Everything I know about making phone calls I've learned the hard way. The best fundraisers out there are good on the phone. Period. Once I realized how important this part of the job is, I knew I had to figure out how to get better. So, over time, I’ve gone from bumbling idiot on the phone to…just idiot, I guess. And now that prospecting calls are a key part of my daily process, I don’t hate them anymore. This is post #4 in a series on … [Read more...] about Outreach #4 – Phone Script
Outreach #3 – Email Scripts
This is the third post in our series on reaching out to new prospects. So far, we've tackled the inner game and we've set up a process that will guarantee a full pipeline for the foreseeable future. If you haven’t yet, I’d suggest taking a few moments to read the first two posts in the series. It’s now time to send some emails and make some calls! … [Read more...] about Outreach #3 – Email Scripts
Outreach #2 – A Winning Process
We've all worked with them. You know who I’m talking about. Gift officers who come in, start off well enough, but then completely flame out. Sure, they cultivate a handful of donors, and maybe land a major gift or two. But, they only ever get knee deep into their portfolios before sputtering to a stand-still. They’re gone in a little less than two years – off with another organization, repeating this same pattern. … [Read more...] about Outreach #2 – A Winning Process
How We Boosted Donor Retention to 71%
Churn is the enemy. We've all seen the grim donor retention stats from AFP’s 2013 report. Working hard to acquire donors and then losing them a year later is frustrating – and costly. At a previous stop on my fundraising journey, I worked for a small school that had a churn problem, particularly with alumni giving. We were at 60% retention. And we knew that, as a private liberal arts college, we should be doing better. All our peers were. … [Read more...] about How We Boosted Donor Retention to 71%
The Donor Pyramid Debate
The donor pyramid has found itself in the middle of some heated debate these days. Check this out: R.I.P. Donor Pyramid? http://t.co/lxRikqrFID #fundraising — Claire Axelrad (@CharityClairity) June 6, 2014 Is The Donor Pyramid Really Dead? An Open Letter to Claire Axelrad from Andrea Kihlstedt http://t.co/YbQ5qDa8Qn via @GuideStarUSA — Andrea Kihlstedt (@AndreaKihlstedt) June 25, 2014 Yes, The Donor Pyramid is Really Dead … [Read more...] about The Donor Pyramid Debate