Category: Podcast

The good fundraiser knows that not everything you do makes good fundraising. We bring donors on board with the stuff that makes their heart sing. We don’t insist that they fully get it before we’ll accept their donations.

If you’ve been paying attention to what information donors respond to, you know what to say and what not to say. Editing happens all the time. Just take a listen to this podcast. It’s edited from our previous podcast — and it’s just as true.

It’s also the work of our now-former editor, Peter Li. We consider it some of his best work.

Direct mail, the life-blood of most fundraising programs, has different design conventions from other types of design. It’s less pretty, more old-fashioned, and almost messy. Here’s a look at direct mail design and packaging: Everything you need to create successful fundraising appeals — from fonts, to photos, to underlining.

Effective fundraising has some characteristics that you might find odd or off-putting:

1. It’s simple.
2. It’s about only one thing.
3. There’s an obsessive call to action.
4. It’s built around stories.
5. It suggests specific amounts for donors to give.
6. It’s all about donors (not about the nonprofit).

This action-packed program will help you know what should be in your fundraising messages — and why.

Fundraising is a specialized form of communication. It’s just plain odd in many ways. In this first part of a three-part series on the conventions and norms of fundraising, we look at the the way fundraising copy is written, and why it contains so much of these things:

• Urgency
• Emotion
• Low-grade reading level
• Repetition
• A P.S.
• Length
• Conversational approach
• Direct style

If you’re someone who must okay fundraising copy, if you’re writing fundraising copy, or if you hope to do either some day, this podcast will be a goldmine of practical information for you.

It’s pretty simple, really: Fundraising works when it’s relevant to donors. When it’s not relevant, people ignore it. Using the recent Haiti earthquake as an example, we look at what makes a situation relevant, and what you can do to increase that relevance to your donors — even if you don’t raise money for natural disasters.

A look at what’s going well, what’s not, and what we need to know as the nonprofit world responds to the catastrophic January 12 Haiti Earthquake. Includes ideas for fundraisers who are not connected to the disaster.

Here are four truths about fundraising that can transform the way you approach this beautiful profession:

1. Fundraising is good for donors.
2. Fundraising is a lot like courtship.
3. Fundraising is about your donors, not you.
4. Fundraising is a science.

(The facts we cite about the impact of giving on giver are taken from the book Who Really Cares by Arthur C. Brooks.)

Happy Holidays, and the best to you in the coming year!

Here are ten practical things you can do — starting today — that will make you into a better fundraiser:

1. Donate.
2. Send and receive snail-mail.
3. Sign up for lots of email from other nonprofits.
4. Participate in online social networking sites.
5. Hang around with older people.
6. Become aware of the cultural context of your audience.
7. Go to church.
8. Read the popular press.
9. Pay attention to how you ask people for favors.
10. Work at becoming a better writer.

You can start doing some of these things today. Don’t miss this super-practical podcast!

In this episode we interview Chris Doyle, President and CEO of American Leprosy Missions, an organization that’s leading the fight against leprosy around the world. Back in the mid-90s, when Doyle joined, the organization was in an accelerating downward slide. Learn about the steps Doyle and American Leprosy Missions took to turn the corner and return to health. It’s an inspiring story that shows what you can do by getting the basics right.