If anyone has the right to brag, it’s the President Elect.  But in last night’s acceptance speech, Barack Obama focused his attention on us.
Discussing the speech on CNN David Gergen commented about how Obama focused not on himself, but on the voters. He told the story of a 106 year old woman, everything she has [...]

Marc Pitman, the Fundraising Coach, recently wrote, “Aren’t you tired of receiving fundraising appeals with a message of “If you don’t give now, we won’t survive”?”
I have to agree. Even if your organization is having a tough time, this kind of message, especially sent in a mass direct mail appeal, is not a wise choice.
Marc [...]

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A few weeks ago I asked Step by Step Fundraising newsletter readers to send in examples of their organization’s fundraising letters.  While I thought it would be interesting to see some of your letters, I had no idea what awaited me.
My email box was flooded with [...]

If you have played the game of scrabble you know that some letters are worth more than others.  Just like the humble letter “Y” will give you four extra points if you play it, using the word “you” in fundraising letters adds more value as well.
It can instantly transform a letter from being a dry, [...]

One of the most important tools available to any leader of a non profit organization is the fundraising letter. With a finely-crafted missive, the leader will be able to clarify the mission, excite the audience, and deliver on the stated need.
However, getting the letter to the point where it is “finely-crafted” is the hard part. [...]

Everybody knows that you should send a thank you note to a donor. Along with the fundraising “ask” letter, these two kinds of letters are the bookends. However these not be the only times you make contact with your supporters.
The following is a list of ten reasons you should stay in contact with your [...]

The Thank You letter often is created and sent without much thought. It may seem to be the last step in getting a gift from a donor and a routine task that warrants little merit. But it’s actually the first step in securing the next gift!
Purposeful and well-thought out Thank You letters can [...]