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Three Things: Content

The other week, we launched a new series called “Three Things”. The concept is short posts about three things you can do – immediately – to make something better. I’m reaching out to my expert friends on their thoughts and opinions and will post them as they come in. Today’s “Three Things” comes via Ann [...]

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From the mouths of donors

This is from my local paper.   It’s a donors viewpoint on the current marketing and communication efforts of a local hospital (who also recently went about a rebranding exercise to change their logo and brand positioning) that is spreading the news of its great work in newspaper ads and wraps…   This donor also [...]

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Jargon: the good and the bad

Last month I was asked by Adele Wang, current student of fundraising at the amazing Humber College program in Toronto, to participate in some research she was doing on the topic of jargon. No problem. I can rage about the overuse, emptiness of jargon ALL DAY LONG… but didn’t feel that would have tremendous value [...]

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Three things

There is something about “three” that is so do-able. We all can do three things. Three things that make us healthier, save more money, raise our kids better, communicate to our co-workers more effectively, grow our business… So today we are launching the “Three Things” series. You can email, comment, call, mail, text, smoke signal [...]

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What’s your niche?

You can no longer be all things to all people. I’m sorry. We have (at last count) 180,000 charities and not for profits in Canada. 180, 000… Let that sink in. 180,000 charities and not for profits doing amazing and transformational things to fix our world. Runs and walks, direct mail, online campaigns, door to [...]

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Are you really social?

There are a few topics that come up over and over again in boardroom meetings, conferences, lunches and drinks that just hit all my #armwavy buttons. One is: SOCIAL MEDIA (queue up the scary music…) How do we “DO” the social media? Everyone wants to know. And I’m going to tell you… no charge. The [...]

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What Cookies Can Teach You About Change

Last year, I wrote a blog called 8 Simple Rules for Cookies (and Fundraising). If you spend as much time in your kitchen as I do, you know that when feeding your hungry family, things change faster than you can say “whisk egg whites until frothy”. In our home, we’ve stopped eating evil-but-so-tasty gluten. And, for [...]

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How do I love thee…

After Valentine’s Day, I was reading an article called “How do I love thee… Crafting the perfect love letter“. It was a great step by step on how to write your sweetie the perfect love letter. As I read through it, it reminded me of our approach to writing (and fundraising in general). Step 1: [...]

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Case Study: 50 things (at least!) not to do in your direct mail appeal

This is one of those blog posts where Jen says “You’re really going to post this?“. And I nod. Now, my goal is to be helpful. Take a look at your own direct mail pack and see how it compares. Do you see some similarities? If you aren’t sure about something you are considering or [...]

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Putting the FUN back into fundraising

Seriously… who stole the FUN from fundraising? I’ve never encountered so many serious people in all of my life!!! Have you been to a conference lately? Come on people… Lighten up… I have something for you that should put a smile on your face. It’s a simple little Tumblr blog from our pal Rory Green… [...]

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