Donor Boom

12/29/2022

I began my nonprofit journey years ago after taking a volunteer leadership position in my community. It changed the whole trajectory of my career and taught me what it means to be 'mission-driven'.

I'd like to thank a ridiculous number of people who contributed to my journey and the birth and success of Donor Boom this year. My clients, my fellow volunteer junkies, my friends and my dream-enabling family.

And if I had to put one New Year's resolution out there for consideration, I'd say Volunteer!

Thank you, fellow Volunteer Junkies! Angela Dubovsky Emily Beach Liz Anderson Maggie MacIsaac Marla Crowder Silversmith Malinda Pauly Meredith Thacker Molly St. Clair Kate Reed Jeff DeMartini Greg Mand Marni Fligel Cyndi Singer Wright Lindsay Morris Amy Weil Kendra Wehmeyer Lisa Mudd Carolyn Horrigan-Way Michele Hentrich Harbin Jenese Sieben (she, her, hers) Laurie Constable Orosco Betsy Rosen Kristin Flenniken Kristen Schwager Hildur Carlen Jennifer Liebhaber Fabiola Price Audrey Tse Lara McDonald Deborah Leon Joan Lafferty Victoria Grayson Terry Linda Shaffer Quynh Trinh Sarah Wiley Lindsay Wilson Delyn Simons Bethany Hollrah (Bart) Richard Moran Margaret Burke Katie Storey Laura (. and...and...and....

09/23/2022

68% of donors say that a fantastic thank you letter "makes me feel as if it was written for me", according to Cygnus Applied Research. This is what donor segmentation accomplishes even if you are sending a mass communication, and that's why it's worth the trouble. Read on below...

While the idea of meeting every single donor over coffee sounds nice -- and over-caffeinated perhaps -- the reality is that smart fundraising also depends on mass communication tools. Talking to the 'masses' however is not an excuse for treating your best donors like strangers, or treating new donor...

09/06/2022

https://www.donorboom.com/post/earn-your-donor-s-trust-in-a-snap

Want to earn the trust of donors in a snap? It's honestly the heart of successful fundraising, so your answer should be YES.

If your nonprofit is interested in a 53% increase in contributions, read on...

Want to earn the trust of donors in a snap? It's honestly the heart of successful fundraising, so your answer should be "Yes!" Independent third-party evaluators of nonprofits like Guidestar and Charity Navigator vet nonprofits and award "seals of approval" to nonprofits. You can post these eye-catc...

08/26/2022

Your board members and advisors are recharging and rejuvenating right now, and it’s an extraordinarily good time to get on their calendars for a one-to-one conversation in early fall.

Every executive director should have a strong one-on-one relationship with each board member to ensure that the whole school of fish is swimming in the same direction during their time of service.

This is critically important to your fundraising success. Read about the whys and hows below.

In the final, quiet hours of summer, it's time to slyly and stealthily kick off your fall campaign. Your board members and advisors are recharging and rejuvenating right now, and it’s an extraordinarily good time to get on their calendars for a one-to-one conversation in early fall. Every executiv...

06/15/2022

It's so important to BE CLEAR with your donors WHY you're asking for financial support. A 'Donate Today!' button may be a call to action, but on its own, it's not compelling anyone to act. Kudos to my client, the Leadership Council San Mateo County, who is doing it right. (see image)

In the simplest language possible, tell potential donors what you plan do with their donations. People like to visualize their donation at work, and if you provide a compelling reason to donate -- p**f! -- game changer. You'll turn call-to-action into action.

https://www.donorboom.com/post/how-to-turn-your-call-to-action-into-action

Council SMC

03/03/2022

If you are a community-based nonprofit, you have a fundraising superpower that you may not realize you have. Read on...

If you are a community-based nonprofit, you have a fundraising superpower that you may not realize you have. Relationships are at the heart of successful fundraising. People give to people they know. And what better place to find all those people who know each other than in your own community? A com...

02/08/2022

Almost as fun as Wordle....can you guess the three words that solidify a donor for life?

https://www.donorboom.com/post/3-words-that-solidify-a-donor-for-life

Last week, I received a membership card from a nonprofit I’ve been supporting over the years. It said “Member Since 9/5/2001”. I’d been giving to this organization as long as I’ve been married! I had no idea. Had I been giving every single year for the past 20 years? Hard to say, but hones...

02/01/2022

In a pile full of junk mail, this letter was pure gold.

Good donor stewardship takes a personal touch. It stabilizes your donor revenue and is the best and dare I say only way to motivate a donor to give more. A handwritten note is a great place to start, and there’s a recipe for writing one that will give you the strongest results. Efficiently using o...

02/01/2022

Turns out a hike is good for the soul...and for fundraising.

When you connect a donor to your mission, you can make fundraising magic. Donor engagement can feel hard in the Covid age, which is why I take so much joy in the ingenuity that some nonprofits are using to make that connection. I recently took a beautiful hike with my daughter that rewarded us with....

01/05/2022

Happy New Year, all!

Even though 12% of all donations to nonprofits appear in the last week of the year, it's a false indicator of the generosity that exists in people's hearts 52 weeks of the year. Fueling that generosity year-round is the best way to go if you're a nonprofit. Your generous donors will be there for you in the end no matter when they decide to donate. Here's the path forward...

When we say that 12% of philanthropic giving happens during the last week of December, it can be misleading. I'm guilty of perpetuating the confusion. Last week, I suggested on social media that developing a multichannel solicitation campaign during that week is a smart thing to do because that's wh...

09/21/2021

It’s not uncommon for a nonprofit board to include members who don’t feel comfortable asking for money. I get it. Donor solicitation is a specialized skill set just like any other. Some don’t want to climb that learning curve and some misguidedly view it as “hitting up their friends.”

However, everyone who serves on a board should be willing to be ambassadors for the nonprofit organization, establishing and nurturing key relationships that result in financial stability.

So how does a board member ignite donor generosity without the 'ask'? Check out my Top 10 and please LIKE and SHARE if you learn something new from it.

It’s not uncommon for a nonprofit board to include members who don’t feel comfortable asking for money. I get it. Donor solicitation is a specialized skill...

08/02/2021

We have entered a new era in fundraising and Virtual is still most definitely part of the mix.

Fortunately, I have found the world's best production partner for this work. I sought out The WebiNerd during the earliest days of Covid to help pivot our live annual fundraisers to Virtual and it was enormously successful.

Listen in on our conversation about how to nail donor development virtually. High production quality, a strategic fundraising plan, and above all keeping the donor at the center of your strategy are critically important in this new era of fundraising.

I sought out The Webinerd during the earliest days of Covid when I was Director of Development at Feminist Majority Foundation to help pivot our live annual fundraiser to Virtual. I knew we had to think big for it to be successful, and Joshua’s firm turned out to be the perfect production partner....