Direct Mail isn’t only for Seniors anymore & research proves it

Convio recently released its national research study on the “charitable giving behaviors and attitudes of Gen Y, Gen X, Boomer and Mature donors.”  Their research is from a survey of 1500 donors who recently gave to nonprofits. The bottom line is that for nonprofits to not only survive, but to also thrive they must reach […]

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Med student bicycles across America to help charity

Everyday people are also great celebrity fundraisers.  Lauren Leffler isn’t a movie star, a famous pro athlete, a popular politician or anything of the kind.  She’s quite simply a person dedicated to helping a good cause in her own unique way. Her story is an example of a special fundraising event with the potential to […]

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12 Donor Cultivation Tactics

Every communication, every page on your website, every phone call, email or letter is donor cultivation.  This includes what you say and how you say it. You’ve heard it at least a hundred times: “Friend-raising and not fundraising.”  “Think of donors as individuals, as a friend, and not as a source of money.”  And so […]

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Nonprofit blogging is a natural way to get noticed

Chris Stiner – Search Marketing Standard blog, shared “The Super 7 Reasons to Blog (Aside From Linking)”.  Of course, blogging is a significant boost to your SEO results.  And it’s also a smart marketing strategy in terms of ROI – lot of bang for your buck.  But Stiner goes beyond all that.  For each of his […]

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Cause marketing: Restaurant company partners to help solve world hunger

On Tuesday I wrote a post on “cause marketing.”  My main point was that a successful nonprofit-corporate partnership requires you to share the right information to your donors and prospective donors.  No need for me to repeat the explanation again today.  I invite you to read the original post:  Cause Marketing survey says: Donors like […]

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Careful!  If you’re not wearing at least a wee bit o’ green today, you might get pinched. This is an important holiday in our house for the simple reason that I’m part Irish and my husband is almost 100% Irish.  Therefore I thought it appropriate to recognize it in my blog. Going back to the […]

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Cause Marketing survey says: Donors like this idea so much that 56% will support the nonprofit

That’s right!  56% are likely to actively support the nonprofit IF the cause is clear and it breaks through the advertising clutter. Therefore, as you establish strategic cause marketing partnerships with corporations, get involved in the marketing and branding.  Make certain your message does come through.  Again, prospective donors need to easily identify the “cause” […]

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Saving a life through nonprofit copywriting

As a nonprofit copywriter, every fundraising appeal I write deserves my very best. Sounds like an ethical business philosophy … and so it is. But it’s so much more than a philosophy. Every fundraising appeal I write deserves my very best because it just might help to save a life.  The money raised may put […]

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Why the “school” solution is the “wrong” fundraising solution

Remember back in school how we were taught to write using strictly proper grammar.  The school solution involved following all the rules to the letter. Fast forward to today.  If you use the school solution when writing your fundraising copy you’ll be wrong.  I say “wrong” because deciding to write that way is deciding to […]

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Can Do-It-Yourselfers outperform the “big boys” on Haiti disaster relief?

There’s a debate on that question in a Washington Post article by the Associated Press (AP), “2 aid efforts in Haiti: Multinational and DIY” It centers around how quickly – or not so quickly – large nonprofit orgs are getting temporary shelter to the earthquake victims in Haiti.  With the rainy season fast approaching, shelter is a top […]

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