We’re Heading Into a Major Campaign…

By Hank Lewis, MA, CFRM on April 19, 2011

… So We’d better Find A Consultant in Our Area. There is a myth about hiring campaign counsel that, in essence, says that you should hire someone from your area because they will know the area and all the people, and will be better able to point you at the right prospective leaders and donors. […]

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Federal Grants: To Apply or Not to Apply….

By Jayme Sokolow on April 14, 2011

Once you have identified a promising federal grant opportunity, and before you invest the “usual” time and energy, you should first determine if this federal opportunity is for you…or not !! The Five Basic Questions Once you have carefully studied the grant guidelines, you should be able to address the following: 1. Are you eligible? […]

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Measuring Your Email Success: Part 1- Individual Email Results

By Rick Christ on April 12, 2011

Email is a very measurable tool, and it’s important that you measure your results so you can report on the effectiveness of your email program. In this post, I’ll suggest the most meaningful metrics for you to examine an individual message’s results against previous emails. In the next post, I’ll show you how to view […]

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Hiring a Consultant for a Campaign Planning Study…

By Hank Lewis, MA, CFRM on April 8, 2011

An email I received not long ago asked: “What can a small non-profit, looking to raise about $5 million for a Capital Campaign, expect to pay for a consultant to conduct a study and then (guide) the Capital Campaign?” The size of your non-profit relates to the question only in the context of whether you […]

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Celebrity Auctions

By Natalie Lewis on April 5, 2011

Recently, someone asked a question about Celebrity Auctions, and what immediately came to mind was how much money could I get for auctioning off a celebrity? If it is the right celebrity, probably a lot !! But seriously folks…. Celebrities are a great way to bring out the crowd. Having a celebrity at your event […]

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Fundraising and the NPO Staff – Further Thoughts

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

Last Thursday’s post addressed the participation of NPO staff in the fundraising process – staff other than those directly involved in development. A response to that posting suggested that there were other issues to be addressed. Staff members as donors: It would be a major plus for a nonprofit organization to be able to tell […]

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Understanding Federal Grant Announcements

By Jayme Sokolow on March 29, 2011

Tracking Once you begin tracking federal grant opportunities through the Federal Register (www.gpoaccess.gov/fr)) and Grants.Gov (www.grants.gov), you will begin finding grant announcements. To take advantage of these opportunities, you first must understand what you are reading. Doing a Basic Search Doing a basic search for grant announcements is straightforward. At both sites, you can use […]

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Who Is Responsible For Fundraising At An NPO?

By Hank Lewis, MA, CFRM on March 24, 2011

A Reader Wrote: “I have been looking around your web site/blog trying to find information about the role of employees in fundraising for an NPO. I see some information about the role of board members and volunteers, but I seem unable to find anything specific about employees….” It’s a “given” in the fundraising world that: […]

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To Auction or Not to Auction….

By Natalie Lewis on March 22, 2011

Live auctions can have large payouts, and can be a lot of fun for the audience – especially when a bidding war on an item becomes major entertainment. I speak from experience. Many years ago, at a VIP reception prior to an event with both a silent and a live auction, the emcee for the […]

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Who/What Is A Fundraising Consultant??

By Hank Lewis, MA, CFRM on March 17, 2011

In the group of attendees for a recent class in Major Gifts Fundraising was a person identifying herself as a consultant, a member of a fundraising-consulting firm, who was shortly to be working with a client organization in the creation of a major gifts program. This started me thinking. Who/what is a fundraising/development consultant?? My […]

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