Donor Insight. Fundraising Action.

(Join us for two program sessions at the DMA Nonprofit Federation this week in DC.)

Topics: Donor Retention, mid-level upgrade, Fundraising Strategies, Revenue, Retention, Action Strategies, Mail Strategies

Metrics!

Topics: Donor Retention, Lifetime Value, mid-level upgrade, donor upgrading, Fundraising Strategies, Upgrade Strategies, Retention, Trends, Lapsed, Lapsed Donors, Action Strategies, benchmarks

Topics: Donor Retention, Lifetime Value, New Donor Acquistion, mid-level upgrade, major donor upgrade, donor upgrading, Fundraising Strategies, Upgrade Strategies, Major Donor Pipeline, Retention, Retention Rate, Trends, Major Donors, Budgeting, Reactivation, Lapsed, Lapsed Donors, Action Strategies, benchmarks

Tonight the US President will deliver the State of the Union address. 

If you had to stand before a constituency of marketing and fundraising professionals, how would you report on the ‘State of the Fundraising Union’? 

Here’s my outline. (please add your own standing ovations and forced tears when needed.)

Topics: Lifetime Value, Retention, Trends, Action Strategies, benchmarks

Right now, many organizations are pulling together year-end numbers to see if they hit their fundraising goals in December.  

Topics: Annual Fund, Year End Strategy, Revenue, Trends

For many of us, this last week of the year is a time when things slow down.  Whether you're traveling for the holidays, taking off a few hours early, or - even if you are working your standard work week - a lot of the world just seems to operate at a warm-up speed, as opposed to full-throttle.  This is not the case, however, when it comes to donations.  More donations will come in over this last week than at any other time throughout the year.   For 2017, nonprofit organizations have a lot riding on just how much of a surge we'll see in year-end donations.

Topics: Year End Strategy, Revenue, Trends, Fundraising Effectiveness Project, FEP

My son is ten years old, but still loves that damn Elf, Chippy. For seven years now, I’ve faithfully moved Chippy around the house every night between Thanksgiving and Christmas – he’s hung upside down from ceiling fans, poked out between flower arrangements, rode huge stuffed animals, played in the band with Beatles figurines, dumped my son’s underwear drawer on the floor and gorged himself on M&M peanuts.  There were a few times I forgot though. And I either had a little boy crying at the top of the stairs because I wouldn’t let him down until Chippy moved or I had to make up a story about how he fell asleep and forgot to go back to Santa.

Topics: Donor Retention, Year End Strategy, Fundraising Strategies, Revenue, Major Donors

 Every Saturday before I head to the grocery store, I write a list of the meals my family will have for the week.  This helps me figure out what groceries I need to buy.  Planning ahead has its advantages, but it has disadvantages too.  If you don’t allow yourself flexibility to adjust the plan once in a while, you can find yourself with some rather disappointing results - and no way in which to change them. 

Topics: donor upgrading, Year End Strategy, Fundraising Strategies, Upgrade Strategies, Revenue, Trends, Budgeting, Reactivation, Lapsed, Lapsed Donors

Roger wrote a piece (The Same Old Santa) on the Agitator about an appeal that has not changed year over year for the last 22 years and was applauding this.  The reason for the praise is that this creative was a masterpiece and did not need to be tinkered with.  He was suggesting that many do not abide by the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” adage, because of their desire to continually make changes.   

Topics: Revenue, testing

Overall Donations and New Donor Retention is Down in 2016 - and continuing in a downward spiral! 

Topics: Donor Retention, Revenue, Trends, Fundraising Effectiveness Project, FEP