Professional Skill Building
Initial Activities in a Capital Campaign: Doing Something at Once!
It is easy to feel overwhelmed when contemplating the enormity of undertaking a capital campaign. How to get it established? What to do first? Where to begin? Who to ask for what and when? Do I work on the case or find a leader? Don’t worry, this is normal. Take it one step at a…
Read More4 Principles for Cause-Marketing
Partnering with commercial businesses can be a great way for nonprofit organizations to fundraise. Over the past decade, cause-marketing relationships between nonprofit and commercial businesses have grown exponentially in popularity. Campaigns like Yoplait Save Lids to Save Lives, Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty, American Express’ The Members Project, Nike’s Livestrong Bracelets, and The Gap’s Product…
Read MoreIncrease Monthly Donations with Short Form Direct Response Television
Direct Response Infomercials, known as “Short Format” or “Short Form,” resemble television commercials and can range from 30 to 120 seconds in length and feature a running 1-800 phone number.
Read MoreImprove Your Fundraising Focus
Let’s think about how we might improve our fundraising focus. Our concentration will be on growing the person, shifting the focus, managing the processes, and leading the organization from the heart and head.
Read MoreHow to Communicate Well with Major Donors
Learning to communicate well and at a deeper level with your major donors is important to grow your base of support. Do you know why your major donors and prospects would care about what you do? Consider Donor Motivation When it comes to what motivates your major donors, think about these questions: What relationship do…
Read MoreHow to Reach Your Potential – Delegate!
Are you a Chief Development Officer, Vice President of Advancement, or perhaps a Director of Development and Public Affairs? Are you being asked to help manage and direct other aspects of your institution? Is getting all your work done becoming more and more difficult, or even impossible? The answer may be closer than you think—perhaps…
Read MoreHow to Create a Great Campaign Meeting
Here at CDS Fundraising, we know from decades of experience that fundraising efforts thrive on momentum. A well-run campaign meeting is one of the best tools we have to inspire, motivate, and push our volunteer leaders to achieve their goals and further this momentum. By including the proper components, we can make campaign meetings the…
Read MoreHow to Be an Agent of Change
I was surprised to see in recent weeks that a six-year-old book remains on the New York Times Best Seller List, recently at #3 among nonfiction paperbacks. The book is The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell. It seems as though it has become its own best promoter, demonstrating what happens when…
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