This post could also be referred to as “The Empire Strikes Back”… but I heard that was already used somewhere. Nonetheless, we (Rory Green and John Lepp) are back with a new post to our Star Wars series! The concept was simple. Let’s use a story that many, many people of all walks are familiar…
The end of year ejaculation of charity mailings, eblasts and commercials has reminded this donor and direct marketer that the success or failure of your year end fundraising can and will come down to one thing. The story you tell. I love siting in board rooms watching people get all angry and sweaty arguing over…
with apologies to my colleague Ligia who got this post rattling around in my brain, i wanted to share part of our conversation. she said to me – and i will paraphrase – a lot of executive director’s and development staff are terribly afraid of innovation and creativity but that’s exactly why i want to…
We’ve all seen this. The traditional donor pyramid. We find it presented at sessions and read about it on blogs. And it’s broken. It doesn’t work anymore. It forces organizations to focus on one thing. Money. ‘You give us one, tiny, crappy gift a year? To the bottom you go!’ I’ve talked to directors of…
Think about this. Can you recall one instance so far today where being a customer or using a product or an interaction with a business made you feel like a hero? I don’t know about you but for me, the answer would be no. I went to the ATM and had to press “ok” like,…
In our last post, we presented a case study on a direct mail pack with a story many of us hold near and dear to our hearts. The story doesn’t end when your pack hits mailboxes. You still have some work to do – writing a passionate and personal thank you letter. Once more, Rory…
You would have to be living in a cave, or maybe Dagobah right now to not know that YODA is HOT right now. Like, light sabre HOT! First, just over a week ago, a spirited little fellow named @fundraisingyoda showed up on our twitter door step with his inspired and fun thoughts about fundraising and…
Those of you who read this blog (or work with us) know how often we drone on and on (and on, and on, and on…) about being donor centered. In everything you do, your donors needs come first. Full stop. Consider what they want or what may inspire them, give them what they…
The time has come for you to remember that you (a charity or not for profit) are nothing without your donors. The ongoing, internal clashing of your marketing and your fundraising, your boards and your staff, your consultants and your agencies, have grown tired and old. And your donors couldn’t give a crap about…
At the risk of sounding like a braggart, a lot of the work we do with our clients is successful. Results are up, more money is coming in, donors interact and share, development staff are happy… Why? Because we think inside the box. Oh, I know the golden goal and drive in life and business…