Do Your Colleagues Know Something You Don’t?

Keeping on top of all of the latest fundraising, marketing, and nonprofit management information can be a real challenge. After all, you have a full-time job. Your boss expects you to raise a lot of money, probably more than last year. It keeps you busy.

Unfortunately, having a hectic work life could mean that you’ve overlooked some useful information that actually could help you achieve your goals more easily.

So, what’s the information that your colleagues found most interesting in 2017 that you should be sure not to miss?

Here is a list of my top ten most read posts published in 2017:

1. Here is the One Word You Should Stop Using
2. Delivering More of My Own Bad News
3. 5 Mistakes that Could Cost You Year-End Donations
4. What is the Most Important Thing a Donor Can Give You? … It’s Not What You Think It is.
5. The Best Fundraising Blogs You Should be Reading
6. Your Charity is Losing Big Money If It Ignore This Giving Option
7. What are the Obstacles to Improving Donor-Retention Rates?
8. What is the Special Ingredient that Leads to Fundraising Success?
9. Philanthropy Will Increase in 2017 and 2018
10. Do the Numbers Tell the Full Story?

Here’s a list of five of my older posts that remained popular this year:

1. Can You Spot a Child Molester? Discover the Warning Signs
2. Can a Nonprofit Return a Donor’s Gift?
3. 5 Things Never to Do in Your Phone Fundraising Calls
4. Special Report: Top 40 Most Effective Fundraising Consultants Identified
5. 16 Tips for Crafting a Powerful Postcard Campaign

I invite you to read any posts that might interest you by clicking on the title above. If you’ve read them all, thank you for being a committed reader.

Over the years, I’ve been honored to have my blog recognized by respected peers. This year was no exception. I’m pleased that I was once again recognized in Bloomerang’s list of “100+ Fundraising Blogs You Should Be Reading in 2017.”

To make sure you don’t miss any of my future posts, please take a moment to subscribe to this site for free in the designated spot in the column to the right. You can subscribe with peace of mind knowing that I will respect your privacy.

To make finding interesting blog posts by others a bit easier, you might want to join the LinkedIn Discussion Group I created: Blog Posts for Fundraising Pros & Nonprofit Managers.

This is a LinkedIn Group for blog authors and the fundraising professionals and nonprofit managers who read them. Bloggers can promote their latest posts and readers can easily find those that interest them most and engage in thoughtful conversation, all in one place.

The site provides a welcoming environment for blog authors where they can freely promote their posts. It is also a safe place for readers who may not want to subscribe to multiple blog sites but who want to easily scan the great information that is available across blogs.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank you and all of my readers. I appreciate that you stood by my side during what was a profoundly challenging year for me. A fierce battle with cancer forced me to take a lengthy leave-of-absence this year. Now, I’m delighted to be back. You can read about my battle in the following posts:

In the News…

Over the past few months, I’ve been able to share my views about philanthropy with media outlets beyond my own blog. This will continue in the coming months. To make sure you don’t miss anything, I thought I’d share some highlights with you.

MarketWatch:

As 2016 drew to a close, MarketWatch interviewed me. In the article, I addressed the issue of philanthropy in the Trump Era and shared my optimistic prediction for philanthropic growth in 2017. You can read my detailed thoughts on these subjects in my following posts:

• Was 2016 a Good Year for Charitable Giving? Will 2017 be Better?
• Philanthropy Will Increase in 2017 and 2018

The Non-Profit Fundraising Digest:

At the start of the year, I was honored to be included on the list of “The Best Fundraising Blogs of 2017” published by The Non-Profit Fundraising Digest. Here’s what the Digest has to say:

There are thousands of blogs and websites out there dealing with non-profit fundraising. Every week, I get e-mails about new fundraising sites run by consultants, non-profits, universities, companies and trade associations.  It can be hard for fundraisers to keep up, and difficult to know which sites are worth reading on a regular basis.

Our goal here at The Non-Profit Fundraising Digest is to make sure that you have all of the information you need to successfully raise funds for your non-profit. As part of that mission, we are proud to present our list of the best fundraising blogs of 2017.  Each of these blogs and websites were handpicked by our editors because they are sites we trust… run by people we trust… and each is chock full of fundraising strategy, tactics and tips that you can use at your organization.”

The front page of the Digest is updated daily to provide links to a variety of must-read articles. It’s a terrific resource to help nonprofit manager and fundraising professionals easily find information that is relevant and useful. You can find the front page by clicking here.

Bloomerang:

The Non-Profit Fundraising Digest was not the only site to take notice of my blog at the start of the year. The good folks at Bloomerang included my blog on its list of “100+ Fundraising Blogs You Should Be Reading in 2017.” Here’s what Bloomerang says:

Keeping up with every quality piece of content published by and for fundraisers on the web every day would be a full time job in and of itself. There’s absolutely no way you could read it all.

While there are many very well-known speakers and writers who boast tens of thousands of daily readers and followers, we wanted to highlight some lesser-known hidden gems – as well as some long-established publishers – that may change the way you think about and perform your job.”

Productive Fundraising with Chad Barger, CFRE:

The Best #Fundraising Blogs You Should be Reading

Every year, new authors enter the blog-o-sphere. It’s a challenge to keep track of all of the blogs for nonprofit managers and fundraising professionals. It’s even more difficult to determine which blogs are worth visiting regularly.

If you’re like most folks working in the nonprofit sector, you don’t have a lot of spare time to devote to professional development. You must attend endless meetings, generate reports, cultivate prospects and donors, and raise even more money than you did last year. Ugh!

So, let me help you by sharing two new lists with links to some of the best blogs for you:

“100+ Fundraising Blogs You Should Be Reading in 2017” by Kristen Hay, Marketing Coordinator at Bloomerang

“50 Must-Read Fundraising Blogs You Should Be Reading” by Anuj Agarwal, Founder of Feedspot.com

As I read the lists, two things struck me:

1.  There are a number of worthwhile blogs with which I was previously unfamiliar. I make an ongoing effort to keep up with the wealth of material in the marketplace, but it’s a challenge. I’m grateful that Bloomerang and Feedspot have pointed me in the direction of blogs worth exploring.

2.  I discovered that my blog made it on to both lists. I’m honored to be included alongside many nonprofit professionals I have long respected. I thank you and all of my readers for inspiring me to blog and helping me receive the recognition I have been given over the years.

To find four great lists of blog sites from last year, along with other valuable resources, checkout my post: “You Don’t Want to Miss These Worthwhile Items from 2016.”

Reading great blogs delivers several benefits:

You Don’t Want to Miss These Worthwhile Items from 2016

As the frenzied year-end fundraising and holiday season draws to a close, we have an opportunity to catch our breath this week. Like me, you’ve probably found that, between work and family, a 24-hour day just isn’t long enough to accomplish everything we want to do. We need a break every so often.

When trying to stay on top of the latest fundraising and nonprofit marketing news and ideas, I know it’s time consuming just to sift through the wealth of articles, blog posts, and books that are published each year. It’s easy to drown in all the information. That means it’s also easy to overlook useful information.

With this blog post, I aim to save you some time and link you to some valuable material by listing some of my most popular posts of 2016, showing you where you can find other excellent bloggers, and by telling you where you can find books recommended by readers who are fundraising professionals and nonprofit managers.

Here is a list of my top ten most read posts published in 2016:

1. Stop Showering All of Your Donors with Love!
2. Stop Making Stupid Email and Direct Mail Mistakes
3. Do You Know that “Planned Giving” is Bad for #Fundraising?
4. Avoid a Big Mistake: Stop Asking for Bequest Gifts!
5. Donors Say: Enough about You. Let’s Talk about Me!
6. How Can Nana Murphy Make You a Better #Fundraising Professional?
7. How to Avoid a Disastrous Political Debate with Donors
8. 6 Great #Fundraising Tips from a 6-Year-Old Boy
9. Do You Know How to Take Criticism?
10. Stop Pretending that You Work for Stanford!

Here’s a list of five of my older posts that remained popular this year:

• Can You Spot a Child Molester? Discover the Warning Signs
• Can a Nonprofit Return a Donor’s Gift?
• Special Report: Top 40 Most Effective Fundraising Consultants Identified
• 5 Things Never to Do in Your Phone Fundraising Calls
• 10 Essential Tips to Protect Children from Real Monsters

I invite you to read any posts that might interest you by clicking on the title above. If you’ve read them all, thank you for being a committed reader.

You might also be interested in reading about my guest blog posts on the Bloomerang site:

• Don’t Miss Out on the 8 Benefits of Engaging Donors
• What You Don’t Know about Donor Retention will Hurt You

Recently, I was interviewed twice for the MarketWatch site. You can find links to the articles as well as my elaboration on my comments here:

Don’t Miss Out on the 8 Benefits of Engaging Donors

The following is an excerpt from my guest post that I’m honored to have published on the Bloomerang blog:

I think happiness is a combination of pleasure, engagement and meaningfulness.” — Dr. Ian K. Smith, celebrity physician

You will be a successful fundraising professional if you make giving fun and enjoyable for donors and engage them in ways they will find meaningful.

Gallup, the international polling company, conducted a survey of over 17,000 American donors to better understand giving behaviors. One of Gallup’s key findings was that effective engagement leads to greater donor loyalty. Gallup’s Daniela Yu and Amy Adkins report:

“… [donors] keep going back to the causes that emotionally engage them.”

Sound engagement practices will lead to strong donor retention and increased levels of giving. For example, the simple act of engaging a donor by calling to thank her for her gift can have a profound impact. Penelope Burk in her book Donor Centered Fundraising reports that:

Do You Want Some End-of-Summer Reading?

Think before you speak. Read before you think.” ― Fran Lebowitz

Lebowitz has provided some great advice. However, with so many options, what should you read? As the official end of summer draws near, I thought I’d provide some suggestions for you. In turn, I hope you’ll share your own recommendations.

Here are some suggested quick reads…my five most read blog posts so far this year:

1. “Stop Showering All of Your Donors with Love!“
2. “Stop Making Stupid Email and Direct Mail Mistakes“
3. “Do You Know that “Planned Giving” is Bad for Fundraising?“
4. “Avoid a Big Mistake: Stop Asking for Bequest Gifts!“
5. “Donors Say: Enough about You. Let’s Talk about Me!“

To discover other blog sites you might want to visit, checkout the following best-of lists that I’ve been honored to be part of:

• “The Best Nonprofit Fundraising Blogs and Websites of 2016” — The Fundraising Authority
• “64 Fundraising Blogs You Should Be Reading in 2016” — Bloomerang
• “20 Fundraising Blogs Every Nonprofit Leader Should Be Reading Now” — Fundlio
• “23 (Plus 6!) Fundraising Websites and Blogs Every Fundraiser Should Read” — The Sponsorship Collective

To help bloggers and readers more easily connect, I created the LinkedIn Discussion Group “Blog Posts for Fundraising Pros & Nonprofit Managers.”  Bloggers can promote their latest posts and readers can easily find those that interest them most and engage in thoughtful conversation, all in one place. Join the Group to get updates about information you’ll find helpful. You can find the Group by clicking here.

To help you find books that will get results and inspire, I created The Nonprofit Bookstore (powered by Amazon). At the site, you’ll get Amazon’s great prices and service. You’ll also have the satisfaction of knowing that, at no cost to you, a portion of each purchase will be donated to charity. At The Nonprofit Bookstore, you can search for books or browse categories including “Readers Recommend.” Among the books you’ll find there is my own: Donor-Centered Planned Gift Marketing. You can find all of the books your peers suggest by clicking here.

Now, it’s your turn.

Special Report: What You Don’t Know about Donor Retention will Hurt You

[Publisher’s Note: “Special Reports” are posted from time-to-time as a benefit for subscribers and frequent visitors to this blog. “Special Reports” are not widely promoted. To be notified of all new posts, including “Special Reports,” please take a moment to subscribe in the right-hand column. New subscribers will also receive a free e-book from researcher Dr. Russell James.]

The following is an excerpt from my guest post that I’m honored to have published on the Bloomerang blog:

The nonprofit sector is experiencing a serious problem, and it’s time we did something about it.

Fundraising experts and philanthropy researchers have been warning us that nonprofit organizations are losing donors at an alarming rate. Ken Burnett, Managing Trustee at SOFII and author of Relationship Fundraising sums it up best:

Our nonprofit sector is bleeding to death. We’re hemorrhaging donors, losing support as fast as we find it, seemingly condemned forever to pay a fortune just to stand still. It’s time we stemmed the flow.”

Donor retention is definitely a serious issue. Over the past ten years, the average overall donor retention rate has been just 44.5 percent, according to the 2016 Fundraising Effectiveness Survey Report from the Association of Fundraising Professionals and The Urban Institute. The new-donor retention rate for last year was far worse, a pitiful 26.6 percent!

Here are Some Items You Do Not Want to Miss

If you’re at all like me, 2015 was a busy year for you. 2016 is likely to be more of the same. We work to meet workplace goals. We strive to properly balance our professional and personal lives. And we endeavor to broaden our professional knowledge. Unfortunately, with all of the demands placed on us and with the wealth of material available in the marketplace, it’s easy to overlook useful and interesting information.

So, I thought I’d share some highlights from 2015 with you and give you a chance to pick up some information you might have missed and that you may find interesting and/or helpful.

Here is a list of my top ten most read posts during the past year:

1. Can a Nonprofit Return a Donor’s Gift?
2. Can You Spot a Child Molester? Discover the Warning Signs
3. Special Report: Top 40 Most Effective Fundraising Consultants Identified
4. The Greatest Idea for Retaining and Upgrading Donors
5. 5 Things Never to Do in Your Phone Fundraising Calls
6. 3 Mistakes You Make When You Meet Prospects
7. Where Should You Avoid Meeting with Prospects and Donors?
8. Breaking News: Big Planned Giving Myth Busted!
9. 5 Fundraising Tips Inspired by Taylor Swift
10. Discover 5 of the Latest Trends Affecting Your Fundraising

I invite you to read any posts that might interest you by clicking on the title above. If you’ve read them all, thank you for being a committed reader.

In addition to sharing my thoughts right here on my blog, 2015 also gave me the opportunity to talk about philanthropy with the mainstream media. For example, I appeared on the PBS television program “Religion and Ethics Newsweekly” to discuss the Effective Altruism philosophy. You can see the video and read my additional comments in my post:

Is There Just One Correct Way to Engage in Philanthropy?

My comments about Effective Altruism were also picked up by several Gannett newspapers including USA Today:

Expert Sparks Heated Debate Over What’s a “Worthy” Charity

I also had fun as Steven Shattuck’s guest on Bloomerang TV. Steven and I had a lively discussion about simple, effective ways to cultivate donors and raise more money. You can read about this and see the video by going to this post:

Easy Ways to Cultivate Your Donors and Raise More Money

In 2015, I was honored to be included on three lists of must-read fundraising and nonprofit management blog sites. In case you missed the announcements, and to help you find other valuable resources, here are the relevant posts:

• 64 Fundraising Blogs You Should Be Reading in 2016 (Bloomerang)
• 23 Sources for Powerful Fundraising Tips that Will Get Results (The Sponsorship Collective)
• 20 Fundraising Blogsites that Will Help You Get Results (Fundlio)

There’s something else you might have missed. I shared a list of some of my favorite LinkedIn Discussion Groups:

What are Your Favorite LinkedIn Discussion Groups?

In addition to my listing of favorite LinkedIn Discussion Groups, I also announced that I created a new Group: Blog Posts for Fundraising Pros & Nonprofit Managers.

Is the Facebook “Donate Now” Button: Dumb or Helpful?

Facebook has unveiled a new option that could benefit the nonprofit sector:

We are excited to introduce a new ‘Donate Now’ call-to-action option on both link ads and Pages. Now, it’s easier than ever for nonprofits to connect with people who care about their causes and encourage them to contribute through the website of their choice.”

Many in the media were quick to applaud the move by Facebook:

“This is definitely a valuable tool for nonprofits…” — TechCrunch

“This new Facebook feature is hard not to like.” — Huffpost Impact

“…nonprofits won’t be complaining now that they have easier access to a billion and a half potential donors.” — Mashable

“Charities welcome Facebook decision to let them use ‘donate now’ buttons.” — Third Sector

However, not everyone greeted the announcement with great enthusiasm.

Steven Shattuck, Vice President of Marketing at Bloomerang, outlined his issues with this new feature in his post “The Facebook Page Donate Now Button Is Dumb and I Hate It”:

In my mind, this button is problematic for two reasons: 1) This is an obvious ploy by Facebook to get you to buy ads … 2) There is no organic path to the donate button that makes any logical sense or has any basis in reality…. I don’t buy it. It’s the equivalent of a coffee shop putting their tip jar outside and around the corner.”

Here is how Facebook designed the “Donate Now” button to work. A nonprofit organization can put the button on its Facebook page and in its ads. People who click on the button will first see a Facebook disclaimer box and then be taken to the organization’s own donation page.

Shattuck writes, “So should you set up the button? Probably. There’s really no downside per se and the whole process takes less than a minute.”

While there might not be a downside to the “Donate Now” button on Facebook, is there an upside as some have suggested or is Shattuck right to think the button is “dumb”?

Easy Ways to Cultivate Your Donors and Raise More Money

Steven Shattuck recently interviewed me about one of my favorite topics for Bloomerang TV: Donor Cultivation.

Many nonprofit organizations see caring cultivation and solid stewardship as luxuries rather than essential components of the fundraising process. That’s one reason for low donor retention rates, 23 percent for first-time donors and 43 percent overall.

Well, I’m here to tell you that if you simply ask for donations with little or no attention given to cultivation and stewardship, you’re nothing more than a professional beggar. Development professionals recognize that fundraising does not begin and end with an appeal. Development professionals know the importance of cultivation and stewardship.

During my interview, I share a number of easy to implement, low-cost ideas for cultivating and stewarding your prospects and donors. One of the things I talk about is the value of pleasantly surprising people; I even share a couple of examples. You can read the full interview transcript of “Sneaky Ways to Cultivate Donors” by clicking here. You can watch the full 17 minute video below:

For more tips about cultivating your planned giving prospects and donors, read my article “Effectively Cultivating Prospects at Little or No Cost” which appeared in Advancing Philanthropy, the magazine of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. For additional tips and great examples for educating, cultivating, and stewarding planned giving prospects and donors, checkout my book Donor-Centered Planned Gift Marketing.