Resources to maximize annual giving at your institution.
Introductions First Hello, fellow fundraising professional. My name is Barett Christensen, recently hired Senior Associate at Bentz Whaley Flessner. If you will humor me, before we get to the predictions for 2017, it seems a brief introduction may be in order. For the last three years, I have been fully focused on building the country’s […]
Tips on how to balance donors’ relationships with the institution and the individual fundraisers.
Bentz Whaley Flessner examines what presidential election cycles mean to nonprofits and what organizations can learn from these competitors.
Take a minute to watch this great video that was put out by Water is Life. Key takeaways when you’re thinking about creating a video campaign. 1) Identify a theme.2) Choose impactful images.3) Keep it short.4) Make the ask. The only issue I see is that it should be easier to make a gift but […]
See the article below from the Washington Post. The USPS is set to announce a suspension of Saturday delivery services beginning August 1. Saturday mail delivery to end Aug. 1.
“My what?” you ask. It’s your online Giving Completion Rate. It’s the percentage of visits to your online giving form that turn into gifts. Why is this important? Because all of your efforts—from developing the greatest direct mail pieces to telling impact-of-gift stories on your website to engaging your community in conversations on social media […]
In this edition of 5 Things, you’ll get some ideas on how you and your alumni counterparts can work together to further the goals of both programs. How do you work together? Please share other ways that you’ve worked with your partners is the alumni office. P.S. My colleagues at engagealumni.com have some ideas too!
According to a recent article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy, more than 400 organizations have committed to joining #GivingTuesday. The aim is to turn the Tuesday after Thanksgiving into a day of giving–every year. It’s an interesting idea, and one that I hope catches on. Will you try it at your organization? Learn More: https://givingtuesday.org/
1) Make sure that in addition to asking for gifts from students, you are focusing on educating all students about the importance of philanthropy. 2) Don’t use “trick” gifts—that’s when you charge for entrance to an event or for a premium (or the like) and tack on a $1 “gift” to the price. 3) Identify […]
A fun Pinterest board showing examples of nonprofit infographics. Click Here.
Have a topic in mind for the next edition of 5 Things? Post it in the comments, and I’ll be sure that it gets covered in one of my weekly posts. 1) Thank them for their last gift, mention the designation, and provide an update that speaks to the impact of their gift. 2) Change […]
1) Ask them to renew their gift to the area that they supported the previous year—regardless of the priority designation (that can be your second ask!). 2) Send anniversary mailings and emails in the month that they will lapse. 3) Start recognizing consistent years of giving—add it to your student calling scripts, integrate it into […]
