A few weeks ago, one of our members in The Fundraisingology Lab asked a question: The organization had done a highly successful appeal to raise funds for a specific person facing extraordinary need. Funds poured in from energized donors who…
Read MoreHow the 40-40-20 Rule Gives You Freedom, Confidence, and Success in Fundraising
Let me share a rule I learned from a grizzled old-time direct response professional. He learned it from the classic days of commercial direct response, when he’d spent years creating direct mail for magazine subscriptions. It’s called the 40-40-20 Rule. …
Read MoreHere’s an Easy Tool that Can Turn You into a Fundraising Genius
How often do you see fundraising that asks donors to do things like these? Will you help us do our work by sending a generous contribution? Stand with us today in this important cause. Please show your support for our…
Read MoreThe Fundraising Secret Ingredient You’ll Swear by for the Rest of Your Career
My Mom had a secret. It was a magic ingredient she could sprinkle into just about anything she cooked, and it made the food better. More flavorful. Richer. Just yummier in an almost undefinable way. She didn’t want people to…
Read MoreVIDEO: My Favorite Fundraising Appeal: The Power of Specificity
If you’re in or near Seattle, or you can manage to get to Seattle, you don’t want to miss the St. Demetrios Greek Festival every September. The highlight of the Festival for me comes a few months before that, when…
Read MoreMatching Gift Appeals: How Many Is Too Many?
Be not afraid. That’s generally good advice, and it’s very good advice when it comes to matching gift offers. Matching gift appeals are maybe the easiest and most dependable way to increase response to your fundraising. It works any time…
Read MoreHow to Bulk Up Response to Any Fundraising Ask with Matching Funds
I don’t throw around terms like “magic” lightly, because there’s no such thing. But matching funds come close to magic. A match offer can cut through the clutter and encourage more donors to give. In fact, in my experience, a…
Read More11 Ways to Beat the Odds and Raise a Lot of Money
Fundraising is just hard. Not only are you trying to persuade strangers to give you money for almost nothing in return — but you’re asking all that of people who are being asked by dozens of other fundraisers at the…
Read MoreHow to Make Fundraising Work: Nail the Offer
Lynne Boardman, Managing Director at Harvey McKinnon Associates, and Jeff Brooks, Fundraisingologist at Moceanic, discuss the one thing that makes all the difference in fundraising: The offer — also called the call to action or the proposition. Nail this truth,…
Read MoreThe Weird Power of Long Fundraising Letters
Long letters work better. But don’t just take it from me. Dr Barnardo wrote a four-page appeal letter in London in the 1880s using classic direct mail techniques: Underlining, urgency, dollar handles, specific ask and a clear reference to what…
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