2011 draws to a close and all I can say is …

Folks, I deeply appreciate your loyalty to my blog. To all my subscribers and readers … I hope you’re having a marvelous holiday season. And I wish you the best for the coming year. I’m taking a break this week, but I wanted to share something with you just for fun. It starts with the […]

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A light-hearted holiday message

Today, December 22nd of 2011, is the first day of winter. Personally I like winter with its cold temperatures and snow. And I’m disappointed that it won’t be a white Christmas where I live! However, I realize for many of you living farther south it’s impossible to have a white Christmas. Folks, if you’ve never […]

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“Ask” and you shall receive 75% more money. It worked for this charity…

Nine simple words increased the amount raised with an in-person “ask” approach by 75%. This comes from a study of the Salvation Army and its bell ringers in front of stores. Instead of a passive approach where they stand there, ring the bell, and smile … the test had the bell ringer saying, “Hi, how […]

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5 Ways to Make Your Direct Mail More Social

As I expect you know by now, integration is a requirement for winning campaigns … campaigns that meet or exceed your business goals. Today I’m going to share 5 ways to make your direct mail more social. This is a form of multi-channel marketing and integration. You’re letting a pool of your best donors – […]

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Online giving isn’t just for “30-somethings”

Making donations online is “… an important option for donors who are 60 years of age or older.” That’s from a study done in November 2011 by Dunham+Company. They queried donors who had made a $25 donation in the past year by any method. For the over 60 crowd, one out of two donors (51%) […]

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End-of-Year Fundraising and Marketing

How’s your end-of-year campaign coming along? Getting the response you hoped for? Whether it’s going like gang busters or floundering a bit … consider giving your year-end campaign a shot in the arm. You don’t have time to create and send out a direct mail package … probably not even a postcard … but you […]

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Advances in mobile giving helping the small charities too

A sizable portion of mobile giving is “impulse buying.” It’s in response to an ad regarding emergency relief for a disaster. Or it’s an ad on TV or on the screen at a sporting event. And then usually means a “text-to-give” in the amount of $5 or $10. Times are a changin’! An article in […]

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Insanity or a happy world?

The other day I was watching my neighbor rake up leaves in her yard. As she raked, her two toddlers giggled and ran about jumping into the piles of leaves again and again. Mom didn’t mind because they didn’t really mess up the piles that much. And the kids were having fun while she got […]

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4 Nonprofit Direct Marketing Trends for 2012

By the end of the year I’ll probably come up with more … but for now I’ll focus on four trends for nonprofit direct marketing in 2012. And they all have one thing in common: Your readers – donors, members, advocates, volunteers, etc. – will respond less and less to messages produced for the masses. […]

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Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Americans!

Today is a special day in America. It’s when we celebrate one of our oldest traditions. Although history is a tad fuzzy, we generally recognize the year 1621 as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. It’s when the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest meal. Granted, their meal looked […]

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