"I used your principles
...and obtained $750,000 for my
organization." ...read more testimonials
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PDFs & Critiques
Download Foxdale development news inaugural issue
This is Sophie W. Penney's first year as development director at Foxdale Village in State College, PA. And one of her goals was "to create a development newsletter." Here's her inaugural issue. There are some very nice touches and a few sug
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Download Appeal from EcoLogic for Latin American families
I have made exactly one comment on this piece, but I think it's an important comment. It has to do with how you use visuals to stab people in the heart.
Download Camp He Ho Ha successfully renews lapsed donors
This letter sent to lapsed donors did "terrific," reports Ellen Green, director of fund development for Camp Health, Hope and Happiness, a recreational facility in Alberta for people with disabilities. "With the economy last year, I th
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Download United Way of Pickens County 2010 annual report
The file for this PDF was so big that I had to trim it in half. But the front half is where all the stories are -- and that's what you'll want to see. United Way of Pickens County president, Julie Capaldi, gave the front of her parade to some amazing
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Download MassVOTE donor newsletter May 2010
MassVOTE is a dynamic agency dedicated to turning out the poor, minority, and youth vote in Massachusetts. Andrea Jamison, the newsletter editor, attended my workshop. This is the organization's first newsletter, and she asked my opinion. There is mu
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Case Statements
Charter School Case

136.66 kb
Tucson Prelude
Makes a crisp case that a symphony's improving quality and its rising inability to make ends meet are directly linked -- and that donors are therefore essential to close the gap. The case is personalized for every prospect: see the page with the "Unfinished Symphony" score. Please note: this PDF is laid out in printer's signatures. It does not read in the correct sequence. To read this case properly, first print it out. Tape p1 and p2 together back to back, p3 and p4 together, and p5 and p6 together. Then staple the taped pieces together so that p1 is the outside, front and back covers; and p6 is the center spread.
1.04 mb
French American School RI
The wonderful French-American School of RI wanted a dual-purpose case: one it could use for solicitations as well as for its capabilities brochure. All headlines are in both languages. And a parent volunteer took the superb photos.
668.12 kb
Roger Williams Park Zoo
Mission: raise $35 million to overhaul weary exhibits and reverse declining attendance at "one of America's top 10 zoos."
2.06 mb
Southcoast Hospital
Object of desire: a new emergency department for a vibrant community hospital in the old whaling city of New Bedford, MA. This was co-written with and designed by Southcoast's talented in-house staff, led by Jim Rattray.
398.01 kb
Women's Fund of Rhode Island
The idea here was to put the entire argument on the cover, to qualify people immediately: either you care about this problem, or you don't. The weeping woman (a statue dripping dew) and the somber color palette (purple and black; in a second edition enlivened with peach accents) visually underscore the seriousness of the issue.
1.79 mb
Us Helping Us
UHU wanted to consolidate its far-flung DC operations in a single, convenient site at "the corner of hope and health." Graphic design: Orange Square Design.
624.75 kb
Hospice of the Chesapeake
Hospice of the Chesapeake hung its case off a looming demographic crisis: a ballooning increase in the over-65 population.
1.3 mb
Tom Ahern, tagline judge
Nancy Schwartz has asked me to help judge her wildly popular Tagline Awards Program in the summer of 2010. Of course, I said yes. And I am advertising that fact because, of course, I am unbribable. Although some judges like homemade fudges; just saying. Download her 2009 Nonprofit Tagline Report.
Links of interest
Categories
Nonprofit (17)
Of use to somebody (10)
Research (9)

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