Last week, I was in San Diego, presenting for my 6th? 7th? time at the Nonprofit Storytelling conference. A conference I have referred to as my favourite since my first. My session was about "Creative rule breaking for direct mail nerds"…
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The creative brief: Craft and send a direct mail pack to donors about our new capital campaign and inspire them to give to help us get closer to our goal. Easy peasy, right?
Except… sometimes (ie: almost all of the time), your capital campaign case for support isn’t targeted or designed for your average annual donors. The question becomes, how can you make it relevant and compelling for those donors too?
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April is a strange time of year to be blogging about Santa Claus, but that’s what you get sometime. Here is a little bit of inspiration hopefully, pulled and edited from John Lepp’s upcoming book, Creative Deviations…
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Three more reflections from this year that really focus on creative storytelling.
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Could it be? A blog post?
Yes, tis the season for a bit of reflection and sharing of 12 things that have been occupying our brains through 2021. Has it been a bit crazy for you too?
In this final part of a 4 part series, we dive deep into these “extra” pieces you sometimes find in mail packs. Inserts, lift notes, buckslips, etc. These pieces can either solidify getting that gift or maybe make your donor run screaming away. (Maybe that’s a little over the top…). Let’s see what Dale got from some of her charities in today’s post.
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We took some time to look through “Dale’s” mailbox. What did we find and what can we learn about the current state of direct mail? This post will look just at the outer envelope.
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I can't believe it's been a month since we hosted the first ever Individual Giving Summit (#IGSummit). The broadcast went around the world and we had fundraisers from every corner of the planet who care about, nerd out about and obsess about individual giving and direct response show up and participate. ANYHOO... I wanted to share something really awesome.
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It’s the most wonderful time of the year…In theory.Would your donor feel that way? Mary Cahalane (Hands-On Fundraising) and I sat down to give you a tried and tested YEAR END checklist you can use as you sit down to craft the most meaningful appeal of the year…
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This direct mail appeal pretty good. Not perfect, but pretty good. Not too long ago, I opened my mailbox to find this inside…
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A question that we get asked all the time is, “How do you get a (non-traditional) report like this approved by people who are comfortable with traditional approaches, strategies and executions?”
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This morning I was reading an article about self-help advice. As it relates to individuals. This life coach had curated what she believed to be the top 10 nuggets of happiness from over 500 books. If you wish, you can read her article here. Hopefully, before you do that, you’ll have a look at mine…
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You can call it #donorlove, you can call it donor-centred, you can call it whatever you want. But Jen and I have discovered, as we travel around and speak with our fundraising friends, that very few of you (or them) are following these 7 very easy—but not simple..
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I admit my first post was a little simplistic but more importantly I think I missed the mark in my rant. As a result, it became part of a little virtual dust up between marketers and fundraisers. You can read Gail’s post and then Kivi’s if you want to follow along. (Bonus marks to Kivi for one of the best blog headers I have seen in some time!)
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Welcome to the latest instalment of our "Star Wars" themed 101 series!
To date, we have had a look at Direct Mail 101, Thank you letters 101, Newsletters 101 and today Rory Green will take us through Legacies 101. We both want to send our massive hugs and appreciation to two incredible Canadian fundraisers, Fraser Green and David Love.
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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…
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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…
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I shudder when people call us consultants – the word has been dirtied by many of them. Excessive billings, talking down to, ignoring, egotism, over use of buzz words… I kind of dry heave when I hear about some relationships my colleagues have with their charitable clients. Bullying, lack of respect…
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