These are dark times for direct mail fundraising. Response rates are down (and have been trending lower for more than a decade). At the same time, costs of paper, printing, and postage keep going up, usually faster than inflation. So direct mail is dead, right? The sooner you stop using it for fundraising, the better. … Continue reading Direct Mail – Dead or Alive
Five Identifiers of a High Quality Fundraising Prospect
Discovering your best fundraising prospects does not boil down to a single piece of criteria. There are several qualities that can help identify the potential donors who can give the major gifts that will lead to your organization’s success. Here, Kim Becker Cooper - Marketing Director at DonorSearch, shares her five key identifiers. http://twbfundraising.com/blog/five-identifiers-high-quality-fundraising-prospect/
Three steps for Boosting your Fundraising Confidence
Stephanie Harvey, fundraising manager from Little Village, shares her thoughts on this year's Status of UK Fundraising 2019 Benchmark Report. One outcome is the decreased confidence in charities. Stephanie elaborates: "We have all seen the negative news with various stories being uncovered of late, and like others we were disappointed and angry about what was … Continue reading Three steps for Boosting your Fundraising Confidence
Why is the cost of raising funds rising so fast?
The cost of acquiring a pound of charitable income has grown swiftly since the start of the century. The latest edition of the UK Civil Society almanac contains a section on the cost of generating funds, which shows that in the year to March 2001, adjusted for inflation, the charity sector spent a total of … Continue reading Why is the cost of raising funds rising so fast?
Creating and leading a Great Fundraising Organisation
Do you work for a Great Fundraising Organisation? Not any great fundraising organisation… but a Great Fundraising Organisation. For the purpose of the academic study, “The Great Fundraising Report,” Profs. Adrian Sargeant and Jen Shang from the Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy at the University of Plymouth, defined Great Fundraising Organisations as those charities, NGOs and … Continue reading Creating and leading a Great Fundraising Organisation
Fundraising Directors – Why is your job so hard?
The majority of Development Directors are hired to grow income. In keeping with the ads and job descriptions, the charities are poised for growth and keen to hire an experienced fundraiser to lead the charge. The job interviews focus on a DD’s ability to raise funds, lead a team and be a senior team player … Continue reading Fundraising Directors – Why is your job so hard?
10 Common Myths About Our Visual Brains
Brain science is commonly taken into consideration when developing marketing and communication strategies, particularly concerning visual content. After all, the best way to influence behavior is to understand its drivers. And behavior is driven by our psychological brains. At the same time, basing a strategy on invalid data can quickly waste time and resources. Unfortunately, … Continue reading 10 Common Myths About Our Visual Brains
Don’t fear the Rich List
How to deal with rich people? John Baguley writes in this blog: "I have worked on many highly successful capital appeals and a few that didn’t quite reach their target. Time and again that failure was due to the inability of the team to engage with wealthy people as human beings and not as representatives … Continue reading Don’t fear the Rich List
25 Facts and Stats about NGOs Worldwide
Raising money is hard work, and sometimes, just sometimes, we need some great facts to help remind ourselves that we are doing great work to help society and the world improve. #NGOFACTS is an ongoing online campaign that highlights important data about non-governmental organizations (NGOs), nonprofits, and charities worldwide. You can join the campaign by … Continue reading 25 Facts and Stats about NGOs Worldwide
8 Steps to Writing Successful Fundraising Letters
We've covered tips on how to write successful appeal letters before, but this list by Marc Pitman really breaks it down into eight easy-to-implement steps. This blog simply can't be ignored. https://npengage.com/nonprofit-fundraising/fundraising-letters/
Propper Fundraising 