Category: Parties with a Purpose

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Discomfort in Fundraising

Three Steps to Manage Uncomfortableness in Fundraising

By Michael L. Taylor, CFRE, CFRE, CEO We try our utmost to avoid it, but feeling uncomfortable is key to fundraising mastery.  In fact, the more advanced fundraising you seek, the more uncomfortable feelings rise. Yet it is an enormous (and lucrative) gift to yourself, and especially to your nonprofit, to work through these initial feelings.  Aversion for being uncomfortable is understandable. Uncomfortable situations trigger feelings of being out of control. Anxiety and fear storm through us and our bodies get tense.   Being uncomfortable goes against our innate desire to feel calm and at peace.   Many fundraisers call me when they

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The tips below will help your virtual gala succeed.

Make Your Online Gala Pop

By NPI Participants are expecting more personal engagement — and a higher production quality — from your online gala and fundraising events.   What worked last year will not carry the day if you want to raise more in 2022.  Galas are a show. And in this era of virtual and hybrid events, it’s important for you to think differently and make your virtual event as engaging as possible.  Many online galas and smaller Parties With A Purpose have room for production and program improvement. Pay attention to the nuances, because fundraising in the time of COVID-19 means there’s no bake

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Virtual Parties With A Purpose: A Compliment to Large Galas

Do you want to throw small virtual fundraising events? If so, this blog post is for you. Big galas have their place, but smaller online events can be impressively lucrative when done well. Sometimes called “Parlor Gatherings,” we call them “Parties with a Purpose” (PWAP). These events can complement your large gala—or even be held in lieu of it.

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How To Get Donors to Agree to A Visit

How To Get Donors to Agree to A Visit

By: Michael Taylor, CFRE, CEO In my work with thousands of fundraisers, the biggest challenge I hear is that it’s hard to get the visit. I sometimes struggle with getting the visit as well. Donors ignore our messages or they e-mail us back with short messages that say “No need to visit, everything is good.” It’s not easy. If it were easy, our organizations would not need us. I remind myself of that when I am having one of those days where no one seems to respond. The first step is to craft your messages carefully. I have seen people

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Can We Meet How to Respond When Donors Resist Meeting with You

Can We Meet? How to Respond When Donors Resist Meeting with You

By: Michael Taylor, CFRE, CEO Excerpted from How to Raise $500 to $5000 From Almost Anyone Sooner or later you’ll have this experience. After a few words of explanation—”Hi Leroy, this is Andy Robinson. I’m following up on the letter I sent about our fall fundraising campaign”—the person on the other end of the phone will say, “Sure, Andy, I’d love to get together. When’s a good time for you?” But until that day you must learn how to respond to the most common telephone objections when trying to schedule an appointment with your prospect. I don’t mean to imply that

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Inject Life Into Your Live Auction With Donor Plants

Inject Life Into Your Live Auction With Donor Plants

By: Michael Taylor, CFRE, CEO Donor plants are the people that you ask in advance to jump up at your gala’s live auction, raise their hand high, and start (or advance) the bidding. Plants are essential to create energy and set the pace for other attendees to follow, and since the fall gala season is rapidly approaching, chances are good that this is timely counsel as you plan for your big event. The Context A popular fundraising gala idea is to plan a charity auction as the main event. Live auctions work great with galas because guests can bid on their

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