Fall always feels like a special time for renewal, which makes the season a perfect time to shift gears in our marketing outreach. That may be true particularly this year, after months of uncertainty, fear, and devastating headlines. 

Taking advantage of this time to “lighten up” your marketing outreach doesn’t mean you should ignore what’s going on in the world or be insensitive to it. But it might be a time to stress optimism - in our ability to ultimately...

Email is every nonprofit’s biggest asset right now. 

Your organization probably already has a robust email list that you use to connect with all of your audiences on a regular basis - financial supporters, board members, volunteers, and clients. 

And it’s where people are right now. Working from home and being online for most of the day means people are checking their inboxes more often and opening more emails.

This podcast is all about what you can do to keep...

There is one big hit that many nonprofits are facing right now - the cancellation or postponement of events that they were counting on to raise needed support to continue their missions.  

From Spring Galas, to fundraising walks and runs, notices of postponements and cancellations keep pouring in. Nonprofits are being forced to make what might feel like untenable decisions. 

But the good news is that there is a Plan B - a way to fill the fundraising gap digitally.

There are...

Filling the room (or the charity sporting event or the holiday lights tour or any event you use to raise funds for your cause) requires a different type of marketing than your regular outreach.

While your mission is still front and center in this type of marketing, there is a big difference because you’re selling an experience as much as a cause. 

So how can you create buzz for your event and boost ticket sales, registrations or attendance? You need two approaches - one for...

From years in the nonprofit sector, I know that many nonprofits tend to “go dark” in the summer months.

There’s lots of understandable reasons for this. Supporters might be out of town or would rather spend this precious time with family. Can you really get enough people - and raise enough money - at a summer fundraiser to justify the effort?

Plus, you’re already busy working on that big fall fundraiser - the gala, the fashion show, the awards dinner with...

You always need to be meeting your supporters where they are and (despite Facebook’s recent troubles) you can usually find them hanging out on social media.

Which is why that’s exactly the place where you should be supplementing your efforts to boost attendance at your fundraising event this summer.

In addition to making sure your stalwart supporters stay in the know about your event, it will give you an opportunity to reach out to more folks with advertising that won’t...

How to Retain New Donors and Increase Their Giving

Here’s a couple of startling statistics about retention rates from a recent report by The Fundraising Effectiveness Project, which analyzes giving at more than 10,000 nonprofits each year. On average, it reports:

·      19% Of First Time Donors Are Retained.
·      63% Of Repeat Donors Are Retained.

So if you have someone who has given to your organization a...

How to Capture the Information You Need to Turn Event Attendees into Lifelong Donors

You know they’re out there.

The people who – if you could connect with them – would become passionate supporters of your nonprofit. They are your next donors, next volunteers, next ambassadors, maybe even the next person to join your Board of Directors.

The problem is you’ve got to find them.

I hear you! It’s the #1 challenge nonprofits I’ve worked with...

How to Extend the Life of Your Fundraising Event and Exceed Your Goal

In the nonprofit world, annual events are the Academy Awards of your fundraising efforts. Whether it’s a fashion show, (one of my favs!) an awards gala or a golf tournament, these are the big-ticket items that bring lots of dollars to your bottom line…..or at least that’s the goal right?

But, they are also some of the most stressful times for all those involved in making them happen. I...

I recently attended another fundraising event hosted by one of the many wonderful nonprofits in my community as I typically do nearly every month. 

As you know, organizing a fundraising events takes tons of work. As someone who’s been behind the scenes planning, organizing, marketing and occasionally even emceeing nonprofit events, I’m super sensitive to all the details, and appreciative of what it takes to put on a successful fundraiser.

This event was well...