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2010
bulletThe perfect "eventless" fundraising event
Issue 7.10: Arts charity raises money year round: Pick a day, any day. And fund it.
bulletAre you a funds-raiser or a funds-depleter?
Issue 7.11: Basing your metrics on acquisition is like trying to bail a boat with a sieve. You work hard, but you still sink.
bulletDr. Sargeant says you're only doing half your job
Issue 7.12: And he has the data to prove it.
bulletRelease your inner archer: Learn to shoot message arrows
Issue 7.13: Targets? The vulnerable hearts and curious minds of your donors
bulletValuable direct mail concept absolutely free
Issue 7.14: Do you have the guts to try something different? My client didn't.
bulletDeciding what goes into your donor newsletter
Issue 7.15: Here's the easiest explanation I've ever come up with
bulletQualityspotting
Issue 7.16: How do you know when your donor materials are strong enough for the outside world?
bulletIdiot's guide to time management
Issue 8.1: I fidget, you fidget, we all fidget.
bulletDonor profiles in your newsletters: Worth the trouble?
Issue 8.2: They can lead to bigger things ... or nowhere. You decide.
bulletYoung heads are different heads
Issue 8.3: Are younger donors alive ... or dead to you?
bulletIs direct mail dead? (No, it's just dull.)
Issue 8.4: My goal? Entertain the heck out of the reader.
bullet"I'll never give you a penny again!" Music to my ears.
Issue 8.5: Here's a terrific direct mail concept the client refused to try. Take it if you want ... and if you dare.
bulletYour strategic plan = your case for support?
Issue 8.6: No! Don't! "The bridge is out"!!!
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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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.
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