FundRaising Success

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Managing Editor

Get What You Give

By Joe Boland

About Joe

Joe loves the 5 F's: food, fun, friends, football and fundraising

Joe has been with FundRaising Success since 2008, first as the magazine's copy editor, then senior editor and now managing editor. Prior to joining the magazine, he was a sportswriter for Montgomery Newspapers, covering high school and community sports in suburban Philadelphia. He is a graduate of Penn State University in University Park, Pa. Contact him via e-mail at jboland@napco.com or on Twitter at @JoeBolandFRS.

 

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Pay It Forward

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Fundraising Matters

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Why keep learning? Because things are changing, and we need to change along with them. There are great opportunities to...



Bedrocks & Beacons

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Social Media Is Bull&%@#?
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If your key donors are not active in social media, how much time should you spend there?
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Hump Day Hullabaloo

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Board members are a crucial part of any nonprofit organization's success. When they "get it," it makes for a fabulous...



ProSpeak

Who's Up Next?
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If you make it easy for donors to show they care by asking for small donations and you do so...



Outrageous Hope

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Christmas in November

 
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More and more, it seems fundraisers and nonprofit consultants are touting the idea that "it's never too early" to start planning for the year-end holiday giving season. And recently, it seems like holiday fundraising campaigns are starting earlier and earlier.

For instance, the famous Salvation Army Red Kettle campaign now kicks off as soon as the calendar flips to November, and if the mailing I received from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital over the weekend is any indication, other nonprofits are following suit.

Truth be told, I was a little surprised to see a green envelope with the teaser, "Will you please send a Christmas card for a St. Jude child to hang on a tree? We've enclosed one for you to send …" — see the envelope at right — before Thanksgiving rolled around, but really, I shouldn't have been. After all, department stores begin pushing the holiday sales season right after Halloween (sometimes before), so why shouldn't fundraisers get a jump-start on their biggest time of the year as well?

The outer also had an image of a snowman on the front, and inside is a one-sheet, two-page (front and back) letter detailing the emotional story and words of Kayla, an 8-year-old St. Jude patient. The letter is remarkable, putting a face and name to the plight of children's cancer, and it's also uplifting in bringing about the holiday spirit.

But the standout of the package is without question the Christmas card element. Not only is there a card with the same snowman image as the envelope and the words "Merry Christmas" on top for donors to sign and return so a St. Jude patient can hang it on the tree, but there is also a thank-you card with a picture of Kayla that really hits the donor. Inside, it reads, "Without you and St. Jude, this Christmas wouldn't be as merry. Thank you." Adding the ultimate touch, it is signed by Kayla's parents. (View at right.)

Anymore, it seems, the year-end holiday giving season isn't just for December. Just take the examples of the Salvation Army and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which begin their campaigns centered around Christmas in the month of November.

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