Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog

MARCH 6, 2015

Learn how to find and cultivate your org’s stories in Multichannel Storytelling for Social Impact. We’ve talked before about how you should appeal to your donors’ inner angels, not their inner bookkeepers. See Discovering if Like Equals Love: Understanding and Testing Online Engagement. ” Have a great weekend!

Communication 72

Communication Collaborations Nonprofits Technology 72

Fundraising Coach

SEPTEMBER 11, 2022

Your major or mid-level donors. According to Double the Donation’s guide to donor retention , it’s much less costly to retain donors than to acquire new ones. Have your ambassadors focus on speaking to your already established donor audience. Rally new and dedicated donors through your ambassadors’ social media accounts.

Public and Nonprofit Management 52

Public and Nonprofit Management Non-Profits Retention Recruitment 52

NonProfit Hub

DECEMBER 10, 2014

The focus needs to stay on development with social media as a key strategy—one vehicle of many—for developing donors. Social media plays a huge role in how donors and donor prospects feel about nonprofits, and using the points listed above, social media can make these people feel like they are a part of the nonprofit’s family.

Non-Profits 63

Non-Profits Altruism and Helping Associations Recruitment 63

Candid

APRIL 13, 2021

The Greater New York chapter of Volunteers of America used its grant to increase its monthly giving program to more than 25 donors. Second, you could try to cultivate new volunteers with a specific call to action (CTA). Other nonprofits have pulled it off. CTAs are designed to guide a visitor to take an important next step.

Food 98

Food Charitable Organizations Management Production 98

iMarketSmart

AUGUST 7, 2013

Deliver messages about how a legacy gift can empower your donors to do more after their lifetime than they could during it. Even non-donors. Then cultivate the leads you generate with relevant, personalized messages based on interest… not age. That’s donor-centricity at it’s finest.

Marketing 51

Marketing Marketing Fundraising Fundraising 51

The Agitator

MARCH 24, 2010

Jo grew ASPCA’s monthly giving program from 9,000 donors to 140,000 in the span of ten years. Jo talks about cultivation of monthy donors, who and when to invite, whether to make additional appeals … all the questions I’ll bet you have. That qualifies as success in my book! Thanks for passing this along, Lisa.

Retention 65

Retention Marketing Marketing Fundraising 65

Nonprofit Megaphone

JUNE 17, 2022

Social media networks allow users to organically cultivate social, political, and commercial movements that express themselves in traditional institutions. Donors want to know that their money is going to a good cause and this is no less true in digital fundraising. One such social media movement is the Facebook Challenge.

Public and Nonprofit Management 52

Public and Nonprofit Management Nonprofit Administration and Development Activism Energy 52

The Agitator

JUNE 30, 2010

The recent e-letter of donor loyalty specialist Lisa Sargent describes how the Atlanta Union Mission builds relationships with its donors. I can think of many reasons why a dedicated site for donors only would be a smart component of a donor retention and cultivation strategy. Can anyone help me out?

Public and Nonprofit Management 58

Public and Nonprofit Management Retention Children Food 58

The Agitator

JANUARY 24, 2010

" He argues that most major donors are recruited into a nonprofit on a peer-to-peer basis, rather than being cultivated up the donor pyramid from initial small gifts. " But Mark also argues a much broader point about today’s mechanistic approach to "cultivation" in the realm of small gift fundraising. ."

Retention 69

Retention Recruitment Nonprofit Management Management 69

The Agitator

DECEMBER 16, 2009

Here is a terrific comment on yesterday’s Agitator post from Andrew Kramer describing how his organization, Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP) in Houston, builds cultivation into the guts of their program … and the enormous benefits reaped. He was taking me to task for treating cultivation merely as a monetary cost.

Entrepreneurship 64

Entrepreneurship Foundations Retention Values 64

The Agitator

NOVEMBER 15, 2010

Forget donor “cultivation&# and “relationship building&# … it’s pay-off time! That said, just two comments … First, what are you doing that has any remote chance of making your appeals stand out from the tide that is about to wash over your donors (and prospects)? No point in regrets.

Nonprofit Management 61

Nonprofit Management Management Marketing Marketing 61

Get Fully Funded

SEPTEMBER 2, 2010

Many nonprofit staff and volunteers dream of the day when a donor will walk into their office and hand them a large check. But it’s only a dream because they don’t know how to find those donors, much less encourage them to give big money. Tags: Major Donors major gift.

Nonprofits 60

Nonprofits Fundraising Fundraising 60

The Agitator

DECEMBER 14, 2009

Marketing maven Seth Godin wrote The First Transaction , an interesting post about the need for cultivation to precede any ask for money. Prior cultivation? And we’d strive to make these donors profitable by hanging on to (hopefully) most of them, building relationships and earning repeat and upgraded contributions.

Non-Profits 68

Non-Profits Nonprofit Management Education Education 68

The Agitator

MARCH 19, 2010

A few days ago we published a post called the Secret Millionaire in Your File … all about an "average" donor who — out of the blue — left a seven-figure bequest to her alma mater. longstanding) donors, not simply the wealthiest ones. " I’m impressed. Anyone wish to offer some comparative figures?

Marketing 66

Marketing Marketing Retention Nonprofit Management 66

The Agitator

OCTOBER 18, 2010

It tells the story of an EDF donor, Anita Goldner, who had made small annual contributions to EDF for 25 years. First, you always wonder when your hear these stories, how could no one know the donor’s commitment or potential? I just received the Fall edition of Solutions , the newsletter of Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

Environmental 69

Environmental Nonprofit Management Management Marketing 69

The Agitator

DECEMBER 12, 2010

Noting that those who give to charities’ own websites give more over time than donors who give via ‘portal’ or social networking sites, the study observes: “Charities don’t always do a good job following up with donors who give through portals or social networking sites.

Marketing 66

Marketing Marketing Fundraising Fundraising 66

Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog

AUGUST 3, 2017

Keep it short and sincere and shareable and you have a chance of using video to recruit and mobilize advocates, volunteers, and donors. Consider this page an opportunity to retain that donor and secure your next gift. A simple, personal, short video thank you on this page can inspire donors to fall more deeply in love with you.

Non-Profits 68

Non-Profits Fundraising Fundraising Nonprofits 68

The Agitator

DECEMBER 29, 2009

Back at the beginning of November, Roger published a post urging fundraisers to progress to The Age of Donor Conservation. Is your "donor development" fundraising program for 2010 simply a "contact schedule" … or does it really seek to identify, cultivate and optimize giving from your best prospects?

Retention 56

Retention Nonprofit Management Technology Values 56

Nonprofit Megaphone

APRIL 6, 2023

Implement the following tips to create a personalized newsletter experience: Use merge tags: Most email marketing platforms offer merge tags that allow you to insert your subscriber’s name into the greeting or subject line, making the email feel like it was crafted just for them.

Participation and motivation 52

Participation and motivation Nonprofits Poverty Activism 52

Get Fully Funded

FEBRUARY 8, 2010

Or are you waiting for a major donor to just pop up with a large gift? If you really want to get the most ‘bang for the buck’, plan to spend some time cultivating your top 10 donors this year. It’s a lot like that with donors. Find out all you can about your prospective donor. Do your homework.

Food 58

Food Fundraising Fundraising Nonprofits 58

The Agitator

MARCH 23, 2009

A recent study by Blackbaud’s Target Marketing on online fundraising (Roger commented here ) noted that many donors who make their first gift online wind up making their subsequent gifts, if any, via direct mail. We looked at donors acquired online and sure enough by the end of year one they had “migrated&# to giving offline.

Retention 58

Retention Nonprofit Management Management Marketing 58

iMarketSmart

OCTOBER 4, 2017

They could: Acquire new donors/customers. Retain existing donors/customers. Monetize their donors/customers. Acquire new donors/customers. Nonprofits are really good at acquiring new donors. This is donor acquisition 101, nothing earth shattering here. Retain existing donors/customers.

Retention 53

Retention Values Activism Nonprofit Organizations 53

Care2

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

Why aren’t nonprofits cultivating diverse activists and donors (a topic Jocelyn Harmon of Care2 , Shireen Mitchell of Digital Sistas , and Ivan Booth of Rootwork and I will be discussing on our panel at NTC on April 10th)? Tags: Online Fundraising Online Marketing Online Organizing Social Networking. This is a big mistake.

Healthcare 54

Healthcare Technology Nonprofits Marketing 54

Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog

MAY 10, 2010

You really want them to come for lots of reasons: You want to cultivate their interest and participation with your cause. If your VIP’s are major donors, ask them if you can list their names as major donors in a special spot on the invitation. And it’s an excellent cultivation opportunity.

Fundraising 71

Fundraising Fundraising Marketing Marketing 71

The Agitator

JANUARY 26, 2010

Here’s yet another view on Donor Pyramidgate … the debate over where major donors actually come from … and how to depict their evolutionary path graphically. Donors who initially make small gifts can indeed be cultivated — dare I say it?! can contribute mightily to moving donors up that ladder.

Retention 58

Retention Nonprofit Management Management Marketing 58

Sea Change Strategies

JULY 14, 2010

It takes months of list building, inspiring donors, cultivating them, testing, and analyzing metrics to make the absolute most of year-end opportunities. Tags: General Interest. You might know that 40 percent of all online donations come in during December. The Overachiever’s Guide to Year-End Fundraising. Register now.

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Fundraising Fundraising 45

The Agitator

DECEMBER 15, 2009

don’t ask for money on the first date … cultivate, then ask. I suggested that his dictum might apply in the increasingly challenging world of new donor acquisition, where "cold" prospecting is getting mighty tough. I’ve been hoarding some recent posts by Seth Godin that are especially pertinent to fundraising.

Fundraising 58

Fundraising Fundraising Values Retention 58

The Agitator

JANUARY 21, 2010

Convio projected more than $4 billion will have been raised online in 2009, up 33% from 2008, while the number of online donors will have increased to 110 million, up 24% from 2008. With Target Analytics reporting a sustained decline in direct mail donors, is there really any net gain in total donors occurring? I doubt it.

Universities 77

Universities Recruitment Activism Values 77

The Agitator

JUNE 2, 2009

For fundraisers, Pareto reminds us we must focus on our best donors, understand who they are and what drives them as best we possibly can, and direct the bulk of our fundraising and cultivation resources toward them. This rule applies whether your portfolio is major gifts or direct response fundraising. Register here.

Marketing 40

Marketing Marketing Retention Recruitment 40

The Agitator

NOVEMBER 9, 2009

If you won’t listen to me or Roger on the value of knowing — really knowing — and cultivating relationships with your best donors, then listen to marketing maven Seth Godin. Seth is talking about customers generally, but we know he’d say the same of donors. More to come.

Nonprofit Management 45

Nonprofit Management Values Management Marketing 45

Care2

FEBRUARY 18, 2010

But there's a gap between knowing the Power Law and putting it to use as an engagement ladder to identify and cultivate those superstars that might make up 20% of your list. Is it a monthly donor? Tags: Online Advocacy Online Fundraising Online Organizing. We can start to bridge the gap by getting a handle on three things: 1.

Law 49

Law Production Activism Fundraising 49

The Agitator

MARCH 28, 2010

I think every one of Solomon’s seven tips applies … especially when you roll in the cultivation of major gift donors. But have they fed this info, often randomly surfaced in casual conversations with donors, into a database?]. If you know your donors this well, you're golden. You better believe it!

Retention 78

Retention Nonprofits 78

Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog

DECEMBER 9, 2009

The original purpose of this experiment was to learn how some of the nation’s top nonprofits cultivate new donors through communications over time. That’s hard to do when they don’t communicate with donors at all. Tags: What I Got When I Gave. Will this year’s recipients do a better job?

Communication 62

Communication Nonprofits 62

Care2

JULY 7, 2010

It takes months of list building, inspiring donors, cultivating them, testing, and analyzing metrics to make the absolute most of year-end opportunities. Which easy fixes you can make to your donation page, so that donors complete the donation process. Tags: Care2 Webinars Nonprofit Events.

Participation and motivation 46

Participation and motivation Fundraising Fundraising Communication 46

Fundraising Coach

SEPTEMBER 21, 2010

Throughout the year, we plant seeds hoping to grow donors. We nurture them, cultivate them, and coax them to bear fruit, right? If you’ve been doing a good job of communicating with your donors throughout the year, then you’re ready to ask for a gift and reap the harvest from your efforts. Fall is harvest time. the holidays.

Fundraising 65

Fundraising Fundraising Communication 65

Get Fully Funded

MARCH 9, 2010

Tonight, what caught my attention was that 2 of the contestants worked in the Call Center at the Food Bank, calling donors to thank them for their support. The LA Food Bank has it right – donor appreciation is important. In fact, it’s critical to cultivating relationships.

Food 45

Food Recruitment Nonprofits Fundraising 45

iMarketSmart

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

We carefully execute each step in the cultivation process. What amount would be easy for this donor?”) Next steps in the real world The donor says, “No.” The fundraiser is the donor-hero’s guiding sage. She helps the donor along the hero’s journey. The fundraiser advances the donor’s hero story. Devastation?

Universities 52

Universities Nonprofit governance and management Fundraising Fundraising 52