My 18-year-old cousin recently received an email from a nonprofit, promoting the organization’s new planned giving web site and inviting him to register for a free webinar about the topic. After opting-out from the nonprofit’s mailing list, my cousin emailed me and asked, “Why would they send me this junk?” My reply, “Because you joined [...]
Wealthy philanthropists in the United Kingdom say they’d donate more if they had better tax incentives. So says a new survey by JP Morgan Private Bank. What does that mean for you, American development professional? It means you can attract more major gifts if your donor prospects can realize greater tax benefits. Isn’t that tough, [...]
Fundraising professionals frequently describe the ideal donor as one who has inclination (a desire to support the cause) and capacity (the resources to give). Most also say, “We can’t do anything to increase a prospect’s capacity.” This may be the most dangerous and prevalent myth that infects nonprofits today. In fact, you CAN do something [...]
Imagine you’re single, looking for a new long-term relationship. You enter a room full of strangers and see someone whom you find attractive. You walk over, introduce yourself, and converse. You deliver some of your best material—funny anecdotes about yourself, details about your high-powered career, evidence of your passionate, yet sensitive side. The stranger is [...]
As we’ve often discussed, fund raising is far easier and more effective if you can tap into donors’ hearts so, for them, giving is an act of fulfillment, an act of feeding their passion. If you can connect their hearts and nurture their passion for your institution, they’ll be thinking, “How can I help?” rather [...]
A few weeks ago, I spoke before a group of nonprofit administrators about how to raise money and market their organizations more effectively. I had recently given a similar presentation to for-profit marketing directors and was using those slides as the foundation for my speech to charities. The “for-profit” presentation discussed how to move people [...]
How many fund-raising appeals have you read that cite countless statistics to prove the effectiveness of the charity? I could wallpaper my house with them. No offense to the statisticians and numbers-crunchers, but charities that build their campaigns on such logical appeals may be undermining their efforts. In an important and provocative article published this [...]
People who volunteer time to charities donate on average 10-times more money to charity than people who don’t volunteer, according to a new study The lesson: Engaging volunteers should be a strategic priority if you want your organization to become BIG or get BIGger. Here are some of the key findings from the study, released [...]
Can the nonprofit world handle a flood of helpers? That’s the question posed by The Chronicle of Philanthropy in the headline of its lead story (Oct. 15, 2009 edition). The article’s premise: More and more people are seeking opportunities to volunteer with charities, but the charities may not be ready, have the desire or the ability to engage them.
BIG TIP: Always focus on how you can spread passion for your cause. If you do this, the money and the donors will follow. There is no greater calling than to share one’s passion about a meaningful cause. Too many many non-profits fail to spread passion. They spend so much time soliciting transactions that they forget the big picture.
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Bold, innovative and generous people are in every corner of America. We want to find them, celebrate them, and connect them with you. In the next few weeks and months, we plan to connect with BIG people in every congressional district in America.
