Why fundraisers need to master the art of storytelling

Ever since humans first gathered together under a tree, we’ve told stories to one another. Stories that move us, scare us, illuminate our minds and inspire us to see the world anew. So why, when it comes to moving and inspiring people to give to a charitable cause, do so many in our industry resist […]

Finding Value in the Middle: An Examination of Mid-Level Giving

In recent years, more attention has been paid to the value of mid-level donors. But many mid-level programs still underperform, with fundraisers uncertain about how to engage with these donors. Lawrence Henze, principal consultant at Blackbaud Target Analytics, has over 38 years of development and marketing experience in the nonprofit sector. In his latest white […]

Should You Include Major Donor Prospects in Your Year-End Appeal?

Here’s the challenge – you’ve developed close, friendly, easy connections with your major gift prospects. You’re investing tons of time with these special major donor prospects — visiting with them, listening to their ideas, sharing your work with them. They are getting high-touch, very personalized treatment all the time, and they’re feeling like insiders at […]

13 Ways to Write Better Fundraising Asks

When you’re only six weeks into your new fundraising job and your boss suddenly assigns you the task of writing your organization’s year-end fundraising appeal, due tomorrow, what the heck are you going do? Instead of copying and pasting last year’s letter, how about you carve out some time to create your very own masterpiece? […]

Guide to Annual Giving Donor Segmentation

For most advancement shops, annual giving is the black hole of fundraising: a generic ask to a mass audience. But what if you could deliver a meaningful, personalized experience for all of your donors—without increasing the resources needed or time and energy spent? In this whitepaper, you’ll learn how to segment your constituents to personalize […]

How Donors Choose: One choice that’ll increase revenue

Many nonprofits already know the value of giving concrete examples for what donations of different amounts are worth. You know, things like…$25 feeds a shelter dog for three weeks…$60 pays for a counselTina Cincottiing session at the legal aid clinic…$100 provides five hours of tutoring help… Whether people donate and how much is greatly influenced […]

How to respond when they challenge your fundraising appeal

Does your appeal letter really need to be two pages long? What about that serif font? Sentence fragments? Mary Cahalane answers common questions about writing successful appeal letters. https://mcahalane.com/how-to-respond-when-they-challenge-your-fundraising-appeal/

Background investigations – Don’t skip the media report

Due diligence background investigations come in all flavors. They’re generally customised according to industry, level of risk, and time constraints. There’s one component, though, that should be included in all background checks on people and companies – the media report. It’s the section of a background investigation that covers news and social media. The media […]

Which traits predict graduates’ earnings?

Which university graduates will go on to earn the most money? Labour-market observers should not be surprised to find that both the subjects people study and the universities they attend are strong predictors of career earnings. A report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), a think-tank, provides further clarity on this question by matching […]

10 Ways to Find New Donors for Your Nonprofit Organization

Each year, approximately 10% of your non-profit donor base will attrition naturally through death, moving, or just not giving any longer. Then you add lapsed donors on top of that natural attrition, and you are looking at an eroding donor list. Sound familiar? Here, Robin Cabral shares some simple steps that you can take to […]