Tag Archives: marketing

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

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Are you a good fundraiser? Try this simple self-check.

Your appeals get your donors involved and engaged in your nonprofit and mission, right? If you’re ready to find out, try this self-check. Call one of your donors out of the blue. You’ll be shocked. Because, odds are, your donor: … Continue reading

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Book review: “Everyone at a Nonprofit Is a Fundraiser”

“Your nonprofit is siloed.” That’s something you never want to hear. If you do, then your organization’s departments all have their own agendas, lack a common vision, and fail to communicate with each other. Everyone is working at cross-purposes, trying … Continue reading

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How to Use Verbal Images in Fundraising Copy

When it comes to engaging your donors, you can’t just tell. You have to show. And you do it with verbal images. See my article in Fundraising Success magazine: 7 Ways to Use Verbal Images to Pull Donors into Your … Continue reading

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One of the real lessons from Obama fundraising

By now the fundraising tips to be gleaned from Obama’s 2012 fundraising strategy have been picked over by just about everyone. You know — the casual tone in emails, unconventional subject lines like “hey” and “wow,” the low-dollar asks, the … Continue reading

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Profiting from nonprofits?

You might think that tough-minded, profit-motivated, practical business people wouldn’t have much to learn from a bunch of granola-crunchers working in nonprofits. You’d be wrong. The nonprofit sector is a huge enterprise. Think of The Salvation Army. Think of the … Continue reading

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What makes people do what they do?

They’re inscrutable. Insufferable. Illogical. And unpredictable. What makes people do what they do, react the way they do, buy the things they buy, or make the decisions they make? It’s maddening. Just ask anybody in marketing or fundraising, and you’ll … Continue reading

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When marketing dollars are wasted

Acme Industries has a created a new product. It’s the result of a big investment in R&D — for them, anyway. It’s been field-tested and focus-grouped. Acme is convinced it has a winner. “It’s so good people don’t even know … Continue reading

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Make your webinar sell — 3 traps to avoid

It seems as if there are more webinars on offer than ever. Just about every topic in marketing and fundraising is covered, along with just about every other conceivable subject in business or commerce. There are even all-day “conference” webinars, … Continue reading

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Why brainstorming sessions often don’t produce good ideas — and what to do about it

The idea of brainstorming is so ingrained in most businesses today — especially among marketing and fundraising people — that we pretty much know all the “rules” of a brainstorming session by heart. Like … don’t judge, go for quantity … Continue reading

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