3 min read
Creative Ways to Stand Out at Year-End
This season, our inboxes and mailboxes fill up fast. There are sales messages, holiday invitations, and of course, a flood of year-end fundraising appeals. And yet, some messages still manage to...
Passionate Giving BlogTM
Donor Communication
4 min read
Does Your Thank-You Message Need a Refresh?
This blog post was originally published in 2024 You may be tired of hearing yourself write. What I mean is, that same repeated thank-you message might take seconds to write, because you have it down,...
3 min read
YOU Can Confidently Ask for Year-End Gifts—Here’s How
There’s no getting around it: year-end is crunch time. You’ve got goals to meet, reports to pull, events to manage, and donors to thank. Amid all that activity, it’s easy to let fear or uncertainty...
3 min read
What Are the Most Effective Fundraising Strategies for the Last Quarter of the Year?
The final quarter of the year is here—the busiest, most critical stretch for most fundraisers. For many organizations, the last three months account for up to 40% of total giving. That’s both...
2 min read
Why Won’t My Donor Talk to Me? Here’s What You Might Be Missing
One of the most common frustrations I hear from major gift officers is this: “How can I get my donor to actually talk to me?” Believe me, I get it. You’re trying to do good work. You’re reaching out,...
2 min read
Should You Be Facebook Friends with Your Donors? Let’s Talk Boundaries
“Should I friend my donor on Facebook?” “Is it OK to follow my donors on Instagram, LinkedIn, or other social media channels?” I get these questions all the time. They're fair questions, especially...
2 min read
Writing Their Story: Making Assumptions Hurts Donor Relationships (Part 2)
In Part One of this series, my colleague Lauren shared how making assumptions can derail your efforts to relationally qualify donors. (If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend it!)
3 min read
The Anatomy of a Great Touch Point
Not long ago, I received one of the most meaningful donor touch points in my life—and I didn’t see it coming. It caught me completely off guard in the best possible way, and it reminded me just how...
3 min read
Strengthening Public Media: Turning Crisis into Opportunity
The health of public media is facing another crisis. Over the last couple months, the new administration has challenged the integrity of—and threatened to defund—a valuable national infrastructure,...
2 min read
What Does Tradition Have to Do with Donors?
What holiday traditions do you love? We just celebrated a number of holidays with many beautiful traditions. One of my family’s favorite tradition is to make Scandinavian Almond Bars together, a...
