Today I want to share what I think is the single most important ingredient for fundraising success. This ingredient can make it, or break it. Itās the multiplier effect. Itās the most powerful element in your fundraising program. Every fundraising program has at least one, some have more, but nobody seems to have enough. Some are good. Some are considered good, but are in fact not.
Youāve guessed it. Iām talking about The Fundraiser. Yes, you.
Read MoreThere are a lot of fundraisers out there who are in their comfort zone. They donāt like change; they might be afraid of change.
If you are doing everything right, the need for change is obviously less urgent. However, most of us are not doing everything right. So there is a big chance you can improve your fundraising.
And the only one stopping you isā¦ well, ehā¦ YOU!
Read MoreThis post shares the amazing TED Talk from Dan Pallotta. If you havenāt seen it yet, watch itā¦ Itās one of those must see videos!
The TED website writes: āActivist and fundraiser Dan Pallotta calls out the double standard that drives our broken relationship to charities. Too many nonprofits, he says, are rewarded for how little they spend ā not for what they get done. Instead of equating frugality with morality, he asks us to start rewarding charities for their big goals and big accomplishments (even if that comes with big expenses). In this bold talk, he says: Letās change the way we think about changing the world.ā
Please watch the TED Talk video right here, right now! Or read the full transcript below. And after youāve seen it, share it with your colleagues, your directors and your boardā¦
Read MoreWhen I moved houses I used the postal company to forward my mail to my new address. This service also allowed me to let my utility suppliers, insurance companies and charities know that I had moved. The online platform let me tick the boxes of those charities that I am supporting. But there was also an option for me to request information from charities that I am not currently supporting, but am interested in.
As a fundraiser I like to test, so I ticked my boxes, and a couple more, and a few more, and some more. I ticked 33 boxes, from both charities I support and Iām interested in. Now we wait and see what happensā¦
Read MoreIf you really want to go for retention you have to record the Retention Song with your fundraising team. Iāve especially adapted Bob Marleyās lyrics for everyone to embrace the area of retention. So, just do it. Get out your camera and tape it. It will increase your retention rates by at least 20%. Trust meā¦
Read MoreRecently I had some fundraisers over to catch up on fundraising developments. They wanted to pick my brain on what I think is āgood fundraisingā and āwhere things are goingā. These conversations are always interesting, because it helps me shape my own thinking on what is really important.
A diversity of topics surfaced the table in approximately 90 minutes: acquisition channels, retention programs, engagement opportunities, stricter privacy laws, reporting environments, team structure, etc.
Read MorePeer-to-peer Fundraising, or as I like to call it Social Network Fundraising, works because of two reasons: (1) you are asking your own network, and (2) the fundraising is being done publicly. This combined provides a healthy and effective social peer pressure.
When you were young you probably had to do a sponsor run at school. You had to get pledges from your neighbours and family for a certain amount per lap. Remember that your neighbour always said: āSo, what is the rest giving?ā This is the best way to describe social network fundraising, she didnāt even hesitated. Straight away she went into the āhow muchā discussionā¦
Read MoreBy looking at long-term growth, the idea is that weāre looking at organizations who are doing something special in fundraising. So what is it that these organizations are doing so well? We decided to organize a ādiner pensantā and invited the five fastest growing organizations over the period 2006-2010.
Jolanda Omvlee (director Compassion), Frits Hirschstein (director KiKa), Ruud Tombrock (director WSPA Benelux), Ellen Kooij (head of marketing, communications and fundraising War Child) and Wimco Ester (head of communications and marketing Open Doors) accepted our invitation and shared the recipes of their success in fundraising.
Read MoreRecently I had dinner with the 5 fastest growing fundraising organizations in The Netherlands. We were going to look beyond the market figures and get into the qualitative side of these organizations.
Why is it, that these organizations are so good in fundraising? At our dinner we had decades of experience around the table. In this post I want to focus on one particular part of the discussion that Iām sure resonates with many of you.
Read MoreSome time ago on the KISSmetrics blog a case study was shown on how to calculate the Lifetime Value of your customer (letās say donors in our case). You might have seen below infographic already, but itās such a great and clear example I want to make sure as much fundraisers as possible have seen it.
Read MoreIt's been some years ago since Iāve read Ken Burnettās 89 great ideas in The Zen of Fundraising. Many, if not all of them, keep coming back to me from time to time. Lately itās this one: make the 90-degree shift.
Ken explains: āThe 90-degree shift is nothing more complex than seeing things from your donorās point of view rather than from your own or your organizationās point of view.ā
He illustrates this with three good old marketing sayings:
- When a customer buys a quarter-inch drill, what he really wants is a quarter-inch hole.
Itās not fun being a fundraiser nowadays: depressing trends like declining responses, high-cost-acquisition in combination with through-the-roof-attrition, rock-bottom-retention and charity-bashing-mediaā¦ pfff, mission impossible?!
Or, is there still a bright light in the fundraising sky? Sure there is, plenty!
Read More
