Increase the Impact of Your Fundraising Event

Events are great for raising money for your organization, but are you maximizing the impact of all that hard work? Besides fundraising, events can build awareness about what your organization does, deepen relationships with your donors, and educate the attendees about your organization’s impact in the community. At an event, your donors experience your nonprofit [...]

ASK THE EXPERT: Creating an Effective Development Program

Mary Ellen from an animal rights organization in Massachusetts writes: “How does one create an effective development program? In a new job and need to increase giving.” Fundraising consultant Roxanne Greenstein responds: Mary Ellen should get to know her board of directors (with the assent of the Executive Director), meeting with each individually and discussing [...]

FUNDRAISING: Effective Direct Mail Techniques

How effective is your direct mail? This package from the Audubon Society shows the elements and graphic techniques that make this piece appealing:

Major Nonprofits Now Collect Donations Through Amazon.com

Amazon.com Customers Can Now Donate to Major Non-Profit Organizations Using Their Amazon Accounts Major nonprofits are getting in front of millions of potential donors through Amazon’s Holiday Giving Program. Organizations such as American Red Cross, UNICEF, Greenpeace, Nature Conservancy, Feeding America, Heifer International, Autism Society of America, International Federation for Animal Welfare, Children`s Miracle Network [...]

FUNDRAISING: How Much is This Dollar Worth?

Nonprofits often brag that a high percentage of their money goes directly toward services – with a low percent toward actual overhead and fundraising costs – as this insert in a direct mail piece shows. However, rather than benefitting nonprofits, this strategy only undermines nonprofits’ ability to fundraise and to plan for success. With little guidance [...]

FUNDRAISING: How Much Religion in Your Fundraising?

This is an excellent question. As a branding agency that works with Jewish organizations, we have faced this question with our clients. We have worked with several Jewish organizations that wanted to downplay the level of Jewishness that they convey. They were Jewish Community Centers, grounded in Jewish tradition, but open to everyone, and not [...]

Partnering for Additional Visibility

Here’s one way to extend your message to a new audience of people that may not have heard of you – partner with another organization that has a sizable distribution. The Fresh Air Fund  is able to reach millions of New Yorkers by striking a deal with Con Edison to include a “bill stuffer” solicitation [...]

Sold Out! How to Annoy Your Donors

I recently received an invitation for a fundraising event that had the standard ticket prices already sold out. As a donor that supported the organization in the past, what do you think my response was? Not a positive one – that’s for sure. In fact, it made me feel unappreciated. I felt that as a [...]

Staying Strong in Weak Times

EHL Consulting Group, fundraising consultants, share the following lessons and observations regarding the US philanthropic marketplace.   Four Important Lessons Learned The combination of the severe recession, coupled with the Bernard Madoff debacle, has made headlines and brought fear and deep anxiety throughout the nonprofit sector. There are a number of critical lessons that should [...]

Lessons from a Charity

Amidst all the recent financial gloom and doom, I thought it’s worthwhile to report a blip of good news on the fundraising front and relate the lessons that can be learned from it. The New York Times reported today that its Neediest Cases Fund has increased its contributions significantly over last year. The number of [...]

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