While looking for a new job in fund-raising, someone suggested that I look into The Foundation Center’s online courses. I am certainly glad that I did. They offer a variety of courses, some for a fee and others that are free. The Foundation Center is well-known as a leading authority on philanthropy. It was first […]

Fundraising letters sent through the mail are one of the most popular ways to request donations.   However, if you’ve never written a fundraising letter before, you may have lots of questions… How do you start the letter? How can you persuade the reader to donate without being too pushy? What will make someone take notice […]

Let’s face it – statistics are dry for most of us. Who wants to look at numbers when you can be out raising awareness and working with others dedicated to your cause? But the truth is that knowing the demographics of your organization and its donors can greatly enhance your fundraising efforts.  Here are some […]

The great thing about writing a blog on a regular basis is that the author has the opportunity to really dive into a subject and examine it on a microscopic level. Today is such a day, when we pull out our microscopes and peer deeply into our organization’s image. Let’s talk about voice mail and […]

In the first part of this series, I introduced the topic of how to handle bad behavior from your board members. With this continuation, I’m throwing out five more examples of how board members can hurt (rather than help) your non-profit and, of course, what to do about it. 6. The Board Member Doesn’t Respect […]

Non-profits are always trying to find creative and inexpensive ways to market their organizations more effectively. Sometimes, you are aiming to promote a specific event, like a fundraiser or a membership drive, while in other situations, you are aiming a bit broader, and just hope to get your organization’s name out there in a positive […]

Strong leadership is essential to being successful with your fundraising goals.  There’s not just one or even a handful of leaders that are important to a nonprofit organization.  Leadership can come from staff (at all levels), donors, committee members, advocates, volunteers serving on short term projects (like fundraising events) or those that give a few […]