Ann Green

MAY 11, 2015

When we think of stories, we often think of a written story. But stories come in many forms and people process information in different ways. Some people respond better to visual stimuli. In our information packed world, a visual story can be great way to connect. Tell a story in an instant with a photo. Your donors are busy and may not have time read a story, but you can capture their attention in an instant with a great photo.

Communication 265

Communication Nonprofits Marketing Marketing 265

Nonprofit Marketing Guide

MAY 12, 2015

Looking to repurpose your direct mail appeals into email? Kerri has some great advice for you! ~Kivi. 1. Thou Shalt Make Email SHORTER Than Direct Mail. Image Source: https://flic.kr/p/6D43LQ. Direct mail appeals clock in at well over 1,000 words, sometimes double and triple that. If you do that in email, no one will like you. While I’ve seen super short (150 words) and super long (500 words) e-appeals that work, my sweet spot has always been between 250 and 350 words.

Fundraising 213

Fundraising Fundraising Advertising Energy 213

Fundraising Coach

MAY 5, 2015

"Story Road" by umjanedoan on Flickr. Used by permission. Would you like to jumpstart your fundraising for your nonprofit? One of the most important tools I've seen is helping board members get comfortable telling their own story. Getting board members to be fully present. In my work with nonprofits around the world, I find a common element in those with high performing boards: their board members feel released to be fully themselves.

Nonprofits 111

Nonprofits Values Fundraising Fundraising 111

The Agitator

MAY 14, 2015

Direct mail is: [ ] Dead [ ] Near Dead [ ] Nowhere near dead. Over the 9 years Tom and I’ve been agitating, few topics are the subject of more debate than the all-too-familiar prognostication that direct mail is either dead or dying. We’ve never bought into that myth as you can see from this 2012 post, Direct Mail: The Exquisite Corpse. And neither have a good many of our readers.

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Speaker: Amanda Adams, Fractional CFO, CPA

Are you ready to elevate your accounting processes for 2025? 🚀 Join us for an exclusive webinar led by Amanda Adams, a seasoned fractional CFO and CPA passionate about transforming back-office operations for finance teams. This session will cover critical best practices and process improvements tailored specifically for accounting professionals.

Finance

Mission Minded

MAY 6, 2015

A recent article in AdAge argues that every great story, and every great brand, has a strong, evident antagonist–someone to fight against. The author explains that Apple’s enemy was Microsoft, just as Luke fought against Darth Vadar. Great consumer marketing does this: It positions one product against another. We choose Nike over Reebok or Coke […].

Production 103

Production Nonprofits Marketing Marketing 103

iMarketSmart

MAY 25, 2015

Your annual report (only if it has good pictures, stories about impact, and financials that show responsible use of funds). A copy of your newsletter (only if it has good pictures and stories about impact that help the donor feel like a hero). Photos of projects or beneficiaries (be sure you can tell a story about each photo). Videos (easily transported in a phone, iPad or computer).

Fundraising 95

Fundraising Fundraising 95

Nonprofit Marketing Guide

MAY 14, 2015

When it comes to building relationships and trust with prospective donors and volunteers, service users or program participants and other vital audiences, the smallest details can make a huge impact, especially when they’re about your organization’s people. That’s why there’s so much potential for us to do SO much better with About Us web site content.

Leadership 199

Leadership Communication Nonprofits 199

Fundraising Coach

MAY 22, 2015

Today it's my pleasure to introduce you to Dana Ostomel, the founder of Deposit a Gift.com. Deposit a Gift allows anyone - nonprofits, schools, or individuals - to raise money and even sell tickets to benefit events. I love that Dana's background is in marketing. She's developed solutions for brands like Snapple, Century21, The Home Depot, and DirecTV.

Community Development 108

Community Development Culture Marketing Marketing 108

The Agitator

MAY 7, 2015

In the first decade of my career, before discovering the wonders of direct mail, I did honest labor managing capital campaigns and major gift efforts. In those early years I was blessed with a remarkable mentor named G. Richard Kuch. He was an old school fundraiser and campaigner. Meaning, he believed strongly that none of us should allowed call themselves a ‘fundraiser’ or ‘fundraising consultant’ — let alone be turned loose on a client — until we had been th

Fundraising 99

Fundraising Fundraising Management 99

Nonprofit Marketing Blog

MAY 12, 2015

Want to add new donors and more donations to your fundraising results this year? One of the best ways to expand your reach and attract new supporters is by tapping into the networks of your existing supporters with a social fundraising campaign. Here’s why: people are more likely to give when asked by a friend or family member, and thanks to the multiplier effect, these supporter-fundraisers will increase their lifetime value to your organization by giving and bringing new donations to you

Fundraising 91

Fundraising Fundraising Recruitment Values 91

Speaker: Radhika Samant and Todd Wuestenberg

Employee recognition has often been deemed a "feel-good" initiative, tied closely to rewards. While we understand its importance, we tend to associate recognition with intangible outcomes like engagement and sentiment, rather than direct impacts on retention and high performance. In today’s workplace, the true ROI of recognition lies in its ability to regenerate tangible, business-driven results.

Retention

Ken Goldstein

MAY 6, 2015

Last week I attended the "What Really Matters" webinar from Abila to discuss the findings in their latest Donor Engagement Study. There were a few surprises in their latest findings, and several confirmations of what we've always known, or at least should have sensed. On of the key points that should be obvious, but bears repeating, is that Content is King.

Nonprofits 103

Nonprofits Communication Fundraising Fundraising 103

Ann Green

MAY 22, 2015

All nonprofits want to succeed and grow. You want more donors and more people to find out about your organization. You hear a lot about innovation and finding the next best thing to accomplish what you want. But sometimes we need to take a step back, and realize the next best thing may already be here. Give donors the personal touch. We have so many different ways to communicate with donors, many of them electronic.

Retention 187

Retention Communication Technology Fundraising 187

Nonprofit Marketing Guide

MAY 7, 2015

Don’t Feed the Troll. We recently had this question pop up on our All-Access Pass Holder’s private Facebook Group: “How do you respond to negative or misinformed reviews of your organization on Facebook? Do you respond to each one? Post a general statement? Would you post a response as a comment on the review, or send a private message?

Ethics 197

Ethics Universities Marketing Marketing 197

Fundraising Coach

MAY 20, 2015

I firmly believe "donor fatigue" is a cop out, not a reality. In this quick video, I tell you why. And I give you a free tool to fix your next fundraising letter. For more on this, check out: The free fundraising letter email course at" [link]. The new Fundraising 101 video class for board members and "accidental" fundraisers at: [link]. And the official site for The Nonprofit Storytelling Conference at: [link].

Fundraising 107

Fundraising Fundraising Nonprofits 107

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Management

The Agitator

MAY 31, 2015

The Agitator has recently reported on the latest body blows to the reputation of the nonprofit/charity sector, specifically with respect to fundraising practices. One would think that attention to reputation would be of paramount concern to our sector, but there isn’t much sign that individual nonprofit organisations think about their reputation in a systematic way.

Fundraising 98

Fundraising Fundraising Nonprofits Nonprofit Management 98

EveryAction

MAY 26, 2015

The future is unpredictable. For instance, my Nike sneakers don't appear to be lacing themselves up (shame), but my iPhone is beyond anything Marty Mcfly could imagine. So naturally when we asked Chris Tuttle to predict the future of email, we were hoping for at best a rough guess. Instead, he gave us insightful analysis of the present, and a solid prediction of the future.

Nonprofits 78

Nonprofits Communication Marketing Marketing 78

Getting Attention

MAY 21, 2015

Welcome to our Proof Point series—highlighting research findings to use when advocating for the marketing approaches you know are right. . Email subject line length DOES MATTER, as proven by Mail Chimp’s research on open rates for 200 million emails. The best email subject lines are short [50 characters or less]…and provide the reader with a reason to explore your message further.

Marketing 78

Marketing Marketing Values Communication 78

Nonprofit Marketing Blog

MAY 20, 2015

New research from the 2015 M+R Benchmarks Study tells us that, on average, almost half (45%) of small nonprofits’ email subscribers are inactive. Yikes! Inactive could mean different things to different organizations. Many organizations define inactive subscribers as those who’ve gone one year with no activity. (These don’t necessarily include lapsed or inactive donors.

Activism 74

Activism Nonprofits 74

Speaker: Joe Sharpe and James Carlson

Payroll optimization can be one of the most time-consuming and complex factors of small business management. Yet, organizations that crack the code on streamlining employee compensation often discover innovative avenues for growth. With the right strategies in place, outsourcing and streamlining payroll processes can result in substantial time and resource savings.

Foundations

Nonprofit Marketing Guide

MAY 28, 2015

Today I’m sharing the fourth video in our new series from the Communications Coaching Program for Executive Directors (we call it the CoCoa Club for short.). When we recently asked several hundred executive directors which communications channel they most wanted to get right and master, the answer was email newsletters. In this video, I share the three essentials I am looking for when I review an email newsletter. ( Can’t see the video player?

Communication 194

Communication Nonprofits 194

Fundraising Coach

MAY 7, 2015

Millenials aren't really different. Charities just haven't been paying attention! "Selfie" by Patrik Nygren. Used with permission. https://flic.kr/p/nk9b1w Charities have gotten used to the WORLD WAR II GENERATION 's trust in big social programs. Big programs overcame the Great Depression and overcame Hitler, right? So if "everyone does their part" we'll overcome the next hurdle.

Communication 97

Communication Marketing Marketing Nonprofits 97

The Agitator

MAY 13, 2015

Way back when (2013), The Agitator reported — Are You Ready To Pass Inspection? — on a Google study on donor online giving. As we noted: “One of the key findings was the extent to which donors now appear to comparison shop before giving. The Google study says 75% of donors begin the research they conduct on charities online. Nearly 50% visit multiple nonprofit sites prior to giving — 39% visit two to four sites, 8% visit five or more.” So I suspect you fundraisers have wo

Nonprofits 98

Nonprofits Fundraising Fundraising Marketing 98

EveryAction

MAY 28, 2015

With the start of summer just around the corner, the nonprofit conference action for the year is just beginning to heat up! We took a look at our 2015 Best Nonprofit Conferences Calendar and put together a new list of the summer's most anticipated events - which ones are you attending?

Nonprofits 77

Nonprofits 77

Speaker: Tim Sarrantonio, Director of Corporate Brand

Is your organization ready to build a recurring giving program that not only sustains but also propels your mission forward? 🚀 In this new webinar with industry visionary Tim Sarrantonio, we’ll guide you through the critical steps to establishing and scaling a successful recurring giving program. Whether you’re starting fresh or enhancing an existing program, this session will provide the strategies you need to deepen donor relationships and secure long-term support!

Nonprofits

Getting Attention

MAY 6, 2015

What’s that one bad work habit you want to change but just can’t do it ? C’mon—we all have at least one. But be it one or many, these habits can drive us crazy. OMG! Here’s my biggie bad: Whenever I speak or train, I learn a ton from folks like you who are in the room or on the webinar. These learnings hugely enrich my understanding of the topic (let’s say, writing for social media vs. websites).

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Nonprofit Marketing Blog

MAY 25, 2015

Looking for a new way to get your board involved with your fundraising efforts? A social fundraising campaign can help make it easier for your board members to fulfill their “give or get” commitment to your organization. Of course, the idea behind social fundraising isn’t new, but combining the age-old structure of board support and your fundraising assets with technology that makes it much easier to ask for a gift can amplify your outreach, resulting in more donors and more do

Fundraising 73

Fundraising Fundraising Technology Nonprofits 73

Nonprofit Marketing Guide

MAY 19, 2015

Bill Sayre. We don’t touch on cyber security too often on this blog as it is so not in our area of expertise. But we know it’s extremely important you are doing everything you can to maintain the safety of your donor information. We were glad that Merkle reached out to us to talk to you about keeping your data secure. ~Kristina. Guest Post by Bill Sayre, President of Merkle Response Management Group.

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Management Technology Foundations Activism 191

NonProfit Hub

MAY 8, 2015

There’s a big problem in the nonprofit sector, and every sector and industry for that matter. We’re living in 2015, and yet women are still not being treated as equals. If you’re a woman in a top role, such as Executive Director or CEO, you’ve managed to beat the odds. For that, I applaud you. However, I dream of a world where it isn’t such a big feat.

Leadership 76

Leadership Nonprofits Universities Philanthropy 76

Speaker: Radhika Samant and Adri Glover

The world of work has fundamentally changed. The series of waves that the pandemic began have rippled through the Great Resignation, quiet quitting, the Great Regret, and other eloquent phrases that boil down to the same thing: people aren’t engaged at work or enabled to perform at their best. The truth is that engagement and enablement is more important than ever, but how we do it is the critical differentiator for many organizations.

Activism

The Agitator

MAY 28, 2015

In Hidden Leaks #2 , I warned of the likelihood that a bad Donation Page will drive even the most loyal of donors to the exit. Getting down in the essential weeds a bit more, here’s an important message about another processing ‘leak’ — and loyalty opportunity — in the retention bucket. A leak unnoticed or ignored by most organizations.

Retention 96

Retention 96

EveryAction

MAY 22, 2015

The way people give is constantly changing. People may care about your cause, but it doesn’t mean they will donate. So what drives them?

Technology 85

Technology Nonprofits 85

Getting Attention

MAY 28, 2015

Last summer, my husband and I finally visited The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms , which had been on our go-to list for a decade. It’s the former country estate of noted turn-of-the-20th-century designer Gustav Stickley, a leader of “the Arts and Crafts movement in decorative arts, home building, and furnishing styles.” It’s the only house Stickley ever built for himself, so showcases his design esthetic, utopian vision and radical approach to daily life.

Food 70

Food Marketing Marketing Nonprofits 70

iMarketSmart

MAY 22, 2015

I bet you already know that each and every one of your supporters has a unique reason why they first got involved with your organization— their story. . But you probably don’t know each of their stories. And, you probably haven’t asked each of them to tell you their story. Here’s why you should: Several researchers have concluded that your donor’s life stories influence their charitable bequest decision-making.

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Values Production Fundraising Fundraising 68

Speaker: Igli Laci, Strategic Finance Leader

In today’s competitive market, pricing is more than just a number — it’s the cornerstone of profitability. The right pricing strategy ensures that you capture the true value of your offering, paving the way for sustainable growth and long-term success. Join Igli Laci, Strategic Finance Leader, in this exclusive session where he will explore how a well-crafted pricing approach balances customer perception with business objectives, creating a powerful tool for securing both competitive advantage a

Finance