Fundraising Is Beautiful

4 hallmarks of donor-focused communications

Do you ever wonder if your donor communications are truly donor-focused? Check what you're saying against this list:

1. Donors are the heroes of most of the stories you tell.
2. Donors get prompt, detailed, and frequent information about the impact of their giving.
3. Donors has control over how you communicate with them.
4. Design is appropriate for donors -- not aimed at internal audiences.

Program #67

Play: 4 hallmarks of donor-focused communications (right click or "save as" to save the file for later).

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Time: 13:00

3 things your donors should be able to find on your website

Your nonprofit website does a lot of things. If you want it to be helpful to your fundraising, make sure it has these three elements:

1. Information that tells them than can trust you.
2. A clear statement of what you do.
3. Easy-to-use donation form(s).

That's not a complete list of everything you should have -- just three musts you' shouldn't let slip. These things will help you raise more money, both online and offline.

Program #66

Play: 3 things your donors should be able to find on your website (right click or "save as" to save the file for later).

Or subscribe via iTunes here:

Time: 7:13

5 ways to drive away donors

Are you getting too much fundraising revenue? Do you need fewer donors to support your work? Here's how you can help solve that problem:

1. Write and design for your coworkers (or yourself).
2. Change the subject between your acquisition and cultivation messages.
3. Educate your donors.
4. Develop your website differently from your offline messages.
5. Have sloppy donor data.

Program #65

Play: 5 ways to drive away donors (right click or "save as" to save the file for later).

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Time: 15:19

Branding for real-life fundraisers

Here's an excerpt from the new book The Money-Raising Nonprofit Brand: Motivating Donors to Give, Give Happily, and Keep on Giving.

Find out what branding can and should do for your fundraising, and why it often doesn't. Learn how fundraisers are like forklift drivers, and what you can do to build a money-raising brand for your nonprofit.

The Money-Raising Nonprofit Brand is available at:

• Amazon
• Amazon UK
• Wiley (best bet if you're outside North America or Europe)

Program #64

Play: Branding for real-life fundraisers (right click or "save as" to save the file for later).

Or subscribe via iTunes here:

Time: 8:31

How to learn when you can't test

Everyone knows that direct-response testing is the path to the truth in fundraising. There's just one problem: The large majority of nonprofit organizations cannot do direct-response testing. Their quantities are too small and/or they don't have the budget to pay for testing.

Here are three ways to learn the right things to do when you can't test:

1. Read books about fundraising.
2. Read blogs about fundraising. (See our blogroll over there to the right for some of the best fundraising blogs.)
3. Donate to larger national organizations so you can observe how they do it.

Program #63

Play: How to learn when you can't test (right click or "save as" to save the file for later).

Or subscribe via iTunes here:

Time: 13:22

How to learn when you can't test

Everyone knows that direct-response testing is the path to the truth in fundraising. There's just one problem: The large majority of nonprofit organizations cannot do direct-response testing. Their quantities are too small and/or they don't have the budget to pay for testing.

Here are three ways to learn the right things to do when you can't test:

1. Read books about fundraising.
2. Read blogs about fundraising. (See our blogroll over there to the right for some of the best fundraising blogs.)
3. Donate to larger national organizations so you can observe how they do it.

Program #63

Play: How to learn when you can't test (right click or "save as" to save the file for later).

Or subscribe via iTunes here:

Time: 13:22

Getting the most out of survey research

Survey research can lead your fundraising badly astray. Focus groups can kill the strongest fundraising programs. If you use them wrongly. There are great ways to use qualitative research to best your knowledge and inform your strategies. Find out some of the pitfalls as well as the gold nuggets of surveys and focus groups.

Program #62

Play: Getting the most out of survey research (right click or "save as" to save the file for later).

Or subscribe via iTunes here:

Time: 17:58

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 #61

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

Or subscribe via iTunes here:

Time: 25:46

Fundraising on the radio

In this ear-opening interview with radio veteran Scott Wilder of TrueSense Marketing, you'll learn what it takes to find donors and raise funds using the radio. In some ways, it's just like fundraising in any other medium. In others, it's a whole new world! But chances are good you can make this powerful medium work for you.

Program #60

Play: Fundraising on the radio (right click or "save as" to save the file for later).

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Time: 20:36

Donor Retention, Part 3: Why Donor Retention Is Down

Understanding the problem can lead us to the solution. Here are four of the most important causes of donor attrition:

1. Increased competition -- more organizations are asking.
2. Donors are consolidating their giving -- more money going to fewer organizations.
3. Generational change: Boomers are rapidly replacing the WWII Generation as donors, and their needs are different -- more difficult for fundraisers to meet.
4. Professional dilution. Not enough experienced, well-trained professional fundraisers to meet the growing demand.

Program #59

Play: Why Donor Retention Is Down (right click or "save as" to save the file for later).

Or subscribe via iTunes here:

Time: 21:14