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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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:…
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…