What should be a fair battle between quantity and quality is far too often, and too easily, won by sheer numbers. We should all be recruiting fewer higher-quality donors, instead of more lower-quality donors. Yet, year in and year out we are replacing very large numbers of donors with large numbers of too low quality. That can be done differently. That has to be different. Because it yields too little. And it costs too much.
Read MoreI am a big fan of the TV program The Profit. In this show the successful entrepreneur Marcus Lemonis sets out to rescue ailing family businesses. Ideally, he sees a bright future and invests his own money in exchange for a share in the company. In the process of making such an offer, he tries to get all the information on the table. And the numbers are always a part of that.
Read MoreFundraising Directors are crucial for success. This incredible mastermind, known as Head of Fundraising in some countries, is in control of a massive budget and responsible for providing the organisation with the resources to do what it is supposed to. If you know how complex fundraising management is, you also know the sheer power of the Fundraising Director. (S)he controls information, makes everyday decisions, prioritises activities, inspires the team and sets the overall direction. At least, that's what they should...
Read MoreMy previous new years wish was about being distinctive. This year it's all about innovation and action.
My specialty is individual giving, and to be honest I don't see a lot of innovation. It's all more or less the same. And I don't mean you need to start with brand new stuff all the time. Innovation to me is not doing something you've never done before. Innovation is every change compared to the status quo. Every incremental change is innovation. And this is just as important as the game-changing innovation that everyone is going for.
Read MoreIβm celebrating my 15 year anniversary as a fundraiser!
In a blog post 5 years ago I wrote about the best strategic ingredients for a successful fundraising program. Letβs try that again and see if I want to change my perspective now Iβve grown olderβ¦
Fundraisers are gold. Quality fundraising staff makes all the difference. Without the right staff you can forget the rest of this post. And your fundraising results. Hire great professional fundraisers. Now.
Itβs not fun being a fundraiser nowadays: depressing trends like declining responses, high-cost-acquisition in combination with through-the-roof-attrition, rock-bottom-retention and charity-bashing-mediaβ¦ pfff, mission impossible?!
Or, is there still a bright light in the fundraising sky? Sure there is, plenty!
Read MoreExactly 10 years ago, I started my first job as a fundraiser! And from the beginning I was hooked. I love fundraising, because it enables change. Vision and passion combined with great fundraising enables important change. And as a fundraiser you play an important part in that change.
So, looking back over those 10 years, what did I learn? Iβve listed the most important strategic ingredients for a successful fundraising program.
Read MoreβOriginally, a one-night stand was a single theatre performance, usually by a guest performer(s) on tour, as opposed to an ongoing engagement. Today, however, the term is more commonly applied to a single sexual encounter, an example of casual sex, in which neither participant has any intention or expectation of a long-term sexual or romantic relationship.β (source: Wikipedia)
Hope I caught your attention. Sex usually does, so I guess youβre still reading.
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