It’s Time to Grow Your Monthly Donor Program
Growing a monthly donor program is a drip-by-drip, bit-by-bit approach. That’s why January is such a great month to go for it. But there are two important things to bear in mind. First, I recommend creating a monthly-only page. When you’re trying to drive donors to give monthly, it must be very easy to find […]
1 Small Step Can Improve Your Monthly Donors’ Lifetime Value
Let me start off with wishing you and yours a happy and healthy new year! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season. I also hope you had some time to relax, in between working with donors and systems to try to optimize the donations coming in by the end of the year. I took […]
Is Creating a Christmas Newsletter Really Bragging?
My husband Patrick and I got married 13 years ago, just after Thanksgiving. That first year, I started the annual Christmas newsletter tradition. For each month, it’s a simple picture and a few lines of what my husband, his two boys and I did, and I mail it to friends and family. Nothing professional looking, […]
Are You Prepared to Deliver to Donors at Any Level This Year-End?
The push is on. It’s year-end, so time to bring in as much money as you can to support your cause. With or without #GivingTuesday campaigns, I bet you have at least a few messages prepared to go out in the next few weeks asking your donors and those on your email list for money. […]
Show Your Monthly Donors How Grateful You Are
As you’re getting ready for your year-end campaigns, I hope you’ll make one resolution: include your monthly donors in your thank-you messaging. What does that mean? It means creating a tiny variation of your email, saying, “Thank you for your monthly gifts. You make a difference!” It means including your monthly donors in your thank-a-thon […]
You’ll Be Grateful Today, But Even More So in 2020
I just read this from Seth Godin’s blog: “…years from now, your future self is going to thank you for something you did today, for an asset you began to build, a habit you formed, a seed you planted. Even if you’re not sure of where it will lead, today’s the day to begin.” It […]
Time to Get Back to Basics
As I attend conferences and presentations lately, I find I’m starting to be one of the “older hats” when it comes to fundraising experience. Some of my colleagues are starting to retire or slow down. The same applies for leaders and colleagues in nonprofits. I’ve seen major changes over just the past few years, but […]
3 Best Year-end Approaches for Monthly Donors
As you’re growing your number of monthly donors over time, it’s important to consider how you should include your monthly donors in your year-end giving. Of course, every organization is different, but it’s important to remember one thing: Unless you promised your sustainer that they would not hear from you in any way shape or […]
The Best 3 Fundraising Exercises to Optimize Donor Experiences
Exercise regularly. Easier said than done. If you’re exercising regularly, that’s wonderful. I was always too busy and not doing much until I heard about barre classes near my home. I really had no excuse not to! Now, I’m there at least twice a week, and I feel great! I just know it helps improve […]
Monthly Donations Should Be a No-Brainer
I just returned from the International Fundraising Congress held in Noordwijkerhout, Netherlands every October. It’s always a great gathering of some 1,000 individuals from 65+ countries who raise funds in their local countries, and sometimes outside of it as well. An added benefit is that I was able to visit some of my family and […]
