If there’s one thing I don’t like, it’s thinking small.  Far too many people spend their time and energy thinking small.  That’s true in the wider world, and it’s true in fundraising. There are a lot of fundraisers in the world – some professional, some volunteer.  Some work on staff, some consult, some are on […]

Occasionally I will get an email asking how to start a nonprofit organization.  There are several great resources online that can help, but before I get to that I always kindly caution them on a few points. It is very time and labor intensive to start a nonprofit.  You should be certain that this is […]

Grace Groner lived through the Great Depression, so saving money was her expertise. Nobody knew just how much she had saved until she died in January at age 100 and left $7 million to Lake Forest College, her alma mater…. “She could have lived in any house in Lake Forest but she chose not to. […]

A few years ago, I was trying to drum up participation in our upcoming Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk by hosting a booth at a community fair. I had cheery, purple decorations (purple is the signature color of the Alzheimer’s cause), freebies such as pens and magnets, and lots of information about our walk to benefit […]

The immediate outpouring of support for Haitian relief efforts has been astounding.  Donations are reaching record amounts and people continue to want to donate or fundraise to help the people of Haiti. Britt Bravo has a great article with links: Helping Haiti: Places to Donate, Creative Fundraising Ideas, and Being a Smart Donor.  I’d like […]

Recently Don Griesmann posted a story on his blog that I believe is worth a read.  The organization profiled in the story, Kid Care, began as a labor of love, but ended abruptly after 18 years of service. Its founders were not professionally trained in nonprofit management prior to starting their work.  They simply saw […]

I sent out a special email on Monday to those who are signed up for the Step by Step Fundraising newsletter.  It included some of the tips that I also posted here:  Annual Fund Drive, End-of-year Fundraising Success Strategies. I got an email back from Tony with some great comments that maybe you can relate […]