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Download Common Hope 2008 "Donor Impact" report
Common Hope, a charity headquartered in St. Paul, MN, published an extraordinarily well-thought-out annual report, about its work with school children in Guatemala. This is a must read.
Download PPMD donor acquisition appeals, before and after
Same offer. Same audience. Same time of year. But the 2009 appeal was far more successful than the 2008 attempt, improving net income by 750%. Spot and weigh the numerous differences between the two appeals.
Download United Way of Pickens County annual appeal
This is a beyond-honest letter from a campaign chair, divulging a childhood burdened with abuse ... and yet he succeeded in life, thanks to his own inner drive and a lot of outside help. The message to prospective donors: Never abandon hope. Your gif
[more...]
Download Reminder flip book Jan 2010
A short sheaf of quick tips for improving your donor communications. You will find this a handy PDF to have on your computer desktop.
Download Steel Yard "Buy a Day" appeal
In December 2009, the Steel Yard, a small arts organization in Rhode Island, mailed a ground-breaking direct mail appeal. The Steel Yard boldly asked a small circle of friends to cover the deficit for a single day of operations, at $131 per. In the f
[more...]
Links of interest
Categories
Nonprofit (17)
Of use to somebody (10)
Research (9)

Most Recent
Association for Healthcare Philanthropy
The professional association for hospital fundraisers.
The Agitator
Fundraising & advocacy strategies, trends, tips...with an edge. A deep (and deeply entertaining) repository of frank advice from top practitioners.
Association of Fundraising Professionals
The largest professional association for fundraisers.
Campbell Rinker
Campbell Rinker is a top source of recent research on specific types of donors: hospital donors, Catholic donors, zoo donors, etc.
CASE
The professional association for college, university and private school fundraisers.
Newsletters
2009
bulletWriting a fabulous case is easy
Issue 7.7: You're just answering questions
bulletStraight to trash? The avoidable, sad fate of most annual reports
Issue 7.6: Entertain me with stories. Put stats in perspective.
bulletTake the Donor-Centered Pledge (or die)
Issue 7.5: 23 rules to live by (instead)
bullet"Deserving charity"? There's no such thing.
Issue 7.4: No one owes you a gift, as this "inside a donor's mind" report makes clear.
bulletI just wrote a couple of appeals for a big hospital. This time I took notes. Here's how to get a better letter.
Issue 7.3: Your next direct mail appeal: Will it burst into song?
bulletIf your paper newsletter is a flop, switching to electronic won't help.
Issue 7.2: Two key questions answered about newsletters
bulletDoes your boss or board chair get to approve your stuff? Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.
Issue 7.1: Sad but true: Most donor communications are built to fail
bulletBill's amazing "Warm Words" campaign
Issue 7.8: Bill Pratt decided to raise something other than money for once, and joyous response flooded in
bulletA campaign case is a series of talking points
Issue 7.9: Report from the front lines
2008
bullet"Hi. My name's Inertia. And I'll be disappointing you from this day forward. I know you have many obstacles to surmount, so I'm thrilled that you've named me Number One."
Issue 6.14: Meet the enemy: Inertia
bulletHow to write a good donor-centric headline
Issue 6.5: Writing a winning headline
bulletWould you buy a mattress from this charity?
Issue 6.3: What you do vs. why you matter
bulletWhy is giving by bequest so rare in the U.S.?
Issue 6.2: Reviving your "death brochure"
bulletAcquiring new donors through direct mail: Measuring success
Issue 6.1: Measuring donor acquisition programs
bulletCan direct mail be a cash cow for smaller nonprofits? Think "cash calves" instead.
Issue 6.13: Mass-market expectations yield disappointing results at local levels. Take heart, though: direct mail is about far more than instant cash.
bulletWhy won't paper die?
Issue 6.12: Everyone's drumming their fingers, waiting for paper to expire as a communications medium. Sorry.
bulletThe dirty truth about cases
Issue 6.11: Bitter truth? Maybe a quarter of the cases I'm hired to write never reach the finish line. Interesting tale, that.
bulletWhen you're feeling a little irrelevant...
Issue 6.10: Do you know the real you? The one donors really care about? Likely not, thanks to the "curse of knowledge." But there's an easy way (fun, too) to see yourself anew. Read on.
bulletRichard Radcliffe has your back
Issue 6.9: Are you marketing bequests? (Right.) Or "planned gifts"? (Wrongo.)
bulletObama's Web 3.0 campaign: Rewarding role model? Or risky distraction?
Issue 6.8: Are e-newsletters dead?
bulletWhat is news?
Issue 6.7: Making donor news the right way
bulletDoes your stuff suffer from jargon breath?
Issue 6.6: Adopt a zero-jargon policy and you'll raise more money
2007
bulletHow to make your billion-dollar goal?
Issue 5.9: No Ph.D. OK needed for your case
bulletTo make it into pile #3, know what you're selling
Issue 5.8: Selling hope
bulletWant to raise more support? Want to retain more donors?
Issue 5.7: Donor-centric pledge
bulletWhat do we call it?
Issue 5.6: Case themes
bulletWhy pay thousands to have an expert tell you what you're doing wrong? Do it yourself.
Issue 5.5: Ready for your self-audit?
bulletWhat to tell a second-guessing boss about good communications
Issue 5.4: Dear Boss
bulletThree improving things I learned last year
Issue 5.3: 2007's "eureka" moments
bulletMolehill bequests grow into mountains, if permanently endowed
Issue 5.2: Bring this up when you're promoting bequests
bulletMake your case and write the donor into the story
Issue 5.1: Donor = solution. It's your job to mention that more than once.
2006
bulletTrust = Giving + Retention
Issue 4.5: What are donor newsletters for?
bulletFundraising communications: Cost or investment?
Issue 4.4: Building donor relationships
bulletYou're writing, but they're not reading. Improve your odds.
Issue 4.3: Getting them to read
bulletOn the delicate subject of ED, committee, and board approvals
Issue 4.2: Approvals
bulletRaise the problem, be the solution
Issue 4.1: Emotional twin sets
2005
2004
bulletDisconnecting the dots: "Visibility" and fundraising success
Issue 2.6: Visibility
bulletYou love stats. But do stats love you?
Issue 2.5: Using statistical evidence
bulletWant more response? Get all emotional.
Issue 2.4: Emotional triggers
bulletWhy people ignore your newsletter
Issue 2.3: Newsletter basics...
bulletWhy people ignore your newsletter
Issue 2.2: Newsletter basics...
bulletWhy people ignore your newsletter
Issue 2.1: Newsletter basics...
2003
bulletA surefire story formula
Issue 1.7: Case basics...
bulletThe Abraham Lincoln lesson
Issue 1.6: Case basics...
bulletAre you interesting (especially to donors)?
Issue 1.5: Communications basics...
bulletBottom-Liners leap to conclusions (and that's a good thing)
Issue 1.4: Part four of four personality types...
bulletExpressives crave the new
Issue 1.3: Part three of four personality types...
bulletAmiables: Smile and say "Howdy!"
Issue 1.2: Part two of four personality types...
bulletAnalytical types: Good to the last objection
Issue 1.1: Part one of four personality types...
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