How to Dress Like a Donor for Halloween

I always view Halloween as a time for light-hearted fun.  As a kid we grabbed our bag and a flashlight and ventured out into the eerie night, ready for adventure.  We walked throughout the neighborhood and down many a poorly-lit street.  It was on these dark streets that our imagination really ran wild. A bird […]

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The Most Popular and Favorite Color that Hurts Fundraising

It seems as though everyone except me is in love with the color gray.  I see it everywhere which is why I say it’s the most popular and favorite color in the marketplace.  And this is puzzling because I firmly believe it hurts your cause. First, where do I see it? – It’s the color […]

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Storytelling for Nonprofits – Why it works

Why do people respond to a great story?  There are many reasons.  One reason is because deep down we all want to be a hero. Your charity gives donors a chance to be a hero. You help satisfy the psychological basis of their life . . . the desire and need to be a hero […]

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Cultivate with email – builds retention and generosity

Email is a great way to cultivate your donors, members, prospects, advocates, or anyone.  In other words it’s a relatively quick and cost effective tool for building relationships that result in higher retention and generosity. There are many ways you can cultivate via email including the sharing of success stories about your mission (without an […]

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Karen Zapp’s Salute to Veterans and the Nonprofits that Serve Veterans

Karen Zapp’s Salute to Veterans Week is coming Nov 8-12, 2010.  My way of honoring veterans during this week is to promote the organizations that make their lives better.  And I’ll do that by featuring veteran-related nonprofits on my blog. As you may have deduced, I chose this week because it includes Veterans Day on […]

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1 in 4 potential donors own this

8-23-11 update:  As of today it’s about 1 in 3 and by the end of 2011 it’s tracking to be 1 in 2 potential donor own this. [End of update.] Yes, one in four Americans own something that is a rapidly . . . very rapidly . . . growing channel.  I’m talking about mobile. […]

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Nonprofits recognized among global marketing leaders

There are nonprofit organizations among the finalists for the Mobile Marketing Association’s 6th Annual Global Awards.  “As the MMA’s highest honors, these awards recognize companies and their campaigns for spearheading the adoption of the mobile channel for marketing purposes.” The categories from which winners will be chosen are: Branding Cross-Media Integration . . . The […]

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How to get your nonprofit on local TV news

This idea is relatively easy.  Better than that: It works.  Get your nonprofit feature on your local TV news station by hosting a pumpkin-carving contest. I need to give Joan Stewart, Publicity Hound credit for this.  I read it in her newsletter yesterday. Again, have your nonprofit host a pumpkin-carving contest and have your employees participate.  […]

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Tell It Like It Is

I read an article in Business Week by Steve McKee that I believe applies not only to the for-profit sector, but also to the nonprofit business world: “Don’t Undermine Your Brand” He begins by citing examples of companies whose marketing doesn’t quite reflect reality.  McKee stresses that customers value authenticity.  And that marketing should reflect […]

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Revive Direct Mail

For nonprofits and many other business sectors, direct mail is still the leading source of revenue . . . the best and biggest source of donations.  Still, like anything it can benefit from an occasional shot in the arm. Shake up your routine.  Take a critical look at your direct mail program.  What haven’t you tested […]

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