How Goodwill website engages donors on many levels

For several reasons, I believe Goodwill has a good thing going on their ”Donate Movement” website.   What first caught my attention was the calculator which you’ll see when you visit the site.  When I find clever tools, ideas, devices or games on nonprofit websites that compliment and enhance their mission, as well as get people […]

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7 ways to boost acquisition for professional associations

Here are 7 ideas to help boost response in your direct mail acquisition campaigns.  Get more prospects to join your professional association when you . . .  1 – Mail to the right people at the right times with the right product.  Choose your lists wisely.  Look for cycles over history and time you acquisition campaigns.  […]

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3 things nonprofits do wrong on Twitter

Today I focus on three common problems I see in tweets by charities.  The reason I’m devoting so much time to these problems is this: I believe your nonprofit won’t experience the full benefit of Twitter as a social media community until these are corrected. To help illustrate each of the three problems, you’ll see actual tweets by charities that I found on […]

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Nonprofits lead for-profits in mobile

Study shows nonprofits – and the government – are using mobile in a wider variety of ways and with more creativity than commercial companies.  That’s cool! Jason R. Harris of Taptu (a mobile search engine that conducted the study) said, “These two groups are adopting the mobile touch Web for many purposes.” Harris added, “We found […]

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Treat your Charity with Ice Cream

Think selling ice cream is only for small-time fundraising events?  I found an example of creative fundraising that will “treat” the charity to a tasty amount of revenue. A Florida restaurant is hosting “Scoops for Success” to raise funds for the charity, Dress for Success.  The chef has two ice cream creations for the event, […]

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Why “proofing” is so important

Can you imagine sending out a direct mail campaign without any way for people to respond? Well I received such a package (I’ll share the details shortly). The cost of not carefully and repeatedly proofing your work is costly.  And that’s why proofing is so  important. Build redundancy into your system.  Have checklists and several […]

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Now’s the time to build Donor and Member relationships

You may not be doing as much fundraising or prospecting during the heat of summer.  But it’s a great time to cultivate donor and member relationships.   Emails are an especially cost-effective tool for cultivation.  Check the “email category” of my blog to see more help on writing strong emails. What do you say in these […]

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How-To Write Email Subject Lines

The subject line often controls whether your email is read and/or opened. So it’s vital that you write a great email subject line.  And just how do you do that?  Glad you asked. Subject lines aren’t easy to write, especially if you have to write them over and over again.  Nonetheless, these four guidelines will […]

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Happy Independence Day America

This upcoming weekend is a special one for all patriotic Americans because Sunday is July 4th – Independence Day.  That also means the following Monday is a Federal holiday and many will have a 3-day weekend. How will you and your family celebrate the birth of our nation?  Weekend getaway to the beach?  Hiking and […]

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Marketing for small nonprofits

If you’re among the majority of nonprofits with a communications staff (i.e., marketing and fundraising), comprised of one or two, or maybe three or four people . . . then this post is especially relevant for you. A few days ago I interviewed Kivi Leroux Miller, author of “The Nonprofit Marketing Guide: High-Impact, Low-Cost Ways to Build Support for Your […]

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