What if there was an international day celebrating giving? Oh wait there is. If you are based in Europe, you might not know it as well as if you are based in North America, but, if you are online, regardless of where you are...
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Idea Garden
I hear the buzz — people are starting to say that #GivingTuesday has hit market saturation! And, at the end of 2018’s #GivingTuesday campaigns, I thought the same thing … until I looked at the numbers. Check this out: Total donations are up 27%!...
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You may already know the deal, but as I was (and still am) pretty new to the direct response marketing industry at the time I was asked to attend, I had to Google what the Bridge to Integrated Marketing and Fundraising Conference was. “Bridge” —...
Read MoreRead More 05 Jun 2019
Recruiting Donors Recruiting new donors is one of the most important and most expensive challenges of any fundraising program. Get it right, and you’re on your way to sustainable growth. Get it wrong, and you’re investing precious resources without getting the return on investment you...
Read MoreRead More 05 Feb 2019
Some of the questions we most often hear from nonprofit clients about digital marketing, even larger nonprofits, concern SEO (search engine optimization): Do we really have to invest in SEO? Isn’t it too complicated for nonprofits to master? Can you really show a return on...
Read MoreRead More 21 Aug 2018
Benchmarks are bullshit. There — I’ve said it. The benchmarks that we all live and die by — the well-annotated, appendiced-to-death, 97-page Annual Findings that determine whether you are successful — are crap. Why? Because they don’t represent anyone’s reality. Instead, they embody the reality of a perfectly curated,...
Read MoreRead More 27 Oct 2017
For the last decade or so, we have argued whether storytelling or data is more effective in fundraising. Data made it on the scene as it solves the “what” and the “how” of our marketing strategy. While these are two VERY important components, there...
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Here in America, we all know the regular “spooky” superstitions. For instance, the number 13 is perceived to be very unlucky. We avoid having a 13th floor in our elevators or a 13th row on our planes, just to prevent any superstitious conflict. We...
Read MoreRead More 14 Sep 2017
As peak year-end fundraising season begins for many nonprofits, I encourage you to take just five minutes out of your day to slow down a bit and reflect on how much has changed in our world. Specifically, let’s take a look back at 2004...
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One would be hard pressed to find an adult in America who would not recognize the name “Uncle Sam,” and even less likely to find someone who couldn’t recall the famous “I WANT YOU” WWI recruitment image. Not only has it been seen in...
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