Testing for fundraising campaigns: How to get results you can rely on
If there’s one thing that I’ve learned in my 10+ years working in the charitable sector, it is: You are not your donor. It can be a hard truth, I know! But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what I like, what you like, or what your CEO likes; it matters what […]
Why Do Benchmarks Matter to YOU?
Soon my fellow Good Workers and I will be releasing this year’s Canadian Direct Mail Benchmarks Report. As I was looking a draft of the report, two questions came to mind: Why are benchmarks important in the first place? Do fundraisers like you and me use benchmarks as much as we could (and should)? Today, […]
New Year Resolutions for Fundraisers in 2022
Ok, I realize I’m a little late to the game in sharing resolutions for 2022, but one of MY resolutions was to be a bit more “chill” this year (as my husband would put it). So instead of stressing about my resolution-sharing-tardiness, I’m going to dedicate this post to the fundraisers who are still recovering […]
Should you use Facebook’s dynamic creative for your next fundraising campaign?
It’s officially November, which means fundraisers everywhere are gorging on discount Halloween candy and feverishly finalizing their year-end campaigns. And with multi-channel integration being the name of the game these days, charities of every shape and size are learning how to use social media to connect and communicate with their donors. Thus, while Facebook’s dynamic […]
A 7-point guide to kick-starting your mid-level program!
If like me you’ve been a fundraiser for a while, you’ve heard mid-level donor and mid-level giving program come up a few times in the last few years. But there is so much information out there, how do you make sense of it all? Fear not! My hard-won, 7-step guide to kick-starting your mid-level program […]
Let Your Donors be the Jury
I’ve been a partner at Good Works for 25 years now. But, before I became a Good Worker, I was a client – twice! Back in the 1990s, I learned direct mail fundraising from the experts at Good Works. There was one lesson they taught me that stands above all the others – and that […]
5 Facebook Ad Campaign Tests You Should Try Today
More of our clients, and charities in general, are dipping their toes (or fully diving in!) to advertising on Facebook. Since we know that multi-channel messaging is the name of the game, Facebook offers a great opportunity to get your compelling content in front of donors and ultimately increase revenue. If you read my email […]
My Big Benchmarks Surprise
Poor direct mail. It’s been the unpopular cousin of other fundraising channels in many people’s minds for years now. To many fundraisers, direct mail fundraising had its heyday back in the 1980s and 1990s, but then started its long, steady decline toward oblivion. ‘Cutting edge’ thinkers and fundraising pundits predicted that direct mail would just […]
Baking a Big Data Cake!
When we set about to bake our direct mail fundraising cake, it is easy to get excited about some of the higher-profile ingredients that go into the recipe. Things like the story and the artwork are important, don’t get me wrong… Important Ingredients That Make The Cake Rise For the sake of this baking metaphor, […]
All about YOU! (The Fundraising Edition)
It’s a universal rule in fundraising. One of the first things you might learn when you take a fundraising course or start your first job in the donor development realm. It’s the subject of many blog posts and conference sessions: When you’re writing for a donor audience, your copy needs to include the word YOU. […]