Thursday, January 29, 2009

Service Is Sexy again...and a F*ree E-Book


According to the Associated Press, volunteer agencies have seem a jump in applications to serve. Why? The 2 major factors seem to be President Obamas call for Americans to volunteer , and the effects of our economy, which has left some folks with more time and less money.

Related to volunteers serving, check out this great read from Seth Godwin: Giving your Fans a Chance to speak up- short, free e-book offers great steps your group can take to get your supporters to be ambassadors.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Many foundations have publicly announced plans for how they will respond to the economic crisis. The Foundation Center has compiled an overview of these announcements. Many major foundations have clearly stated their funding intentions, and some have not. The foundation center is updating the chart as additional information becomes available. Stay updated on your foundations forecast.

Monday, January 5, 2009

10 Ways to Energize your fundraising efforts

Some of these tips are simple and small but if deployed they will breathe new energy into your organizations fundraising efforts

1. Evaluate how you can best diversify the ways you raise money. Focus on efforts in: Individual Giving, Foundations and Grants, Corporate Giving. Special Events and Earned Income.

2. Write personal notes on your donor letters.

3. Add a meaningful P.S. to your donor letter---the P.S. is often the first thing read on a letter.

4. Create win-win proposals for prospective corporate partners. Carefully measure the benefits and financial return a company will receive by partnering with your non profit.

5. Ask your well connected supporters to host a house party to raise money and visibility.

6. Highlight your success stories; show how your organization is changing the lives of those you serve.

7. Collect personal information from your special event attendees—especially home addresses as people are more likely to make a job transition during tough times.

8. Ask your vendors to donate.

9. Update your prospect lists.

10. Share your grant prospecting list with your board and staff. See if anyone has connections that you can leverage to land the grant.
This blog is all about how non profit organizations and their supporters are creating and promoting change by raising resources: time, money and talent from the communities they serve.