Case Study
Missouri-based Ozark Christian College had raised as much general gift income in the first six months of 2005 as it had raised in all of 2003. Anya Ansley gives a good portion of the credit to a new way...
Bagging the Brown Bag
Chicago-based hunger-relief organization America’s Second Harvest wasn’t working with a lagging control when it devised and tested this campaign. Quite the contrary — the organization’s brown lunch-bag appeal was doing “fabulously,” says Terri Shoemaker, senior account director with Merkle/Domain, the...
Keeping the Lines Clear
The mission of the American Lung Association is as simple and straightforward as they come: to prevent lung disease and promote lung health. But as a health organization with a national office and 38 constituent and affiliate associations across the...
Talking Back
Readers share opinions on fundraising questions....
Cut Through the Clutter
Donors in the first quarter of the 20th century saw almost no advertising. Compare that to the 3,000 to 5,000 ad messages they get a day now, and you quickly realize that to even get your direct mail opened,...
Snap to Focus
On reading our February WebWatch featuring the Save the Children Web site, a member of the development staff at Surgical Eye Expeditions International, a Santa Barbara, Calif.-based organization that provides medical, surgical and educational services to disadvantaged blind people...
Dear Jim
I’ve decided to offer my advice to those with inquiries concerning their fundraising troubles … a sort of “Dear Abby” column for the fundraising forlorn. I’m even willing to dole out this advice free of charge. Those with questions need...
Calling All Agents of Change
A few months ago in Tucson, Ariz., I got a shot of reality — and humility, I should add — as I listened to a group of colleagues discuss emerging challenges in nonprofit fundraising. There were several “a-ha” moments....
Words to Live By
In today’s high-tech fundraising world, why wade into an old-fashioned topic like carrier-envelope design?...
Empowering Advocacy Through Technology
Do you need to raise public awareness in order to serve your organization’s mission? Do you need to maintain public funding for your organization? Do you protect or fight for social issues important to your organization?...
Fundraiser Confidential
In every successful nonprofit organization, there is a small percentage of donors that will support it no matter what. Usually, these donors (who are called many things, but mostly “major”) can account for approximately 75 percent to 85 percent of...
E-philanthropy Forum
As we gathered information for last month’s special section on e-philanthropy, we spoke to a number of folks whose comments didn’t make it into print. Following is a sampling of those comments. Some came from our own interviews, while others...
Change Is Good
The temperature as I write this is 101 degrees. Is it any wonder, then, that summer is a time of general malaise and lethargy? (Unless, of course, you’re a kid hopped up on Kool-Aid, pool water and the sweet, sweet...
List Look
A sampling of lists available to reach animal lovers as potential donors....
Wings of Change
Easter Seals. Everybody knows what it does, right? After all, it’s been around almost 90 years, and it has an instantly recognizable brand that’s been valued at upward of $5 billion. But rewind to 2004, when the much-loved Chicago-based...
Change Is Good
The temperature as I write this is 101 degrees. Is it any wonder, then, that summer is a time of general malaise and lethargy? (Unless, of course, you’re a kid hopped up on Kool-Aid, pool water and the sweet,...
Pets Are People, Too
Pop quiz! What’s wrong with this hypothetical appeal from an imaginary nonprofit organization raising money to rescue, spay or neuter animals, and place them in loving homes?...
Direct Mail — With a Conscience
For many organizations, the use of recycled paper stocks for printed fundraising materials has long been a key component to demonstrating environmental responsibility. However, the limitations of recycled stocks traditionally have made them a challenge to use. Inconsistent sheet quality...
