Fundraising Articles

Do you have that sinking feeling come Sunday night – when you know you must face your workplace the next day? Do not fret; there is a way that you can contribute to shifting your workplace away from the doldrums and towards vibrancy and improved team morale. There was a bright yellow book in my […]

Which one of these two speech openings make you want to hear more? “Let me give some statistics ….” “Let me tell you a story ….” For the majority, the second one wins. Good fundraising stories nearly always beat content full of statistics and figures. Stories are usually more interesting and engaging if they are

Donors give to your cause not because you have needs, but because you meet needs. Put another way, any individual involved in fundraising would do well to remember that – if you want to increase donations – it’s not about you and it’s not about how impressive your organisation is. Rather, it’s about helping the

Major Gift Solicitation A donor call report — or what I like to refer to as an ROC (Report of Contact), is a key element in any successful fundraising operation. This donor report is a record of the who, what, where, when, why, and how concerning the interaction between an organisation and a donor or

How do you know what your donors are interested in? Have you taken the time to really talk to them and find out? You might be surprised. The best fundraisers consistently focus on matching their communication content and style to the specific interests of their donors. They put a professional effort into learning what their

Photo caption: Donated building in Wellington with donor Susan Price Photo credit: Dominion Post, pg. 1 (16 Feb 2019) A NEIGHBOURLY GIFT Fundraising textbooks don’t usually tell you to be nice to your neighbours, but I have known neighbours of schools, universities, and research centres to leave cash and real estate to the institutions next

BUILDING DONOR RELATIONSHIPS AND DONOR RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT IS CRUCIAL Fundraising involves a great deal of relationship cultivation and management. Whether a donor gives $2 or $2 million, relationships matter and constructive contact is necessary. The nature of the relationship will be different for a $2 donor compared to a $2 million donor, but, in each

WHAT MOTIVATES AN INDIVIDUAL TO DONATE TO AN ORGANISATION? There are many reasons people support a worthy cause. Understanding donor motivations – i.e. what’s behind someone’s philanthropic direction – can help an organisation identify new potential funders. However, as philanthropy has become more sophisticated so, too, have donors. Donors seek a return on their investment

If you want to run successful fundraising campaigns, you must live (or die) by what I call “Rule #1”: Be donor-centric in everything you do. In other words, always work to put yourself in the donor’s shoes and make every aspect of your fundraising program work in a way that will connect well with them

Did you hear the one about the donor who was offered feedback on their performance as a donor? Some donors – including those who give small amounts of money or who scatter their largesse – are requesting more and more “impact reporting” from the charities they donate to. I love the idea of a donor