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Get Your Annual Fundraising Ducks in a Row

Feeling behind because it’s already February and you haven’t nailed down your entire fundraising plan for the year yet?

Don’t worry! You’re not alone.

During January, while the rest of the world is focused on their fresh, inspired plans for the new year, those of us in annual fundraising are still feverishly wrapping up our year-end campaign, which certainly doesn’t end on December 31st!

There are gifts trickling in that need to be processed, donors to thank, campaign wrap-up emails to write, and stats to calculate — not to mention a well-deserved rest day (or two) to enjoy!

That essentially wipes out January for most of us.

By the time February rolls around, we’re often left feeling that we are already miles behind!

Instead of struggling to jump right back on that hamster wheel, let’s make February (and even March) our time to step back, collect our thoughts, reflect on the past year, and plan for the year ahead.

Here’s how to get started crafting your annual fundraising plan… [Read more…]

The single best way to raise more money in the coming year.

For each one of us involved in nonprofit fundraising, our ultimate goal for the coming year boils down to just one thing:

Raise more money.

The problem is, there are so many ways to go about pursing this goal, it often becomes completely overwhelming to decide which route to take.

This is especially true at the start of the year as we try to nail down our tasks for the next 12 months. What exactly should we do to raise more money? Which of the infinite number of tasks available will be the most effective?

I submit to you that there is, in fact, one single task that will raise more money for your organization this year. [Read more…]

The Smart Annual Giving Connection Episode 3: 7 Tips for a Successful Year-end Campaign

In the 3rd installment of the Smart Annual Giving Connection Podcast, I share 7 “beyond-the-basics” tips for a more successful, manageable year-end campaign.

Add our podcast feed to your favorite podcast player using the feed URL: https://smartannualgiving.com/podcast/feed/

7 Ways to Involve Your Board in Your Year-end Fundraising Campaign

As a nonprofit fundraiser you are about to get extremely busy.

Year-end is coming!

There are appeals to create, stories to write, lists to segment, checks to process, donors to thank, social media tactics to learn, and email subject lines to test. At this overwhelming time of year, it’s tricky to juggle all these important tasks.

So what’s the best way to get it all done? Delegate!

Since nonprofit board members are constantly told they should participate in fundraising, but “hate asking for money,” they are the perfect candidates to help with your campaign.

Here are 10 year-end fundraising tasks and projects that are perfect for the board member or engaged key volunteer to jump in and take the reins: [Read more…]

Take a closer look at your mailing list for better appeal results

Before you find yourself rushing to get your year-end renewal appeal in the mail and blindly mailing to every name in your house file, carve out some time to review your mailing list.

Why? Not everyone in your database is appropriate for a year-end appeal. [Read more…]

The Smart Annual Giving Connection Podcast Episode 2: Donor Segmentation

Donor segmentation is an essential part of a healthy annual fundraising program and plays a key role in moves management. In this episode of the Smart Annual Giving Connection, we discuss why many nonprofits still pursue a one-size-fits-all approach rather than consciously and strategically managing their donors in small, logical groups. We explore the many different ways nonprofits might choose to segment their donors, how to prioritize segments, and share how your nonprofit can improve donor retention and loyalty through segmentation.

Add our podcast feed to your favorite podcast player using the feed URL: https://smartannualgiving.com/podcast/feed/

The Smart Annual Giving Connection Podcast Episode 1: Moves Management

I’m thrilled to announce the launch of the new podcast, The Smart Annual Giving Connection. Each episode will explore a common annual giving question or challenge and will often feature guest experts or in-the-trenches fundraisers who’ll share their wisdom and experience. Hope you enjoy our first episode!

Download Audio Here

Moves Management is a concept that sometimes feels out of reach for many small nonprofits. Yet it is a crucial element of a strong annual fundraising program. In this episode, we discuss what moves management actually is, why it is important, why it is often neglected and how small to mid-size nonprofits can get started implementing some basic moves management activities without becoming overwhelmed.

Add to your favorite podcast player using the feed URL: https://smartannualgiving.com/podcast/feed/

Announcing The Donor Management Blueprint Course!

Smart Annual Giving is thrilled to announce the launch of our first online course!

The Donor Management Blueprint is a 4-module, multi-media course that shows you how to create a simple, manageable, data-driven system to guide your donors on their journey from potential donor… to new donor… to committed partner… to major donor. You’ll strengthen your annual fundraising and improve donor retention.

This course is designed to help you…

Understand your donor data – and use it to illuminate the big picture of your entire donorbase.
Increase gift amounts from your individual donors – of any gift size.
Identify and nurture your most valuable donors – from potential donor to major donor.
Create a strategic segmentation plan – and understand why this is critical.
Know exactly what and when to communicate to your supporters – no more indecisiveness!
Get the most out of your current donor database software – and finally use it to help you raise more money.
Increase donor retention for your best donors and overall.

Get the details of the 2018 Donor Management Course here!

Dig into Your Donor Data to Grow Your Annual Fundraising

There’s more to measuring your annual fundraising than how much money you raised. To get the full story, you’ve got to measure performance in terms of your donors as well.

Your donor data reveals critical information that you’ll need in order to improve your fundraising and make the most of the giving potential within your database.

It tells you which donors are responding to your outreach and illuminates how well your strategies and tactics are working.

Your donor data reveals your best, most valuable donors. [Read more…]

Caution: Don’t let potential donors slip through the cracks!

Somewhere, floating around your office, you probably have lists of names like these:

Participants in your spring 5K fundraiser.
People who attended your gala as a guest of a board member.
Family members of clients/ students/ patients.
People who’ve contacted you for help, education, or information.
Short-term volunteer project participants.

The names on these lists are your potential donors – people who have connected with your organization in some way, but have not yet supported you financially – your best candidates for an influx of new supporters.

How hard are you working to entice, invite, and persuade them to support your mission?

This is one of those fundraising tasks that is easily ignored or derailed.

We forgot to ask volunteers to sign-in at that church drop-in workday. We never get around to entering the list of names our board member handed us at the last meeting. We got so busy with our upcoming fundraising gala, we never got around to sending that follow-up letter from our educational workshop.

There is a huge untapped potential in this segment of your donor database. Bumping this group up on your priority list is an easy way to bring in more money – a great return in investment of your time.

Here’s how to get started. [Read more…]