I’m always checking out new resources to see how we can improve.  Today, let me share some new things I learned from a new fundraising guide produced by Network for Good.
25 STEPS TO FALL & HOLIDAY FUNDRAISING SUCCESS: Meet (and exceed!) Your Fundraising Goals offers a wealth of information and is free to download [...]

At Atlas’s  ”nuts and bolts” training programs, we often are asked to include real donors in the presentations so we can better understand “the donor’s perspective.”  Excellent request!  Consequently,  when I came across an article by Tom Ahern which essentially offers a donor’s basic “do’s” and “don’ts” list, I thought it would be useful to [...]

I had to laugh when I read these words. When you think about it, it is unlikely that anyone has ever died from fundraising!
Carol Weisman, president of  Board Builders indeed confirms that “Members will survive asking someone for money and being turned down.”
Perhaps, if we point that out to our trustees, we all have better luck [...]

I often talk to Atlas’s international partners about fundraising and development, and the predictable refrain is “Yeah, but there is no culture of philanthropy in my country.” While that may be historically true, let’s shed this old way of thinking!
Instead of taking a static perspective on a dynamic situation, maybe it’s time to apply our [...]

As one of the judges for SPNovations, a new award program offered by the State Policy Network, I get to see terrific examples of creativity and innovation on the part of our state-based think tank partners. Let me share a recent winner that takes high marks across the board – from the Maine Heritage Policy [...]

You’ve heard it many times – choose your board members wisely and carefully consider the role of your board.  There are countless books and articles on this topic, including an article in this month’s Fundraising Success magazine, “Success in Fundraising Starts With the Board of Directors by Ruthellen S. Rubin.
I can tell you from [...]

How often do you read the emails and solicitations that show up in your mailbox?  We all know that’s one of the biggest challenges in our donor outreach efforts. Like me, you probably spend countless hours writing about your organization’s work, sharpening your story-telling skills.
But that’s only part of the effort.  Besides the actual content, [...]

An article in Tuesday’s Washington Post serves as a reminder that markets foster accountability and maximize choice.
Twenty-one Washington, D.C. area nonprofit groups have reportedly suspended their membership in the United Way, a well-known organization that solicits workplace funding.
Readers may recall that the United Way’s accounting practices generated quite a scandal several years ago and landed [...]

Lately, I seem to be reading a lot of articles that offer advice on how to maintain donations during these challenging economic times. A lot of the advice starts sounding the same after awhile, but today, I had good reason to pause when I read “How to Ask for Donations” published by Groundspring.
As you [...]

I’m just back from speaking at the Leadership Institute’s international fundraising program in the UK where one of the best presentations, in my opinion, focused on raising money online.  Interestingly enough, upon my return, I found an interesting email article precisely on this topic.
According to a March 2008 report, titled “The Wired Wealthy: Using the [...]