Strategies to help you
win new donors, lift the performance of current donors and keep active donors longer
Face-to-Face
Recently, I attended the Bridge Conference in Washington, D.C. While there, I was struck by two simple things. First of all, it sure can rain in the capital… I was in a meeting at one of the restaurants on the lower level of my hotel when one of the fountains began to flood somehow from the afternoon thunderstorm. I flashed back to the scene in the film “Titanic” when all the well-dressed people were running up the stairs to escape the water. It was quite remarkable! But more importantly, it just re-enforced for me the importance of being face-to-face with people. As an introvert, I absolutely love technologies like Google Duo, Facetime and ZOOM which allow you to have client meetings without leaving the office. Anything that helps avoid the hassle and expense of going to the airport is okay with me. However, nothing beats having the opportunity to sit down with another human being over coffee or a meal and just have a real human conversation. That’s true with your donors, too. And while it may be more difficult for some organizations, I think it’s absolutely necessary that you have some real face time (not the Apple kind) whenever possible. We humans (even us introverted ones) need this kind of interaction every now and...
A.I. and Fundraising
A couple of months ago I blogged about the lack of digital disruption in fundraising. This blog is going to be about the future impact on AI on fundraising – or the lack of it. AI, or artificial intelligence, is one of the most popular topics if you peruse LinkedIn posts these days. Most the articles take one of two approaches: 1. Get ready, AI is going to be wonderful! OR 2. Look out, AI is going to be dreadful! For AI to work, a couple of key things need to be in place. First, AI works best with tasks that are routine and can be standardized. Fundraising is anything but routine and standard. While there are best practices approaches most fundraising professionals would agree on, for every rule there are a dozen exceptions. And the best “exception” for one nonprofit organization is generally not the same for another nonprofit. This is going to require that AI be super flexible. And as we know, complexity is the enemy of automation. This leads me to my second point. Because AI solutions will have to be complex and variable in the fundraising environment, it will likely be expensive. Like all innovations, business verticals with the most to gain are usually the first to adopt. So, between the general lack of money in the nonprofit space and the relatively low payroll threshold of fundraising professionals (I’m with you here) it is unlikely that AI will have much of a foothold in fundraising anytime...
The Most Common Analysis
A Stop Acquisition Analysis is the harbinger of nonprofit hell.
Busting Myths: “Multi-Channel Donors are More Valuable”
The truth is not as simple as advertised.
Is Your BOD on Hopium?
Does your BOD have unrealistic fundraising expectations?
Mission Impossible
Does your organization rely more on paid employees or dedicated volunteers?
Has Digital Disruption Skipped Fundraising?
What are your thoughts on digital fundraising? Can you identify similarities between grocery shopping and charitable giving?
The Impact of Grace and Encouragement
Grace and encouragement can have a transformational impact on our personal relationships, so why not apply these qualities to our donor relationships?
The Fundraising Power of Awareness
P2P events are key to your organization’s brand-recognition.
The 101 Biggest Mistakes Nonprofits Make
Andrew Olsen has done our whole vertical a service by compiling a list of the most common mistakes that nonprofits make.