Author Archives: George Crankovic
When to use a plain envelope in fundraising
In Gulliver’s Travels, our intrepid explorer finds himself in Lilliput, where two factions of Lilliputians are in dispute. On one side are the Big-Endians, who break their boiled eggs at the big end, while on the other side are the … Continue reading
What’s an offer in fundraising?
The offer is one of the most underutilized aspects of fundraising. Is that because of how we tend to think about it? One definition of the fundraising offer is that it’s what the donor’s gift will accomplish. That’s true – … Continue reading
How to test smart for fundraising
The problem with the typical A/B test for a direct mail fundraising appeal or an email appeal is that it’s just too careful and conservative. That’s the point in this post from Seth’s blog. He says that we tend to … Continue reading
Is this the end for digital fundraising?
Yes, yes, we all know: the future of fundraising is digital, and direct mail is dead. So it’s all sunshine and rainbows on the digital fundraising side, then – right? Uh, not exactly. According to A love letter to digital … Continue reading
What is it about direct mail for fundraising?
Mail is still the most productive channel for fundraising. More than email, internet, phone, social media, or any other medium you can dream up. Why? Jerry Huntsinger in his Eighty-Six Tutorials on Creating Fundraising Letters and Packages explains it perfectly: … Continue reading
You have to move donors to get them to give
Connecting with donors, listening to donors, donor love, donor centrism, making the donor feel like a hero – these are all fine and useful concepts. They show how to think about fundraising. But we can’t escape the fact that at … Continue reading
The easy way to boost fundraising response
It’s probably something you don’t give much attention to when you’re creating a fundraising appeal. Most of us don’t, I’d bet. That’s because it’s so simple that it gets overlooked. It’s this: making the date of the appeal a prominent … Continue reading