Nov 4, 2010
Two years ago, they had a great year-end letter that raised a lot of money for the cause. Last year, the committee was full of ideas for improving the letter. The result: a 50% drop in giving. Using two real year-end fundraising letters from a real organization, we reconstruct the scene of the crime. Don't let this...
Aug 14, 2010
The good fundraiser knows that not everything you do makes good fundraising. We bring donors on board with the stuff that makes their heart sing. We don't insist that they fully get it before we'll accept their donations.
If you've been paying attention to what information donors respond to, you know what to say and...
Jun 24, 2010
Direct mail, the life-blood of most fundraising programs, has different design conventions from other types of design. It's less pretty, more old-fashioned, and almost messy. Here's a look at direct mail design and packaging: Everything you need to create successful fundraising appeals -- from fonts, to photos,...
Jun 8, 2010
Effective fundraising has some characteristics that you might find odd or off-putting:
This action-packed program...
Apr 26, 2010
Fundraising is a specialized form of communication. It's just plain odd in many ways. In this first part of a three-part series on the conventions and norms of fundraising, we look at the the way fundraising copy is written, and why it contains so much of these things: