Here comes my occasional “Do’s vs. Don’ts” feature, where I share with you something arriving in my mailbox that seems a good ‘teaching opportunity.’ Today we’re going to review an online renewal appeal strategy. It arrived as an email. There’s (1) a subject line, (2) a preview pane, (3) the email itself, and (4) what… The post Fundraising Do’s vs. Don’ts: Annual Online Renewal Appeal Strategy appeared first on Clairification.| Clairification
What began as a response to Black Friday’s consumer craze has grown into what we all know as Giving Tuesday, a worldwide day of giving. Since its launch in 2012, it’s grown from a small initiative at New York’s 92nd Street Y into a global movement that inspires millions of donors each year. In the […] The post Giving Tuesday Deserves a Strategy, Not Just a Sprint appeared first on Windmill Hill Consulting.| Windmill Hill Consulting
Often it’s the little things that make the experience count The biggest fundraising time of the year for most nonprofits inexorably approaches. It can be stressful. Don’t succumb to the stress. You’ve got this! Perhaps you can’t do everything you’d like to do this year, but you can do some things. Here are 12 strategies… The post 12 Proven Strategies to Raise More Money Before Year’s End appeared first on Clairification.| Clairification
Does your nonprofit promote stock gifts? You should! A groundbreaking study by Dr. Russell James J.D., Ph.D., CFP®, professor in the Department of Personal Financial Planning at Texas Tech University, found nonprofits that consistently received gifts of appreciated stocks grew their contributions six times faster than those receiving only cash. This is HUGE. If you learn to… The post Top Reasons Your Nonprofit Should Actively Promote Stock Gifts appeared first on Clairification.| Clairification
Have you started working on your annual appeal and year-end fundraising plan? It’s beyond time! I worked for 30 years in the trenches, so I know exactly what this time of year feels like. It feels like you’re at the base of a mountain you’re about to scale. Exciting, but also scary. Exhilarating, yet also…| Clairification
Discover how launching a monthly giving program can boost nonprofit revenue, donor retention, and community support, with key stats and practical steps for success.| The ENGAGE Blog by Blackbaud
In an issue of her Loyalty Letter, Lisa Sargent recently noted: “I just wrapped up supporter survey season in my little writing studio. And every year, the most powerful answers come from one simple question: “WHY DO YOU GIVE?” The responses stop me in my tracks every time. I smile. I cry. I sigh.…| Clairification
Let’s say you’ve done everything thus far suggested in this fundraising appeal checklist. ✅ You’ve done the groundwork.✅ You’ve focused your message.✅ You’ve made it about the donor—not your organization. Now it’s time to bring it home. Because no matter how clear or well-structured your appeal is, it won’t inspire action unless it moves the…| Clairification
Before you write a single word of your annual fundraising appeal, pause. Take a deep breath. And think about the person who will open your letter or e. They’re not just a “donor.” They’re a person with hopes, fears, dreams and values. Someone who cares. Someone who wants to make a difference. Someone who, in…| Clairification
The job of the smart fundraiser is inspiring passionate philanthropy to make people’s lives better. I know you’re smart, because you’re reading this article! But none of us is born with a fundraising gene. And no one ever really teaches us how to write a smart fundraising appeal. We from our predecessors. Or maybe read…| Clairification
Full confession: I’ve used the franken “best practice” appeal structure for years. And honestly? It works — especially if you borrow generously from the best of the best appeal writers. I’ve even taught these practices at conferences, on webinars, and through consulting engagements. You probably know the formula: Lead with the beginnings of a story…| Clairification
In 1984 Robert Cialdini wrote a groundbreaking bo, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, outlining principles of influence that affect human behaviors. Today these principles have been well documented. Trail-blazing research added by behavioral scientists like Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky supports and expands on Cialdini’s principles. No matter how much technology advances, the triggers behind human behavior and…| Clairification
Everyone’s been saying this, just about daily, for some time. “These aren’t ordinary times.” If the anthem for the Boomer generation was Bob Dylan’s “The TImes They Are A’Changin’,” what’s the anthem for today? History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes. We’re living in the face of a firehose of breaking news, and much of…| Clairification
Ready for the home stretch of annual giving? Use these tips to effectively execute your year-end giving plans and smash your yearly fundraising goals.| re: charity
People are wired for stories. We use them to understand our world. But do the same stories work in any time? For any person? No. You need to understand your SMIT story – ‘Single Most Important Thing’ – at this moment in time. And that SMIT will change, depending on the environment in which you’re operating.…| Clairification
The world reacted with shock and outrage. There was a pervasive feeling of “how could this happen here?” People screamed… cried… prayed. This was five years ago. Last spring. When a fire wreaked devastating damage to something that, for many, represented the soul of a nation. And . Notre Dame…| Clairification
Awareness alone is passive. Do you wish you had a dime for every time a nonprofit board or staff member told you “We’re the best kept secret in town; if people knew what we do, they’d give to support us.” Nonprofits tell me this all the time! If I had all those dimes, I…| Clairification
You must invite your donor into the story. Take yourself out of the equation. Donors don’t care about you, but about what they can do through you. Stop talking about your good work. Talk, instead, about the good work your donor wants to do. How? 5-Step Strategy to Illuminate the Donor’s Role in Repairing the…| Clairification
What gets donors going? The heart, not the head. “People do not give to the most urgent needs, but rather they support causes that mean something to them.” This is the finding from a report done by the Centre for Charitable Giving and Philanthropy at the University of Kent: “How Donor Choose Charities.” They…| Clairification
