Steven, Author at The Better Fundraising Company

It Can Be Hard to Change Your Ideas about Fundraising

Steven | March 20, 2025March 13, 2025Repeat

I wrote a couple days ago about how smaller nonprofits must often create fundraising messages that they don’t prefer for their fundraising to be more successful.

Today, I want to take a moment to acknowledge that changing your ideas about fundraising can be emotionally difficult.

For a Founder, or for someone who is passionate about their fundraising, it can be a very real struggle to try a fundraising message or strategy that doesn’t personally resonate.

Let me share my own experience with this, in hopes that it’s helpful.

Here’s the thing to know about me: I strongly prefer not to make mistakes. In fact, I hate mistakes. I fear being wrong. I fear being judged.

My fear around avoidable mistakes has positive consequences – for instance, it made me a fantastic student.

But it also has negative consequences. For instance, I’m occasionally a pain in the neck to work with.

So it was challenging for me when I learned that the easiest way for smaller nonprofits to raise more money is to send out more fundraising.

Wait, I thought, wouldn’t the best way be to make each piece of fundraising more perfect? We’ll eliminate all the mistakes, get everything up to best-practices… wouldn’t that bring all the money in?

Nope. I saw again and again that the nonprofits that grew their individual donor fundraising the fastest were seeing that “showing up regularly in donors’ lives” is more important than “showing up perfectly in donors’ lives.”

It didn’t seem possible that “sending more fundraising” could work. It didn’t seem possible that the occasional typo or “wrong thing showing through the envelope window” could work.

But if I’m honest, the real conflict was with my personal preferences and fears. I was thinking, If we have to move faster we’re going to make mistakes. I don’t want to focus on the total number of pieces, I want each piece to be an un-critique-able jewel box of fundraising brilliance. <<pounds podium>> I’m a copywriter and a storyteller, dammit, not some cheap content machine!

I’m poking fun at myself here, but my feelings of discomfort were real.

And you’ll smile at why my thinking on this issue eventually changed; I saw the strategy of “showing up regularly is more important than showing up perfectly” succeed so many times for so many organizations that eventually I realized I would be making a mistake if I didn’t change my thinking. And you know I don’t like to make mistakes. Sheesh.

Anyway. I still don’t prefer the “showing up regularly is more important than showing up perfectly” approach to mass donor fundraising. But I embrace it because it so obviously helps small nonprofits raise more money and increase donor retention rates. And because making the world a better place is more important than my own personal preferences and fears.

So… acknowledging that we all have preferences and fears… and acknowledging that doing things in a non-preferred way can be difficult… is there anything about your organization’s fundraising that should be changed in order to raise more money and fund more work, even if you don’t prefer the change?

***

Hey, if you’re the Founder of your nonprofit, or a longtime Executive Director, I’m giving a free webinar next Tuesday just for you.

You’ll learn systems and lessons from Founders who exited and had their organization thrive in the years afterwards.

We all know how hard it can be to replace a Founder or longtime E.D. We’ve served a LOT of Founders over the years, and helped organizations go through the transition to the next generation of leadership.

So I’ll share what we’ve learned in hopes that it will help you create a successful transition.

The free webinar is next Tuesday, March 25, at 2pm Eastern/11am Pacific.

There’s limited availability so that we can have a conversation. This is NOT me talking for 55 minutes. There will be lots of time for questions.

For more info, go here.

And here’s the link:

https://betterfundraising.com/webinar-founders-on-fire

I hope to see you next Tuesday!

Kudos for the Wrong Thing

Steven | March 18, 2025March 13, 2025Ask

Every nonprofit has its own preferences.

The preferences are things like “we use this particular phrasing to describe our work” or “we talk about the people we serve in this particular way” or “we believe donors should support us because of X and Y.”

All good things.

But one of the hard parts about creating effective fundraising at smaller nonprofits is that the fundraising is evaluated according to the preferences of the nonprofit.

For instance…

When you create an appeal that uses the particular phrasing that the staff likes, you get kudos from the staff. The piece of fundraising gets approved & sent.

When you create a newsletter that thoroughly describes a program, the program staff give you kudos. The newsletter gets approved & sent.

When you write something that gets your ED’s “voice” exactly right, the ED gives you kudos, and the piece of fundraising is approved & sent.

The problem here is obvious to anyone who has been reading this blog for a while:

Fundraising that makes staff feel good is probably going to raise less money – when a donor is looking at an email on her phone, how she feels about the message is more important than how staff feel about it.
Thoroughly describing a program is probably going to raise less money – when a donor is looking at a newsletter, how it makes the donor feel about her previous giving matters more than how thoroughly the program is described.
Getting your ED’s “voice” right is a total crapshoot – when a donor is reading an appeal, how quickly he knows it’s relevant to his life & values matters so much more than how faithful the writing is to the ED’s “voice.”

Here’s the result of a nonprofit evaluating its fundraising based on its own preferences: more kudos are given to pieces of fundraising that raise less.

One of the lessons that nonprofits learn as they grow larger & better at fundraising is that the preferences of the staff are most likely different than the preferences of donors.

Once organizations realize that, they begin to give kudos not for “matching internal preferences,” but for results like “percent response” and “net revenue” and “average gift size.” They pay less attention to staff preferences, and more attention to donor preferences (as gleaned from fundraising results).

***

Hey, I’m giving a free strategy session next Tuesday for Founders and longtime EDs (who have the Founder’s spirit).

I love talking to (and working with) Founders. They’re incredible fundraisers and amazingly passionate about their work.

But Founders often need help establishing the staff and systems that retain their particular genius and outlast them.

So in this strategy I’m going to help Founders:

Understand the four systems they can start building now that will propel their fundraising and ensure the organization’s stability for years to come
Recognize the hurdles that are unique to them (like delegating and letting go of some major donor relationships 😊). And I’ll share the strategies to address these hurdles now.

The free strategy session is next Tuesday, March 25, at 2pm Eastern/11am Pacific.

There’s limited availability so that we can have a real conversation. This is NOT me talking for 55 minutes straight. There will be lots of time for questions.

For more info, here’s the link:

https://betterfundraising.com/webinar-founders-on-fire

I hope to see you next Tuesday!

Top Heavy

Steven | February 13, 2025March 13, 2025Major Donor Fundraising

The following graphic is from a fundraising analysis on a nonprofit we serve. Look at how much of their revenue from individual donors comes from their major donors:

This kind of revenue distribution is normal; a large percentage of a nonprofit’s revenue from individual donors comes from a small group.

In fact, the revenue distribution for this organization is not particularly top heavy. About 65% of their revenue is coming from their $5,000+ donors. We regularly see organizations where 80% or 90% of revenue is coming in from $5,000+ donors.

This is why – even for small organizations – we put such emphasis on managing your major donors well.

It’s why “having a proven major donor management system” is one of the “core four” strategies we teach in this free eBook. It’s the reason Major Gifts Engine exists (and is on sale right now, btw). We can wish the funding were more equitably distributed.

We can even work to make it so. But right now, intentionally managing today’s major donors is the best way to meet tomorrow’s revenue needs.

5 reasons the Myth of “Donor Fatigue” Persists

Steven | February 11, 2025February 11, 2025Ask

“Donor Fatigue” – that mythical beast that haunts the futures of Fundraisers everywhere – doesn’t exist. I’m neck-deep in donor data and fundraising performance all the time. And I can tell you that this creature simply doesn’t exist for 99.9% of nonprofits.

But it still affects the behavior of too many fundraisers. And without question, the fear of “donor fatigue” causes organizations to raise less money and do less good.

This is such a brutal fact that I’m going to repeat it: the fear of something that doesn’t exist – “donor fatigue” – causes hundreds of thousands of nonprofits to raise less money and do less good.

For the vast majority of nonprofits, letting “donor fatigue” affect your behavior is like not going outside because you might get hit by lightning.

I’ve identified 5 reasons that “donor fatigue” continues to haunt our sector and lower revenue. If you know of others, please share them with us. Here are my five:

The complaints of a donor or three, occasionally a Board member, that your organization is asking for money too often.
The fear that comes from thinking those complainers might speak for all your donors.
The awkwardness some people feel about asking for money in the first place.
The lack of understanding that nonprofits can be communicating to their donors far more often than they think.
“Donor fatigue” is sometimes used as a scapegoat for bad fundraising. If an appeal or newsletter or campaign doesn’t work well, that elusive “donor fatigue” is blamed. Then no one has to feel bad, take responsibility, or learn from the mistake.

The first four items above are all real things. They matter.

But complaints and fears should not matter as much as the hundreds and thousands of additional gifts that will come in when you communicate with your donors more often about things they care about.

Look, if you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you know we believe in Asking more – because all our data shows that it works like crazy, with almost zero negative consequences.

One of the reasons Better Fundraising has been so successful is that we show our clients how organizations their size are communicating to their donors more often and raising a lot more money doing it. (And of course there are other things an organization has to do well, but Asking more is a one of the biggest levers you can pull.)

So next time someone brings up “donor fatigue,” tell them that “donor fatigue” isn’t the problem. And don’t let “donor fatigue” be used as a reason or excuse in your organization.

Acknowledge the fear that caused “donor fatigue” to rear its hideous head, then move forward.

You owe it to your beneficiaries.

Your donors will thank you for it with increased engagement and giving.

You’ll love raising more money and getting to do more good.

This post was originally published on January 22, 2019.

The Habit

Steven | February 6, 2025February 5, 2025Repeat

There’s a habit your organization can develop that will result in raising more money and keeping more of your donors each year.

It’s the habit of regularly using the mail and email to stay in relationship with your donors.

Here’s why the habit of regularly sending mail and email to your donors is so powerful…

The habit of regularly Asking your donors to do meaningful, powerful things with a gift through your organization results in more gifts. Donors in motion tend to stay in motion. Donors at rest tend to stay at rest.

The habit of regularly Reporting to your donors shows and tells them that their gifts make a difference. Donors who know their previous gift made a meaningful difference are more likely to give to you again than donors who don’t.

The habit of regularly contacting your donors always works better than “going dark” for weeks or months at a time.

The habit of regularly contacting your donors via letters and emails is more effective than Social.

The habit of regularly contacting your donors always works better than sending nothing.

Getting in the habit of regularly sending out mail and email, paying attention to the results, always works better than any other approach.

It’s a habit you must develop

First, you must get past the idea that mailing your donors more than a couple times a year will somehow result in the mythical “donor fatigue.” If you need help with that, look here. Or here.

Then you have to realize that each piece you send out is not precious. Each piece you send out is an overwhelmingly positive incident that raises money, keeps you in touch with your donors, and is a learning opportunity.

Then you just have to practice. You need repetition. Sending out mail and email is like any other skill; you get better with practice.

Show me an organization that has developed a habit of regularly mailing and emailing its donors and I’ll show you an organization that has deeper relationships with its donors and keeps more of its donors every year.

This post was originally published on January 7, 2021.

Charging Your ‘Fundraising Battery’

Steven | February 4, 2025February 3, 2025Thank

Interestingly, the posts on this blog that tend to generate the most feedback are the posts that are about the Fundraiser, not about fundraising.

They are the posts where a Fundraiser feels seen for the work they are doing and the conditions they are doing it in.

So, here’s a note to all the leaders of Fundraising departments out there: make sure you help the Fundraisers you’re leading regularly recharge their “fundraising batteries.”

And I don’t mean giving them days off or spa days (though they aren’t going to turn those down).

I mean making sure they regularly connect with the power of their fundraising work, and feel appreciated for their fundraising work. I mean things like this:

A monthly exercise where they visualize donors giving gifts, and get that “little jolt of joy” that happens when you put yourself in a donor’s shoes as they make a gift.
Bring in an experienced donor who can talk about the joy of giving, and the positive role that fundraising plays in a donor’s life
Regularly practice “fundraising fika.”
Remind them that while the results of their work may feel like numbers on a spreadsheet, to look around at all the program activity and know they play a major role in making it happen.

Fundraising in a nonprofit (particularly smaller orgs) has its own unique difficulties. What other department regularly gets negative critical feedback from all the other parts of the organization? What other department’s wisdom and expertise is regularly pushed aside because of one person’s opinion?

So if you’re in charge of Fundraisers – make sure they regularly get to feel the beauty and grace of fundraising. You’ll recharge their fundraising batteries, you’ll have happy co-workers who stick around longer, and you’ll create a place where Fundraisers want to work.

Little Jolts of Joy

Steven | January 30, 2025January 24, 2025Repeat

Here’s a challenge for you:

Just for a moment, for every single gift your organization received last year, envision a person writing out a check, or their finger clicking your “donate” button.

And because “every gift” is too many to visualize, just take a moment and visualize five people making gifts.

Do it. One after another, visualize five people writing checks and clicking donate buttons. They can be donors you know, or they can be “generic.” I’ll wait while you do it.

. . .

I suspect you’ll find that, if you really visualized five people making gifts, you just received 5 little jolts of joy and amazement and gratitude.

And I suspect the joy and gratitude you just received will “charge up your fundraising battery” a bit. If you think about it, you’re probably just a little more willing to do the emotionally hard work of fundraising than you were a few minutes ago.

I asked you to visualize that here, at the beginning of the year, because fundraising can be tiring. Asking for gifts can be hard. What’s more, we Fundraisers usually don’t feel gifts because all we experience are numbers on a spreadsheet or in your CRM.

But when you remember that behind every single check or click is an act of generosity… and a vote of confidence in you… and the funds needed for your organization’s work… then every gift should bring a little jolt of joy and amazement.

***

Hey, if you’re considering hiring Better Fundraising to create your email & direct mail fundraising, keep reading.

We have a special going: if you fill out the form on the bottom of this page, you’ll save $3,500 because we’ll give you last year’s prices for all of this year.

Here’s an example of a nonprofit’s experience hiring us about 3 years ago: they report a 36% increase in revenue and a 17% decrease in expenses. The increase comes from fundraising messaging & storytelling that connects with their donors better than ever before. And the decrease comes from eliminating projects and practices that weren’t helping the bottom line.

So if you’re interested in chatting, click here because the form is at the bottom of the page. You’ll be eligible for the discount, you’re not committed to anything, and we’ll set up a call to see if we can help you.

Cheers!

You Optimize What You Measure

Steven | January 28, 2025January 22, 2025Repeat

What you decide to measure is important, because it determines what you tend to optimize.

Take email fundraising. One of the metrics that small- to medium-sized nonprofits tend to obsess over is how many unsubscribes they get. For organizations like this, one of the core principles of their email strategy becomes “minimize unsubscribes.”

That’s absolutely fine IF the nonprofit is also measuring and prioritizing “the number of new donors acquired via our email list” and “revenue from fundraising emails.”

All three of those metrics work in concert to produce an effective email fundraising program.

But if the main operating principle is to minimize unsubscribes, you end up with an email program that asks for support less often than it could, raises less money than it could, yet is pleased with its performance because of how few unsubscribes they have. Ouch.

Situations where organizations over-prioritize one metric happen all the time in fundraising:

Nonprofits that are constantly Asking for support raise lots of money in the short term… but have lousy donor retention rates
Nonprofits that relentlessly focus on ROI will see their ROI increase… and watch their impact shrink
Nonprofits who over-steward their donors out of fears around asking “too much”… will raise far less money than they could be raising

It’s easy to come up with a fundraising platform or strategy that just prioritizes one metric… but it never works in the long term.

Sustainable, growing fundraising is all about getting your mix right: Asking and Reporting, high-ROI major donor relationships and low-ROI donor acquisition, a few more unsubscribes and more email revenue.

So the next time you’re in a conversation that’s focused on just one metric, ask yourself and your colleagues what other metrics you should be considering.

Because if you’re optimizing for just one metric, there’s usually a dark side that’s being missed.

***

Related note: experienced Fundraisers are so valuable because they have the knowledge to help nonprofits “get their mix right” for short-term revenue and long-term growth.

So we’re excited to share that if you’d like one of Better Fundraising’s experienced experts to help you “get the mix right” for your donor communications strategy and messaging this year, get in touch before this Friday night.

This page will show you how, for less than the price of an employee, Better Fundraising can write & design your print & email fundraising for you. (We’ll get your mix right, I promise.) 🙂

And if you fill out the form on the bottom of the page before Friday night, we’ll honor last year’s pricing if you decide to hire us. That’s a savings of $3,500.

Filling out the form by this Friday doesn’t commit you to anything. But we love fundraising, and we’d love to help you!

Weird but True (and Important)

Steven | January 23, 2025January 22, 2025Ask

Here’s something weird but true:

Your Staff and Board receive more of your fundraising communications than your donors do.

That might not seem possible, but here’s how it works:

The Staff and Board of a nonprofit tend to open and read everything the organization sends out… but donors don’t.

Let me give you an example, and then I’ll share why this is so important.

For example, if you send out a fundraising email, almost everyone on your Staff and Board notice and look at it. But if your email open rate is 30%, then 70% of the people on your email list did not see the email.

So your Staff and Board received an email, but effectively 70% of your donors did not.

And if you send out an appeal letter, everyone on your staff and Board will notice and take look at it. But maybe 50%* of donors opened the letter.

So your Staff and Board received an appeal letter, but about half of your donors didn’t.

Play this out over the course of a year and your Staff and Board have received a lot more of your fundraising than your donors have. Put another way, the Staff and Board understand how many pieces the organization is sending to donors, but they don’t understand how few pieces the donors are receiving.

Consequently, most nonprofits have an over-inflated sense of how much they are communicating with their donors.

The Consequence

When Staff and Board don’t know this truth, they often inadvertently keep an organization smaller than it could be.

The Staff and Board base their advice on “how much communication is enough” on their own inflated perception, NOT on their donors’ lived experience.

Consequently, nonprofit Staff and Boards consistantly advocate for less communication than the organization could be sending out, which results in less money raised from individual donors.

At Better Fundraising, our general rule of thumb is that most individual donors see a little less than half of the fundraising an organization sends out. Keep that in mind as you build annual plans and campaigns, and you’ll communicate more effectively and raise more money.

And if you’re at a smaller nonprofit where your Staff or Board are handicapping your fundraising because of a mistaken understanding of “how much we’re communicating with our donors,” please share this post with them.

Getting Staff and Board to recognize the situation, and then moving past the stage where “my Board/boss won’t let us send out any more fundraising because s/he thinks we send too much,” is a step made by every organization with a thriving individual donor fundraising program.

***

* This is an educated guess. The published data on direct mail open rates is self-reported data, which is notoriously inaccurate.

***

Hey, I’m giving a free webinar next Wednesday on how to make your most effective annual plan ever.

There are two main things I’m going to teach:

How to know the times when your donors are most likely to give you a gift, so that you can plan your asks during those times
How to tweak your “communication mix” so that you get more response from the same number of letters and emails

The free webinar is next Wednesday, January 29, at 2pm Eastern/11am Pacific.

There’s limited availability so that we can have a conversation. This is NOT me talking for 55 minutes. There will be lots of time for questions.

For more info, here’s the link:

https://betterfundraising.com/annual-planning-webinar/

I hope to see you next Wednesday!