Fundraising Is Beautiful

Your 6-word guide to powerful donor newsletters

Here's a super-easy way to look at your donor newsletter and see if it's doing its job:

Dear Donor,

You rock!

Here's why...

Every piece of content in every donor newsletter should fit match this model. When you do that, you'll have a newsletter that raises funds, and improves donor retention by improving your donor relationships!

Program #94

Click the link to play: Your 6-word guide to powerful donor newsletters, or right click and "save as" to save the file for later.

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Time: 7:20

What is donor-focused fundraising, really?

Everybody knows that donor-focused fundraising is good. But what is it, actually? Too many fundraisers define it as "fundraising the way we wish it was." Or "fundraising our donors said they preferred" in focus groups or surveys.

That's not it.

Donor-focused fundraising is fundraising that works in the real world -- not in qualitative research, and not in the minds of fundraisers. The sometimes painful truth is that if we fundraisers like it, it almost surely is not donor focused.

Listen to discover a new and more effective way to understand -- and create -- donor-focused fundraising

Program #93

Click the link to play: What is donor-focused fundraising, really?, or right click and "save as" to save the file for later.

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Time: 6:22

Keeping donors vs. getting new ones -- how to balance

Ever been told Stop acquiring new donors until you've improved your retention rates? It's bad advice. We'll take a close look at the important dynamic between acquisition and retention and show you how to arrive at the right balance for your organization.

Program #92

Play: Keeping donors vs. getting new ones (right click or "save as" to save the file for later).

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Time: 9:21

How old are your donors?

For most fundraisers, your donors are a lot older than you think. We'll look at why this is so and what it means for you: How do you communicate with these people? About what? And in which channels?

Knowing hold old your donors are -- and responding appropriately -- is the key to success in fundraising. Knowledge is power!

Program #91

Play: How old are your donors? (right click or "save as" to save the file for later).

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Time: 13:25

How to survive the "summer slump"

Most fundraisers experience a drop in giving during the summer months. Here are some tips for minimizing the pain by maximizing summertime revenue ... and other ways you can profitably use the summer months to improve your fundraising all year 'round.

Program #90

Play: How to survive the summer slump (right click or "save as" to save the file for later).

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Time: 6:56

When the boss doesn't like your fundraising

It's one of the most common experiences in fundraising. You've created a powerful fundraising message. Then you show it to your boss -- and she hates it. We can't ignore bosses (and board members and other authorities) -- and they often dislike our best work. Because it's not aimed at them!

Here's how to gently make your case with your boss that whether she likes it or not isn't relevant -- and in fact, her dislike is a pretty good indicator that you've done it right! Practical steps that will help you put the good stuff out their and raise more money!

Program #89

Play: When the boss doesn't like your fundraising (right click or "save as" to save the file for later).

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Time: 14:53

Tom Ahern on Donor-Focused Newsletters that Raise Money

Here's an info-packed interview with the Superb Tom Ahern. We discuss how and why you can raise a lot of money with donor newsletters. Learn what's working and what's not, what most often goes wrong in donor newsletters, and what the heck is up with email newsletters? All from Tom's new book Making Money with Donor Newsletters. This podcast could change your fundraising forever!

Program #88

Play: Tom Ahern on Donor-Focused Newsletters that Raise Money (right click or "save as" to save the file for later).

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Time: 25:46

This podcast was first posted on February 12, 2014.

Are you Yoda or Batman to your donors?

There are two fundamentally different approaches fundraisers can take to their donors: One stays in the background and empowers the donor to be the hero. The other stands in front and tells the donor to be a good side-kick -- keeping the hero label for himself.

One of these raises a lot more money than the other. Do you know which? And do you know which of them you are?

Program #87

Play: Are you Yoda or Batman (right click or "save as" to save the file for later).

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Time: 8:17

This podcast was first posted on March 18, 2015.

How to improve your donor's giving experience

Your donor gets nothing in return for her donation. Nothing but your communications.

Your communications have a big job to do: To show her something she may have no way of knowing otherwise: What her gift made possible.

That's how you cross the gap from a donation being a random, one-time event to building a meaningful and mutually beneficial relationship with your donor.

Learn some practical, no-nonsense things you can do in your donor communications that will fill your donors' hearts and minds with reasons to keep on giving.

Program #86

Play: How to improve your donor's giving experience (right click or "save as" to save the file for later).

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Time: 12:21

The secrets of successful disaster fundraising

Recorded on Friday afternoon, October 23, 2015. Hurricane Patricia was barrelling toward the coast of Mexico, and we didn't yet know if it was going to be a humanitarian disaster or not. (Thankfully, it wasn't.)

Some disasters give us advance warning. Others, like earthquakes, don't. Some disasters get the attention of the whole world. Others are only noted by a local area (like unusually cold weather) or even a neighborhood (the local school burns down).

In this podcast, we look at ways you can be relevant and useful with disaster fundraising. When to do it, when not to, and how you approach a disaster so your donors are moved to help.

Program #85

Play: The secrets of successful disaster fundraising (right click or "save as" to save the file for later).

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Time: 15:07