‘Building a Storybrand’ – This is not a book about telling your company’s story. A book like that would be a waste of time. Customers don’t generally care about your story; they care about their own.’ Such was the overarching message of the Lucidity Business Book Club’s book of choice for the June meeting as … Continue reading Customers generally don’t care about your story; they care about their own storybrand
How to guide your audience to support your mission
Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could count on a certain percentage of people in your email list to donate to your organization, and a certain percentage of those donors to become passionate, sustaining members or even board members? Just like traveling through a forest, a guide can show your audience how to move on … Continue reading How to guide your audience to support your mission
On the Road to Better Donor Communication
With all that’s gone on this year, if you’re still sending generic, organization-centered communication, you’re doing a huge disservice. There has been some conflict about donor-centered vs community-centered, and Ann Green thinks we can have both. What you don’t want is to be organization-centered. You can’t communicate with your donors without focusing on them. This … Continue reading On the Road to Better Donor Communication
As a fundraiser, how can I bring up the question of legacies?
Ilana Jackman worked with Kingston University to talk to 6000 alumni over 60 years old about their legacies and the results have transformed their legacy fundraising. Here is a practical case study how we did it: https://blog.thebiggive.org.uk/advice/as-a-fundraiser-how-can-i-bring-up-the-question-of-legacies/
Cat People and Dog People
Are you a cat person or a dog person? The answer to that might impact your choice of a (potential) mate. The experiment on an online dating site randomized the same male in two different photos, one holding a cat, one not. Women then “swiped” to show interest. The guy with the cat was considered … Continue reading Cat People and Dog People
Inclusive communications in the fundraising and philanthropy sectors
Generations of fundraisers and NGOs have been conditioned to a very insidious formula for the way we fundraise. This formula has evolved, it has mutated, but it is still very much alive. Essentially, this formula rests on humanising the donor, and then predominantly the white donor, and on dehumanising the predominantly non-white beneficiaries and more … Continue reading Inclusive communications in the fundraising and philanthropy sectors
10 Ways Your Brain Reacts to Uncertain Times
Volatility. Uncertainty. Complexity. Ambiguity. These four words (shorthanded to “VUCA”) describe the type of high-stress, high-demand scenarios that can rapidly degrade one of our most powerful and influential brain systems: our attention. During uncertain times, we are all living in VUCA conditions. Compounding the constant health and economic concerns, we are facing unprecedented levels of … Continue reading 10 Ways Your Brain Reacts to Uncertain Times
A Mental Trick to Help with Challenging Conversations
Imagine the colleague with whom you have a very challenging relationship, the person who makes the most innocuous conversation tense and uncomfortable. Now imagine the following scenario: You’re sitting at your desk working away when a message from that person pops up on your screen. You open the message and it reads: “I got the … Continue reading A Mental Trick to Help with Challenging Conversations
Helpful advice for aspiring writers of all ages
“Write something good, and feel good about writing it.” That sentence is from award-winning writer Jacqueline Woodson in response to the question “What’s the goal of writing when you’re 15?” Being a writer is all about expressing your unique perspective with feeling and originality, not about having a huge vocabulary or getting published, says author … Continue reading Helpful advice for aspiring writers of all ages
Don’t Waste Your Time on Networking Events
Large, traditional business networking events are a time-honored institution. They have been a staple of aspiring and successful professionals for so long that most networking advice focuses not on whether you should attend, but on how to make the most of these events when you do attend. In theory, they’re one of the best ways … Continue reading Don’t Waste Your Time on Networking Events