Take a Flight to Help You Refocus
Whenever I take a trip by plane, I love the view from high up above. You can see the city, the mountains, the lakes, the rivers. You see the colors of it all. And everything is so tiny. It all looks so organized (mostly). You see the roads, the traffic down below, and it doesn’t […]
Monthly Giving Is All About Donor Retention
This is always an exciting time of year as donor base providers and analytics groups release their giving trends from the prior year. We are continuing to see so many changes. Not many were prepared for this disaster. And many, especially smaller organizations, almost froze when the shutdown happened. Many assumed that their donors did […]
Find a Way to Address a Monthly Donor’s Hesitation
At this time, many people are looking to find out when they can possibly get vaccinated against COVID-19. I live on Cape Cod, an area with many older residents — many who have been struggling. Many of these older residents do not have access to the internet, so registration online is difficult. They do have […]
Keep Up the Good Work!
Just a short blog this week, because I know you’re very busy–the biggest giving month of the year is just around the corner! Just a few more emails. Just a few more thank you letters. Just a few more… (you fill in the blanks). Just a few more weeks, and then the weirdest of weird […]
Where Would Sustainers Be Without Email?
Last week, I traveled to Europe to present a training on sustainers for an international group based in the Netherlands. Socially distanced and masked, of course, as the rules and lockdowns are even stricter than they are on Cape Cod. The good news is that I was able to visit my 86-year-old mom as well, […]
Moving the Needle in Monthly Giving
What a week we’ve had! I try to never talk politics, so I will certainly not start now. But watching the electoral vote thermometer move, it made me think about the approach you would be wise to take when it comes to monthly gifts. Bit by bit, you’ll go forward. You’ll grow your monthly gifts. […]
A Monthly Giving How-To: Take Down the Silos
The last week of September = Sustainer month, I organized the first ever virtual Sustainer Workshop. About 40 fundraisers from all over the country, and even some from Canada, participated in the two-day workshop, looking at all stages of life for a sustainer. When I asked the question: ”What is your biggest challenge when it […]
A Monthly Giving How-To: Ask Why
Let’s face it–just because you, as a fundraiser, send emails and/or letters to a donor asking them to give monthly, it may not work right away. It might require several calls and emails. It may require some additional ammunition. If you have at least one monthly donor, you have that ammunition. You have at least […]
Book Review: ‘Responsive Fundraising’
I recently read the book “Responsive Fundraising: The Donor-Centric Framework Helping Today’s Leading Nonprofits Grow Giving,” written by Virtuous CRM’s Gabe Cooper, founder and CEO, and Mckenna Bailey, sr. content marketing strategist. It’s an easy read, and it follows a lot of what I just read in John Haydon’s book, “Donor CARE.” It’s about connection. It’s about […]
Book Review: ‘Donor CARE’ by the late John Haydon
What a tremendous legacy John Haydon left us with his book, “Donor CARE: How to Keep Donors Coming Back After the First Gift.” Sadly, Haydon passed away earlier this year. While I never had a chance to meet him in person, we did talk by phone a few times. He had an amazing following with thousands of […]
