Creativity Archives

How You Can Learn about Fundraising from the Golden Age of Advertising

February 10, 2025

Jeff Brooks

One of the truly cool things about our private members-only community, The Fundraisingology Lab, is the conversations that come up, and where they can lead. Here’s a recent example: A Lab member—who, for reasons you’ll quickly understand, wanted to be…

How to Make Your Fundraising Strong with Visual Design

January 20, 2025

Jeff Brooks

Creativity, Crises Fundraising

They told me my voice was going to be squeaky and out of control for a while, but after that people would stop mistaking me for my mother on the phone. I was okay with that. Later, they told me…

How the 40-40-20 Rule Gives You Freedom, Confidence, and Success in Fundraising

November 14, 2022

Jeff Brooks

Creativity, Direct Mail

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. …

6 Tips to Conquer Your Fear of Making Mistakes

September 21, 2020

Jeff Brooks

Creativity

I once worked at a place where everyone was focused on avoiding mistakes. It was a deeply engrained cultural value that came, I think, from the president of the company, who came from a difficult family background. It was a…

BOOK REVIEW: Orbiting the Giant Hairball

September 15, 2020

Jeff Brooks

Books, Creativity

Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool’s Guide to Surviving with Grace by Gordon MacKenzie I read a lot of books that are meant to make me better at my work. You probably do too. Every fundraising book I can…

Pop Art Boring report man fell asleep e1516262595881

How to Keep Writing When You’re on Empty

March 16, 2020

Jeff Brooks

Creativity, Writing

NOTE: This blog post was written during — and is about — normal times. Now is not a normal time. There are a number of suggestions below — like “sneak out to a movie” and “do your work in a…

Pop Art Astronaut Woman Saying Fundraising in Space

How to Survive Shiny Object Syndrome

March 2, 2020

Jeff Brooks

Creativity

When we asked our community of great fundraisers around the world about their biggest fundraising challenges, one of the big ones was Shiny Object Syndrome — SOS. It’s that need to chase after cool new stuff, often ignoring more immediate…

VIDEO: Bass Players and Fundraisers – the Real Thing

February 13, 2020

Jeff Brooks

Fundraising, Creativity

I play the double bass. That’s the biggest, lowest string instrument in the orchestra. It’s the one that rests on the floor while the player stands or perches on a tall stool to play. Yep — that’s me. Let me…

Pop Art Senior Woman Riding Scooter e1570866857578

2 Truths Your Donors Wish You Understood about Direct Mail

November 4, 2019

Fiona McPhee

Creativity, Direct Mail, Donor Care, Donor Love, Donor Psychology, Writing

I am a Gen Xer. I am not the core target market for direct mail. In my early twenties I had to learn two lessons quickly in order to do my job as a Fundraising Appeal Manager. Lesson one: The…

Where Good Fundraising Ideas Are Born

March 26, 2018

Jeff Brooks

Creativity

In fundraising, as in any creative work, ideas are among the most precious things we have. Big ideas. Small ideas. New ideas. Even old ideas brought back to life. People who are good at dreaming up ideas — especially good…

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How You Can Learn about Fundraising from the Golden Age of Advertising

How to Make Your Fundraising Strong with Visual Design

How the 40-40-20 Rule Gives You Freedom, Confidence, and Success in Fundraising

6 Tips to Conquer Your Fear of Making Mistakes

BOOK REVIEW: Orbiting the Giant Hairball

How to Keep Writing When You’re on Empty

How to Survive Shiny Object Syndrome

VIDEO: Bass Players and Fundraisers – the Real Thing

2 Truths Your Donors Wish You Understood about Direct Mail

Where Good Fundraising Ideas Are Born

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Jeff Brooks’ Webinar: Your Roadmap to Record-Smashing Direct Mail This Year End

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Jeff Brooks’ Webinar: Your Roadmap to Record-Smashing Direct Mail This Year End

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SIGNUP FOR E-NEWS AND FREE FUNDRAISING TIPS

Nearly every single email can help you raise more money for your cause. You don't want to miss out.

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Dive Into Smarter Fundraising with Moceanic

Now is the time to jump on board to get even smarter about your fundraising

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