“AHHH! What to do? Too many volunteers – Nonprofits are overwhelmed, volunteers underwhelmed!” that was the teaser Chris Jarvis posted to Twitter.  With a line like that I couldn’t help but follow the link he left.  And his blog post titled Six Reasons Why You’ll Never Volunteer Again did not disappoint. As Chris points out […]

At 6:15 this morning the 5th grade students from Fuller GT Magnet Elementary hit the road for their trip to Washington DC.  The students did fundraising last fall to be able to go on this trip. They had a movie night, sold donuts, and sold coupon books among other things. However the principal said that […]

While looking for a new job in fund-raising, someone suggested that I look into The Foundation Center’s online courses. I am certainly glad that I did. They offer a variety of courses, some for a fee and others that are free. The Foundation Center is well-known as a leading authority on philanthropy. It was first […]

Many nonprofits are looking for new and exciting ways to engage supporters during these tough economic times.   While direct donations to charity might be down, at the same time online shopping is up.  Amazon reported sales up by 18% last year.  More people than ever are now comfortable shopping online and may be looking for […]

Fundraising letters sent through the mail are one of the most popular ways to request donations.   However, if you’ve never written a fundraising letter before, you may have lots of questions… How do you start the letter? How can you persuade the reader to donate without being too pushy? What will make someone take notice […]

Let’s face it – statistics are dry for most of us. Who wants to look at numbers when you can be out raising awareness and working with others dedicated to your cause? But the truth is that knowing the demographics of your organization and its donors can greatly enhance your fundraising efforts.  Here are some […]

The great thing about writing a blog on a regular basis is that the author has the opportunity to really dive into a subject and examine it on a microscopic level. Today is such a day, when we pull out our microscopes and peer deeply into our organization’s image. Let’s talk about voice mail and […]