Deleting Names From Your Mailing/Solicitation List

By Hank Lewis, MA, CFRM on June 28, 2011

On a listserve in which I used to participate, someone posted the following: << We plan to write to donors who have not contributed in the last few years and ask if they would like to remain on our list…. >> My Response: Those folks must have had some reason for giving to you in […]

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Online Giving: Audit Your Own Website (Part 1)

By Rick Christ on June 23, 2011

While billions of dollars are donated online annually, your nonprofit is probably not getting its fair share. And that’s probably because your own website is getting in the way. We have recently made online gifts “secretly” to over 80 nonprofit organizations with some surprising results, which we’ll be talking about in this and future issues. […]

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Direct Mail, Donor Acquisition and Evaluating A Development Officer

By Hank Lewis, MA, CFRM on June 21, 2011

This posting was “provoked” by a question in an email. In fundraising, as in sales, it’s targeted marketing that is most effective. But you can’t target the folks in your market until they’ve been identified. Donor acquisition, the most expensive part of the “development/fundraising” process, is a necessary investment. And that’s what it is, an […]

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What is the CFC and Where to Apply: The Nuts & Bolts

By Carter McNamara on June 16, 2011

In workplace giving, workers solicit funds from their co-workers, and the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) is the Federal government’s workplace giving program. The CFC is a mandatory, completely voluntary program – and that’s not a contradiction. It is mandatory because every U.S. Federal agency in the world must conduct a CFC campaign between Sept. 1 […]

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“How Much Should We Increase Our Fundraising Goal Over Last Year?”

By Hank Lewis, MA, CFRM on June 14, 2011

Some time ago, an email raised the question: “When you are setting your fundraising goal for the coming year, is there a formula or commonly accepted “rule” on which to base an increase over the prior year’s goal?” There is a basic ethical rule in fundraising — that you cannot and should not raise more […]

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A Four-step Process for Effective Grantsmanship

By Lynn deLearie on June 9, 2011

Show Me the Money & Keep It Coming For today’s look at grantsmanship, I am outlining a four-step process for successful nonprofit grantsmanship. And, because many people – not me, but many other people – find grantsmanship a bit dull, there are plain-language subtitles to lighten it up a bit. Grant Prospecting Figuring out who […]

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Outsourcing Prospect Research

By Hank Lewis, MA, CFRM on June 7, 2011

I received an email some time back that, with my response, suggests a way to think through the question of whether or not to use a prospect research firm. “I was a participant in your recent workshop on Major Gifts and wanted to thank you for an informative and inspiring session. My organization, The XYZ […]

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Start your Federal Grant Proposal Process…

By Jayme Sokolow on June 2, 2011

…With Great Application Instructions Once you decide to apply for a federal grant, you should immediately develop a set of Application Instructions. While every solid grant effort begins with a great kick-off meeting, every successful kick-off meeting begins with a comprehensive set of Application Instructions. What are Application Instructions? When you go on a trip […]

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The Board … And Fundraising

By Hank Lewis, MA, CFRM on May 31, 2011

Give, Get or…. A reader asked if we “have any examples of good “get or give” policies for a non profit board.” I like wording similar to: “It is the policy and practice of the Board of Trustees of (name of the NPO) that each Board Member shall make an annual (cash) contribution to this […]

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Web Gifts – Getting the Whole Pie

By Rick Christ on May 26, 2011

If you think that people online give to your organization only through your web donation form, you’re missing significant slices of the online giving pie. See the chart below to see how big those missing slices can be. I recently studied 701 gifts that a nonprofit client received in 2010. All were made by visitors […]

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