Data
Does Giving Need Saving?
Probably. If you read any recent reports or statistics, yeah, we’ve got a lot of work to do. Fundraising Effectiveness Project, GivingUSA, literal thousands of case studies, webinars, trainings, conferences . . . . we’re investing a lot of time, money and energy in saving giving. This article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy . . .…
Read MoreAre You Literally Losing Donors?
Yes. Thank you for attending my TED talk. OK, let me elaborate. If you’re not proactively managing your data, you are literally losing donors and letting real money walk out the door. And I’m not talking about the general and to-be-expected lapsing donors, or donor retention rates. I’m talking about just the data itself –…
Read MoreTree-Top Fundraising
Trees can die from the bottom up. Photo by Sebastian Engler on Unsplash Especially with Evergreens, if they’re not getting enough water, the lower branches and needles will die out to allow more hydration to get to the upper branches – the ones that get the most sun. The lower branches may also be blocked from the sun…
Read MoreEvery F***ing* Thing Works
They do. All of them. Every Fundraising Thing Works There’s a lot of great advice out there about fundraising – countless blogs, webinars, articles, white papers. And they all have very, very good guidance and examples of a program that worked. And they leave a lot of front line fundraisers thinking, “I should REALLY…
Read MoreWhat I Learned at #AFPFC 2017
The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), of which I am a member and President of the Las Vegas chapter, hosted its annual International Conference on Fundraising this week in San Francisco. It was a long and powerful three days, full of inspiration, great insight and comparing notes with some of the smartest, finest people in…
Read MoreRant on Retention
I like to think that professionals in all fields get together and rant and complain about their profession. I have to believe that there are forums for pipe fitters and physician’s assistants and marketers to get together and go, “They’re hiring people with no experience as experts! Nobody takes the profession seriously! These CEOs think…
Read MoreWhy Data Like a Lab – It Just Wants to Make You Happy
We had to take a tough break from blogging for a little while. We lost one of the Buck-White Boys on February 15. The original Buck-White Boy, the lab by which all others will be measured and the Dog That Started It All. Tucker. Tucker was the best. He was the best part of a…
Read MoreAt Home in the Annual Fund
C’mon, sing with me now, “Our house. In the middle of the street. Our house . . . ” Or we could have gone with, “Our house is a very, very, very fine house . . . ” This is a multi-sensory blog; great info and musical ear-worms. You’re welcome. If you don’t know Helen…
Read MoreDonor-Centered or Data-Driven
Google “Fundraising Buzzwords” or “Nonprofit Buzzwords” and you’ll get a whole list of the phrases we like to kick around the industry. Fortunately, “Donor-Centered” is one that’s stuck around for quite some time. Data-Driven seems to be losing some of its popularity. “Big Data” is taking on different connotations (really, Big Data refers to databases…
Read MoreHow to make (Fundraising) Data Fun
I was inspired this week by a colleague, a very talented and smart fundraiser, who was talking about some of the challeng . . . er, opportunities . . . we’re both facing and she says, “How do I make data fun? How do I get my data person to get INTO it and really WANT to…
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