A CFC Hint for National and International Charities … and Local NPOs

By Carter McNamara on December 22, 2011

Consider a DBA This is especially important for national and international charities, where if you are a small national or international non-profit, everyone may not recognize your name. The national and international lists are rigidly alphabetical; if your official name is “The Best Charity” you will be listed in the “T”s for “The” not in […]

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Donor (And Solicitor) Burn-Out

By Hank Lewis, MA, CFRM on December 20, 2011

Some time ago, I spoke to a community service club and gave my fifteen-minute “This-Is-What-Fundraising-Is-Really-All-About” speech, and a majority of the subsequent questions revolved around the concept/complaint of having to go to the same people for contributions every time the club wanted/needed to raise money. The “fear” I most often hear expressed by members of […]

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Applying for The CFC — National & International Nonprofits

By Carter McNamara on December 15, 2011

The Combined Federal Campaign for the 2012 solicitation season begins on September 1, 2012 and runs through December 15, 2012. For national and international charities, regardless of whether they are members of a federation or an independent charity, the deadline for all application materials is Tuesday, January 17, 2012 by 5pm (EST) and applications later […]

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Can A Donor Demand That She Get Her Donation Back?

By Hank Lewis, MA, CFRM on December 13, 2011

A reader wrote: “I know of an organization where the donor gave restricted funds, i.e., funds specified for a certain program, that the nonprofit agreed to. “The nonprofit has been giving regular reports to the donor, along with achieved outcomes, but the donor suddenly insists that she wants all of her money back. “I’ve never […]

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Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Gloom of Night…

By Lynn deLearie on December 8, 2011

How You Mail Your Proposals Can Make a Big Difference The United States Postal Service is reliable, usually, almost all the time… But what about when they do lose a letter, or more important, your grant proposal? It can happen, and it just did for one of my clients. I was expecting grant notification about […]

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Social Media Enhance Email Success

By Rick Christ on December 6, 2011

Want to increase the impact of your fundraising emails? Don’t leave online social media out of the picture. Consider this interesting fact: Americans spend 3 times as much time on social media as they do on email. Improve your email performance by combining your email messaging with your social media presence.  With a modest investment […]

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Add Zip to your Government Grant Proposals!

By Jayme Sokolow on December 1, 2011

A Simple Grant Proposal is Better…. When your grant proposal is being evaluated by a government agency, reviewers rely on a mental toolbox of rapid and simple techniques to score your application. How you write/design the proposal must be as persuasive as possible, and must help reviewers gather information quickly and effortlessly. Use the principles […]

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The First Step in Applying for the Combined Federal Campaign:

By Carter McNamara on November 29, 2011

The CFC Deadlines Are Not That Far Away If you believe that the CFC would be a good fit for your charity, both in terms of your mission and your non-profit’s capacity to handle an additional method of fundraising, this posting and the postings on Nov xx and Dec xx will outline the process for […]

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Not All Large Gifts Are Major Gifts: Part Three – Real Major Gift Fundraising

By Hank Lewis, MA, CFRM on November 22, 2011

Hopefully, over the last two weeks, you haven’t been cold calling, cold writing, sending “surprise” invitations or making “cold” visits to people who may or may not have been major gifts prospects. With that in mind, we’ll finish making the distinction between a “large” gift and a “major gift.” If the person who suggested the […]

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QR Codes and When Not to Use Them

By Rick Christ on November 17, 2011

“Cool” isn’t a fundraising strategy A client asked me last week if their organization should start putting QR codes on their direct mail envelopes. “Yes,” I answered, “…when you’re ready for that.” For the vast majority of nonprofits dabbling in online fundraising, there are at least ten other things you should be working on ahead […]

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