I have been escaping to the sunshine for a week or two. We discovered the Phoenix area as one that typically sees great weather in February/March. With COVID-19 and our vaccine shots, we had to juggle our schedule, so this year we arrived in Phoenix during spring […]
Book Review: ‘From the Ground Up: Digital Fundraising for Nonprofits’
Based on a colleague’s recommendation, I ordered the book “From the Ground Up: Digital Fundraising for Nonprofits,” written by Brock Warner, CFRE. It’s a great little gem with all the basics anybody and everybody could need for digital fundraising. Online advertising, social media, welcome emails, payment processors, Google Analytics and so much more. Credit: Brock Warner, CFRE […]
What Is Your Monthly Giving Soft Cancel Process?
When I was reviewing my monthly gifts for the year, I realized that I hadn’t given monthly to several organizations since May. I call this a soft cancel. I didn’t mean to stop giving monthly, and I didn’t take action to stop. I had received a new card at the time, but things were very […]
