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…”
FIT Fundraising Articles
Fundraising Tips and Strategies.
DRMG? Is this a term your charity knows?
Direct response major giving (DRMG) may look similar to traditional major gifts programs. Both strategies use face-to-face meetings and relationship building to cultivate a major gift, but their are stark differences.
It’s That Time Again… New Year’s Goal Setting for Your 2012 Fundraising
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.
My Christmas Wish… Keep Our Tax Deduction
Even the famous miser Ebenezer Scrooge came to know the goodness of generosity. As Charles Dickens wrote, “Scrooge was better than his word.. He became as good a friend, as good a man as the good old City knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough in the good old world.” Before the President and Congress send nonprofits a lump of coal, they would do well to remember the lesson of Scrooge and preserve the charitable tax deduction.
4th Quarter Checklist – Start A Challenge Fund TODAY
You can use any major gift in the 4th quarter of 2011 to boost revenues in 2012, but you need to start RIGHT NOW. Remember that the majority of all major gifts happen in 4th quarter and the majority of 4th quarter gifts happen in the last three weeks of the year.
4th Quarter Check List – Cancel Christmas Vacations in Your Development Department
Stay open through the holidays. Have at least a few major gift officers in the office that can be making clean-up calls to donors that haven’t given yet this year and thank you calls to donors who make large year-end contributions. They’ll also be available for those last minute calls from donors who want to make gifts of stocks or other assets before year-end.
4th Quarter Check List – Pump Up Your Digital RIGHT NOW!
Most people are shocked to hear that I recommend spending a minimum of 10% of their overall marketing budget on SEM preparing for the last week of the year! That’s right. If you are spending $100,000 annually on (non-staffing) fundraising and development costs at least $10,000 should be ear marked in the 4th quarter for promoting your web site through search engine marketing and digital techniques. And yes, if you are spending $1 million a year on fundraising and marketing costs, then at least $100,000 should be earmarked for 4th quarter search engine marketing.
4th Quarter Check List – Visit Your BIG Donors, Right Now!
As a matter of fact, major donors expect to be “insiders”. Most would truly be upset to find out that you were struggling to make ends meet at year-end without asking for their help.
The 4th Quarter Check List – Have your “monthly donors” been sent the best appeal of 2011?
It doesn’t matter whether you call it a pledge program, recurring gift program, monthly giving program, sustainer program or preauthorized gift program it is the same technique and, as you know, they all add up to a huge additional revenue stream for every organization or charity.
The 4th Quarter Check List – Golden Week 2011 – Are You Ready?
By any metric or system of measurement in fund development the last week of the year is by far the most profitable week for any not-for-profit organization. I often refer to this week as “golden week”.
