Tag: donor communications

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donations

Has Donor Trust in Charities Changed?

In this age of “fake news”, “alternative facts” “hyper partisanship” and what seems to be a general erosion of trust, why should we even care?  And if we care what can we fundraisers do about it?

Of course, every fundraiser should care because trust is the lynchpin of a solid and sustainable relationship with a donor.  And because there are ways to measure trust, taking steps to increase the level of trust, and by doing so increase donor value and an organization’s net revenue.

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The Secret to Why Donors Give

There are many reasons we in the fundraising industry tell one another about why donors give.  They are moved by your mission, they know a board or staff member, they’ve given for years, to name a few.  I doubt that all of them are true, and I especially doubt that they are all true at the same point in the giving calculus for each donor.

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Donors Drop By 7% But Dollars Up 6.2%, Buoyed By Major Donors

U.S. charitable giving increased significantly in Q2 2022, but gains were accompanied by a continuing steep decline in donor acquisition and retention, particularly among new and newly retained donors, according to the Fundraising Effectiveness Project’s (FEP) Second Quarter Fundraising Report. The Fundraising Effectiveness Project (FEP) is a collaboration among fundraising data providers, researchers, analysts, associations, and consultants to empower the sector to track and evaluate trends in giving. The project offers one of the only views of the current year’s fundraising data in aggregate to provide the most recent trends for guiding nonprofit fundraising and donor engagement. The FEP releases

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Your Legacy Society

Because August is “Make A Will” month, I’ve been writing each week about how you can encourage your donors to designate your nonprofit in their will. So far, I’ve focused on the importance of using phrases that work better than our industry estate-giving language. I’ve also conveyed the top facts that can guide you to raising more planned-giving revenue. Plus I shared the key sentences you’ll want to use in your donor communications. This week’s focus is on establishing, or advancing, your Legacy Society. Establishing a Legacy Society An absolutely essential aspect of a robust planned-giving program is thanking and

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Astounding Facts About Estate Giving

Because August is “Make A Will” month, I’ve been writing each week about how you can encourage your donors to designate your nonprofit in their will. Last week I focused on the importance of using phrases that work better than our industry estate-giving language. Now, I’d like to convey certain facts that can guide you to raising more planned-giving revenue. Astounding Facts The most common type of planned gifts are “bequests,” which are gifts made through a will or trust. More than 85% of planned gifts are bequests. Other types of planned gifts include IRA designations, life insurance gifts, charitable

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Three Phrases That Encourage Estate Giving

Since August is “Make-A-Will” month, I’ve been writing about estate and legacy (planned) giving and wills, and plan to continue doing so for the next few weeks. Please let me know if the content helps you decide your course of action. Would You Make A “Gift” In Your Will? Did you know that it’s much more effective to ask your donors to make “Gifts in your will” rather than “Bequest Gifts?” Here’s why: Russell James, JD, PhD, CFP, a philanthropy researcher based at Texas Tech University, reports that, according to the latest donor surveys, asking people to consider “Gifts in your will”

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Why You Need to Send Annual Giving Statements

By Michael L. Taylor, CFRE, CFRE, CEO Sending annual giving statements to your donors and funders is a fundraising best practice — and an amazing opportunity to show love to your donors. An annual giving statement is also an opportunity to inform your donors about what makes your nonprofit unique. Donors tell me that they look more favorably at nonprofits that provide gift statements. These documents signal that the nonprofit is thoughtful and organized — and it gives many donors timely and highly useful information as they prepare their income tax returns. Here’s a sample gift statement that I like a

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Attention CEOs: Your Thought Leadership Can Boost Your Fundraising

By Peter Panepento As the CEO, you write blogs, deliver speeches, and give media interviews because you believe it will help raise more revenue for your nonprofit. This is a worthy goal. Thought leadership content can be incredibly valuable in connecting with potential donors. I’d like to share with you my observations from my years in the field about creating thought leadership content that actually inspires individuals to take action. Mainly I encourage you to be less overt in your attempts to connect your thought leadership with your fundraising. Instead of making your message about yourself and your nonprofit, truly

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Your Questions, Our Answers on Starting Over with Individual Donors

The questions below were asked by attendees at our “Starting Over” webinar of April 21, 2021, presented by Roger Craver & NPI .

The questions are fascinating, and we hope you’ll find our answers equally so. The webinar focused on the new rules of individual giving fundraising. We welcome your input as well by posting on our blog.

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