Category Archives: nonprofit

Want more of your regular donors to become monthly donors?

Nonprofits love monthly donors for obvious reasons. Monthly donors give consistently, require less frequent fundraising, and tend to be more loyal. But to get regular donors to opt into monthly donor status, you have to make this seem like something … Continue reading

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The envelope teaser

The burning question in direct mail fundraising? Should you use a teaser for the outside envelope of your next appeal, or not? Some say the plain, blank envelope is the best ‘teaser,’ a no-teaser kind of teaser. But if you … Continue reading

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What’s wrong with thanking donors?

I just got an email with the subject line “I’m so grateful.” Let’s see what this is all about. Turns out it’s from a rescue mission, an organization that I love and support. Here’s the text of the email: Dear … Continue reading

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Try this to increase fundraising response

One of the best ways to boost the response of your direct mail fundraising appeal isn’t what you might think. It’s to send an email. Mail and email complement each other, creating better response than either would separately. That’s one … Continue reading

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3 Reasons Why Your Non-Profit Should Add a Blog to Your Website

by guest blogger Joe Garecht, President of Garecht Fundraising Associates. Every non-profit wants to raise more money online.  But most non-profits struggle to get traction raising money on their websites.  One of the reasons why organizations struggle online is because … Continue reading

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One reason why fundraising appeals go bad

“The letter doesn’t sound like me.” That’s something a president/CEO or executive director of a nonprofit might say when she’s reviewing a fundraising appeal. It’s actually a frequent comment, and it’s understandable, really. After all, the president probably believes passionately … Continue reading

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Are your fundraising appeals repetitive? Good

Effective copywriting for fundraising is weird. It has a lot of characteristics that seem to be the opposite of what’s right. One of these is repetition. Good copy for an appeal tends to repeat some things over and over. To … Continue reading

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New Year’s Fundraising Resolution: Connect with your mid-level donors

You probably hear a lot about mid-level donors, and that’s for good reason. For most nonprofits, these donors represent the single largest opportunity for short-term and long-term growth. Cultivating mid-level donors increases their giving but also cultivates donors who can … Continue reading

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New Year’s Fundraising Resolution: Reconnect with lapsed donors

One way to start 2020 off right is to reactivate lapsed donors. They’re not a lost cause. But you have to be strategic about winning them back. First, realize that they’re not sitting around thinking, “Wow, I haven’t given to … Continue reading

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Your year-end appeal: last-minute help, free

It’s time to get your year-end appeal (online and offline) set up, nailed down, and ready to go. If you’ve been putting it off … or if you already have an appeal prepared and want a gut-check before you launch, … Continue reading

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