There are “annual reports”… I’m sure you are picturing your 12, 16, 20, 24 page, 8.5″ x 11” report filled with copy about your amazing programs and tiny stock shots and photographs of people holding cheques. On the upside, the comms department was thrilled that you adhered to their excessive graphic standards…
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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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I find it interesting that when we are asked to look at someone’s direct mail, all they tend to send us is the letter. “Where’s the envelope? ” I ask. Silence. There are two different types of envelopes…
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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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It started with the 7 easy #donorlove principles we use to guide us in our work. You make your donor the hero. You share amazing and inspiring stories. You connect to your donors emotions and values…
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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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noun: marketing: the action or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising…
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Last week, I stood in my kitchen sorting through the empty containers, dirty sock (singular), torn pieces of paper and other various pieces of riffraff that sat in my daughters school back pack. I came across a form from her class…
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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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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 with…
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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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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 have designed..
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This morning I read over the latest Ahern in my inbox while my coffee brewed and of course, my brain starts spinning. His newsletter talks about how you! too! can make your crappy 12 page newsletter written by marketing and communications that goes on and on about how awesome you are, an actual donor love piece…
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This past Friday, April 6th, 2012, CBC marketplace ran an episode called The Busted Edition. You can see it here in its entirety.In this episode, CBC turned its attention to World Vision Canada and how they recently notified their donors that their monthly gift will be upgraded from $35/month to $39/month due to increased costs, inflation, etc…
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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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Holy Beep!Successful projects rock. And while it does feel a bit like beeping our own horn, when we celebrate our success here at Agents of Good, it is all the more awesome because in our work, it also means that the world is a little bit of a better place…
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