Because promoting philanthropy is our life’s work, we felt the need to comment on a series of articles, as well as an editorial that ran in our local newspaper, The Virginian-Pilot, over the past several days on “professional fundraising companies” (i.e., telemarketing firms and professional solicitors, who differ greatly from professional fundraising counsel like The Curtis Group)…. Read more »
Major Gifts: Guidance from the Experts
Last week Wendy and I taught a two-day Development and Fundraising course at Tidewater Community College’s Academy for Nonprofit Excellence. On the second day, Kay Stine of Norfolk Collegiate School, Billy Foster of TowneBank, and Christine Morris of Hampton Roads Community Foundation served on a panel that addressed issues surrounding major gift asks. All of… Read more »
Giving Online Jumped in 2010
An article last week in The Chronicle of Philanthropy and a recent news report on PBS both indicate that a growing number of Americans are supporting charities through online giving and social media. In the Chroncle article, the fundraising software company Convio said that online donations to its 1, 300 clients topped $1.3 billion in… Read more »
The Role of Social Media in Fundraising: Still More Art Than Science
In our effort to help nonprofits incorporate social media into their fundraising programs, last Thursday three of us Curtis Group staffers attended a Chronicle of Philanthropy webinar on the topic. First, we learned that because social media campaigns are still so new, determining the best way to use them is more art than science, as… Read more »
Keep Your Funders in the Know
Last Thursday’s Funders Forum, held by Volunteer Hampton Roads and moderated by Keith, gave nonprofit professionals and board members a direct line to a panel comprising the Hon. Richard Bray of the Beazley Foundation, Angelica Light of the Hampton Roads Community Foundation, Deborah Wyld of the Norfolk Southern Foundation, Michael Howland of the Southeastern Council of… Read more »
Online Funding Contests: Worth Your Time?
Has your nonprofit taken part in the Pepsi Refresh project, Sears’ More Green Across America, eBay Fundraising Tournament for the Environment, or other voting-based funding competitions? This seems to be a growing trend among corporations. But if, for instance, you’ve waded through the six-point type on the seven pages of Pepsi Refresh guidelines, you’ll quickly… Read more »
Tuesday Fundraising Tip
To help you remain a philanthropic priority with donors this year, here’s our fundraising tip of the week: Develop a consistent communications program. If the only time your donors ever hear from you is when you’re asking for money, you’re not building relationships. “But we send a newsletter,” you might be thinking. It takes more than… Read more »
Fundraising Ethics: Lesson #1
People who haven’t done major fundraising sometimes hold misconceptions about how the process works. We’ve had questions recently about whether we can guarantee fundraising results or bring our own list of potential donors to a new client. The answer to both questions is no, because both are unethical. As a member of the Giving Institute,… Read more »
Rules of Engagement
With the economy improving, the good news is that end-of-year donations may be up over 2008. But don’t count on your year-end appeal to save you from a down year in fundraising. The Chronicle of Philanthropy just reported on how several charities are approaching fundraising season. One nonprofit director said that because their first year-end… Read more »
The Good News About Big Gifts
According to the latest biannual survey of fundraisers conducted by Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy, confidence in the fundraising climate is still low. The good news is that fundraisers are more optimistic about generating donations in the next six months. The expectations measure, as it’s called, was 72.8, an increase of about 10 percent over… Read more »
