Communicate!

Helping you win loyal friends through your communications

Navigation Bar

  • About
  • Services
  • What Clients Say
  • Contact

Fundraising Tuesday: 4 Ways to Pay for Your Consultant

October 25, 2016 by Dennis Fischman 2 Comments

Your nonprofit organization does great work. You’d like more people to know about it. So you squeeze time for writing newsletters, sending email, and posting to social media into your schedule.

And still, people don’t know what you do.

You realize you need outside help…but there’s a problem.  How are you going to pay for the help you need?

piggy bank

Four Ways You Can Afford a Consultant

Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Four ways, in fact. And none of them will break the bank.

  1. Ask a donor. Most people give to your organization to produce immediate results. A few of your supporters understand that better communications now means a stronger organization later. Find a major donor like that, and ask him or her to give you the seed money you need.
  2. Write a proposal.  Communications is “capacity building.” Foundations will give grants if you show them what difference your improved communications will make. Businesses will also invest if you make a strong case.
  3. Do some crowdfunding. Zach Brown raised $55,000 online by making potato salad. How about you? Be very human and a little bit funny, and you just might get enough small gifts to pay your consultant.
  4. Build it into the budget. Communications are just as important as staff training and other items you budget for every year. It will be a lot easier to pay for help if you’re planning for it.

When you have the money in hand, here are seven tips on what to look for when you’re hiring a communications consultant.  And I’d love to talk with you about your project.  Drop me a line at [email protected]: maybe we can work together!

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Pocket
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Nonprofits, When You Write, Remember the Golden Rule

October 24, 2016 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

Golden Rule

You know it and I know it: a lot of nonprofit writing is just painful to read.

We donate to our favorite causes. In return, we get newsletters full of jargon, emails full of typos, fundraising letters that sound like they’re written in French because the organization says “We, we, we.”

As people who work for nonprofits, and to ensure their success, we can and should do something about this! Make sure your organization asks itself these five tough questions:

1. Are you listening long enough before you write?

2. Do you think longer and more complicated is more impressive? (Your readers don’t!)

3. Are you writing memos when you should be telling stories?

4. Are you burying the lead? (Does the reader know from the start why he or she should read on?)

5. Are You as Good a Communicator as Shakespeare’s Fools? (Will people invite you to speak truth fearlessly to them because you leaven it with humor?)

None of us wants to cause pain to our supporters. But that means we must think what our supporters want to read! The golden rule of writing is to write unto others the way you wish they wrote unto to you.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Pocket
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

TY Thursday: Don’t Ask for Money! Unless…

October 20, 2016 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

before fundraising letter

Before you write that appeal letter…

Are you working on your end-of-year fundraising appeal already? Good for you! Lots of nonprofits start thinking about their appeal letter in November…or even December. You are already ahead of the field.

Now, stop.

Yes, I said stop! There’s something more important for you to work on right now than your fundraising letter–something that will actually help you raise more money than your appeal letter.

Now is the time to thank your donors.

Why Thanking Donors is Your First Priority

Donors who aren’t thanked don’t give again. It’s as simple as that.

The sad fact is that MOST of your first-time donors won’t give again. Across the U.S., fewer than 20% of donors who gave to a nonprofit organization in 2014 renewed their support in 2015. That means four out of five donors gave once, then walked away.

Why? The biggest reason donors say they don’t renew their gift is lack of communication. They didn’t hear from you that you appreciated their gift, or how you used it, or whether or not they made a difference.

A good thank-you letter begins the process that makes your first-time donor into a loyal friend (and makes your longtime donor a fervent advocate for your work).  So, if you didn’t send a thank-you letter last year–or if your letter read like a tax receipt and not a personal note–then drop everything and thank your donors today.

Beyond the Thank-You Letter

“But wait,” you say. “We already thanked the donors. We sent out a letter in January.”

Again, good for you! Especially if your told a story that immediately made the donor feel happy that they gave. And doubly so if you sent one thank-you letter to the first-time donor  and a different letter to your donor who decided to renew. You made them feel they were not just an ATM: they’re people you know.

But that was January. This is October.october

If you haven’t been personally in touch with your first-time donor all 2016, they may have forgotten the nice impression you made. They may have forgotten they ever gave to you. They may even have forgotten who you are.

And your long-time donor may be thinking less of you, too. You’re their cousin who they haven’t heard from for ages, who suddenly shows up at the door asking for money. They may still love you, but they may feel a bit used. You need to build that relationship again.

3 Ways to Thank Your Donor, NOW

Before you ask for money again, here are three ways you can thank your donors personally.

  1. Pick up the phone. Even a voicemail from someone at your organization–a Board member, especially–will reignite the donor’s warm feelings. If you can have a live conversation, that will give you a chance to find out more about why they gave, and what would persuade them to give again.
  2. Shout out on social media. Post a message on your donor’s Facebook page, for instance, letting them (and their friends!) know how important their gift has been.
  3. Send them a video. Do you own a smartphone? Then you have a video camera in your pocket. Donors will be surprised when they see your face and hear your voice!

Ideally, you would thank your donors throughout the year (and here are twenty ways to do that in 2017). But it’s not too late to show your gratitude and make your donors proud this year.

Before you send out another fundraising letter, stop and thank your donors, as warmly and as personally as you can. More of them will give. More of them will increase their donations. And more of them will think and speak well of your organization, this year and in the future.

 

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Pocket
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 139
  • 140
  • 141
  • 142
  • 143
  • …
  • 214
  • Next Page »

Yes, I’d like weekly email from Communicate!

Get more advice

Yes! Please send me tips from Communicate! Consulting.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Copyright © 2025 · The 411 Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in