A Small Change- Fundraising Blog

From Penelope Burk to Terry Axelrod, there are a lot of different models and fundraising programs out there. Many development shops base their fundraising programs on one of these models. I’d love to hear back from you on what model you use and what you’ve found to be successful. Do...

After working for six months as the social media coordinator at Puget Sound Blood Center, I’ve learned valuable lessons about cultivating a base of social media volunteers. The social media community has an impressive commitment to volunteerism and nonprofit fundraising that. ...

Earlier this week I talked about the importance of knowing where to put donor information in your database. Today I want to talk about what information I’ve found to be the most inconsistent and, by keeping that data relevant, how much more powerful your database can be. ...

Every organization I’ve worked for has always had a hard time using their database to capture donor information and keeping it up-to-date. Many will say this is because they don’t have the staffing to properly update the database. Bu...

I wrote earlier this week about “What’s a Lead” and today I’m going to talk about responding to these leads. When you come back from an event you attended, what do you do with your leads? Does it take months before any of these people ever hear from you again? I’ve f...

Sometimes the difference between a lead and everyone else is just a frame of mind. People connect, volunteer, and donate to your organization because they agree with and believe in what you are doing. I’m surprised by what it takes for someone at some organizations to become a prospect. ...

Outside of a vibrant major gifts program direct mail is probably the number one way to raise money at most organizations. And direct mail will still be a major way to find donors for a long time to come but not forever. It appears that direct mail is on the decline...

Do you ever feel like you can’t get your day to day work done because you’re spending all your time working on agendas? I hate that feeling. I’ve always viewed agendas as a means to an end not the end itself. Meet...

There are a lot of new and brilliant creative and philanthropic successes in the world of business giving. Social enterprise is happening all around us doing tremendous good; Cause marketing is making us think differently about the products we purchase and the partnerships we create with businesses...

I’ve found that it takes me about a year to really get settled into a new organization. I just had my performance review and it was really refreshing to acknowledge that we have found a good working pattern. It takes time to feel comfortable in any job. ...

It seems we often spend a lot of our time trying to keep the many balls we are juggling in the air. I wish it was as easy as simply juggling. Sometimes your challenges are enhanced by difficult staff, volunteers, and donors...

This week’s Featured Fundraiser is Katie Graf. Thanks so much for your insights and words of wisdom! If you ever would like to nominate someone for Feature Fundraiser just send me an email. - Jason What kind of fundraising do you do and who do you do it for? ...

America’s Giving Challenge is one of my favorite online fundraising competitions. Last year the Causes application on Facebook raised over $600,000 for nonprofits during the challenge. ...

As I’m sure you have found this blog can be someone autobiographical at times. I hope you are not getting bored with my journey of learning about fundraising and development. ...