March 25, 2019
What comes first, fundraising staff or money? It is a conundrum faced by many charitable organizations. To raise money you need a team and a talented team raises more money, so where do you start? With a litany of needs and requests to raise dollars, organizations often feel pressure to grow their development teams. How […]
March 11, 2019
When the time comes to start planning and designing your next direct mail appeal, we all start with the lofty goal of coming up with the next stop-you-in-your-tracks, jaw-dropping, game-changing mailing package. Back here in reality, it doesn’t take long for the rain cloud of ROI and budget constraints to wash out our award-winning package design parade. […]
February 13, 2019
It’s no secret that the final few weeks of the year are a goldmine for charities and nonprofits. It’s when the majority of all the money we raise all year will be donated – when donors have philanthropy, generosity, and community on the brain. So, if you’re like most of my clients, you take advantage […]
January 7, 2019
With the new year upon us, you may be mulling over what your New Year’s resolutions are going to be in 2019. Maybe you’re committing to hitting the gym 3 times a week. Maybe you want to learn a language, deepen a skill, or make a new friend. If you’re raising money through email – […]
January 2, 2019
I really like fries. And I really, really like ketchup on my fries. That’s not to say I wouldn’t eat the fry if there were suddenly a shortage of ketchup. But I wouldn’t eat as many fries…ya know? The ketchup boosts my response to a hot plate of fries. And in the world of DM, […]
December 17, 2018
Do you dread the point in your direct mail appeal production process where it comes time to review your variable proofs? Would you rather call in sick than go through the maddening back and forth with your lettershop supplier as you work through all of the output oddities you find in those proofs? Odds are […]
December 3, 2018
The Canada Helps Giving Report 2018 was recently released. If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, I highly recommend that you do. For me, it certainly affirms what we see and experience in our day-to-day work with our clients. The Giving Report 2018 hits the mark in driving some very timely points […]
November 26, 2018
As we enter the final quarter of 2018, many of us fundraisers are focussed on our year-end fundraising campaign. Rightfully so. With 30% of annual giving occurring in December and 10% of annual giving taking place in the last 3 days of the year, these are some of the best revenue generating opportunities a fundraiser […]
November 14, 2018
Several months ago, I wrote about building a better monthly donor file for your organization. If you missed it, you can check it out here. Since then, a number of questions have come up about the different types of channels and campaigns available for monthly donor acquisition. Monthly donors remain some of the most valuable and sought-after […]
October 29, 2018
Small charities are near and dear to my heart. They tend to be more agile and nimble. The small team of staff and volunteers usually have their hands directly involved in the work. There’s a lot of passion. There are so many strengths, but often smaller charities aren’t as good at using those strengths to […]
