Articles and Insights from the FIT Fundraising Team
"A donor segment is a group of donors or prospects who require similar fundraising communications according to the information that categorizes them... Our charity uses segmentation for reporting results." I recently asked a fundraising professional if his charity...
The “New-New” donor is the person who gives in multiple channels to their favorite charities. They give higher average gifts and more frequently.
It begins with the data. I'm often approached by nonprofit leaders with the same question. Leaders of both large and small nonprofit organizations have asked me the same question over and over. The are all looking for a short cut to building their fundraising...
The colorful Lee Atwater was right about one thing that applies to our era today, “listen to your donors”. Donors today are telling you they want more options for giving. We call it integration, but it is critical to give your supporters multiple options for driving them to make their next gift.
Make no mistake about it, direct mail is changing. There are fewer donors using the preprinted DM reply devices and reply envelopes. America’s top non-profits are now reporting that between one-quarter and one-third of all direct mail responders use the charity’s web site as their response device. No other channel drives more gifts to your website than Direct Mail!
LYBUNT is an acronym that stands for “last year, but unfortunately not this year.” This is a term used frequently in the fundraising world to represent donors who gave your organization money last year but, who have not given you money yet this year. Fundraisers typically target this group of last year’s donors differently than people who haven’t made a gift at all.
Yes, it’s that time again. The 4th quarter has arrived and what play are your going to call? By any metric or system of measurement in fund development the last quarter of the year is the most important and the last week of the 4th quarter is by far the most profitable week for any not-for-profit organization. I often refer to this week as “golden week”.
over time, fundraising procedures stacked one on top of another, can place an organization in a box that it cannot get out of.
Remember, the charity that gets the donation each day is the one that is “top of mail box”. Which letter each day will get the donors attention… and touch their heart? To quote a famous civil war general, “He who get’s there the firstest with the mostest wins…”
Unlike most people who call themselves “fundraising counsel” I am not one who wastes a lot of time with grandiose vision papers and colorful case statements. Every January I encourage charities to spend more time on practical, actionable events rather than writing beautiful superfluous words about their organization and cause.
