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Why You Need a Nonprofit Ally in 2017

February 14, 2017 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

Here’s a guest post about a great way for nonprofit professionals to find a mentor or be a mentor. Kudos to a mentor and ally of mine, John Haydon, for sending it along!

The nonprofit sector is a strong and vibrant community full of people willing to help each other out. And now more than ever, it’s important to come together and work as allies and mentors.

 

 The value of being mentored seems pretty obvious: new skills, confidence, friendship, etc. And in fact, the research shows that people who are mentored get more job promotions and earn more than people who aren’t.

 

But mentoring is also great for mentors: networking opportunities, leadership development, and a stronger sense of community.

 

Jesse Bethke Gomez, Executive Director of the Metropolitan Center for Independent Living, was mentored early in his career. And now he’s paying it forward by helping others overcome their fears and develop their strengths:

 

https://youtu.be/LQtcabW8tvY

So yes, nonprofit professionals like Jesse shine when they connect, learn and share with each other. They get stuff done. And they make a bigger impact.

 

But do you really need a that trusted ally?

 

Why you need a trustworthy nonprofit ally

Most nonprofit leaders are too stressed out or distracted to find that trusted friend or colleague who’s walked in their shoes.

 

But allies (mentors, peers, friends) are often essential for success. Here are a few examples:

  • A veteran grant writer offers guidance to a novice grant writer that helps him or her achieve greater results.
  • A promising nonprofit start-up founder can connect with an experienced leader who points out blind spots and encourages a drive toward success.
  • A newly-hired Development Director is struggling to meet their capital campaign goals. She exceeds that goal with tips from a veteran fundraiser.

Find your nonprofit ally

Do you have experience or know-how to share with a nonprofit? MissionBox.com is a newly launched free resource that helps connects nonprofit leaders connect with that perfect peer who is seeking guidance.

 

The goal? Stop “reinventing the wheel” create a larger sense of community, and together, make a bigger impact.

 

Learn more about becoming a MissionBox ally by joining here for free.

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Fundraising Tuesday: Make Your Donors Love You

February 14, 2017 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

You’ve heard the saying, “It’s not what you eat between Christmas and New Year’s–it’s what you eat between New Year’s and Christmas”?  Similarly, it’s not what you write to your donors in your end-of-year appeal letter that determines how they feel about your organization. It’s what you write all year long.

Communication in marriageCommunications are the key to a good marriage. Your nonprofit’s communications are the key to a good relationship between your donors and you.

By next Valentine’s Day, make your donors love you. Here are the four steps to win their hearts.

This winter, work on your email.

When donors or prospects give you their email address, it’s like they met you on a blind date and decided to give you their phone number. What they’re saying is, “I want to hear from you.” It’s a huge gesture of trust.

Be worthy of their trust.

  • Find out the kind of content they want to see, and send it to them as often (and no more often) than they want to see it.
  • Write subject lines that signal, “I wrote this especially for you and I know you’ll want to read it.”
  • Personalize every email. “Dear friend” is not acceptable in 2017. It tells your donors they’re not worth your time.
  • Keep your list up to date. There are good email tools out there: MailChimp and Constant Contact are two that many nonprofits use. Buy one and learn how to use it. You–and your donors–will be glad you did.

This spring, take a good look at your website.

Your website is your online living room. If you’re going to invite donors there, you want them to stay a while.

  • Make the lighting comfortable. Is the font size large enough for middle-aged eyes? Does it read as well on Chrome or Firefox as on Internet Explorer or Safari? Can donors read it on their mobile devices? Can they read it with their screen readers (if they have limited eyesight)?
  • Make the room easy to get around. Place navigation bars on the homepage and on every page. Clearly label your pages and tabs, and don’t get too cute: “About Us” or “Who We Are” are better than “The 411.”
  • Put out the treats.  Your donors need to find what they’re looking for quickly or they’ll leave your site. Be sure everything is within three clicks from the home page: for instance, 1) home page, 2) contact us, 3) email. If you’re inviting people to sign up for an event, consider using a landing page with its own URL.

This summer, spice up your blogging life.

Did you ever meet someone and think to yourself, “I love talking with him. I could spend all night just listening to him?”

Writing a blog gives your donors a chance to say that about you.

Blogging is better for those long explorations than email. It’s more of a conversation than the rest of your website. Blogging is for lovers.

  • Set up your blog using WordPress or some other professional looking tool.
  • Get good ideas for blog posts from your own emails and from the questions people always ask you. Always write for your audience.
  • Turn one good idea into ten different posts!
  • Publicize your blog using your email and social media.

This fall, finally get social.

What would the love of your life think if when you were together, you only talked and never listened? Or if you only listened when he or she was talking about you?

Not very romantic, right?

But too many nonprofits think the reason to use social media is to have one more place to rattle on about themselves.

Social media are really more like social gatherings: parties, conferences, Chamber of Commerce meetings, public forums. You go those events to meet people and become an important part of the community. You go on social media to do the same.

Over time, if you pay attention to them, people come to know, like, and trust your organization. They actually seek you out for information and advice and opportunities to volunteer. They start thinking of you as “their” organization. They fall in love.

How do you use social media to make donors love you? I’ve been studying this subject for years, and I’m happy to share it with you.

social mediaThe No-Nonsense Nonprofit Guide to Social Media: How You Can Start Small, Win Loyal Friends, and Raise Funds Online and Off is your step-by-step guide to courting your donors.

Download it now, and by next fall, you can be happily engaged.

By next winter, you can be busy writing thank-you notes.

By next Valentine’s Day, your donors can be yours for life.

The No-Nonsense Nonprofit Guide to Social Media: How You Can Start Small, Win Loyal Friends, and Raise Funds Online and Off

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Love Your Audience (A Valentine from a Rabbi)

February 13, 2017 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

peasants in a tavern

Do you know what hurts me?

Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berdichev in the Ukraine, used to say that he had discovered the meaning of love from a drunken peasant.

The rabbi was visiting the owner of a tavern in the Polish countryside. As he walked in, he saw two peasants at a table. Both were gloriously in their cups. Arms around each other, they were protesting how much each loved the other.

Suddenly Ivan said to Peter; “Peter, tell me, what hurts me?”

Bleary-eyed, Peter looked at Ivan: “How do I know what hurts you?”

Ivan’s answer was swift: “If you don’t know what hurts me, how can you say you love me?”

Love your audience.  Know what hurts them.

Know what excites them, frightens them, makes them happy, makes them proud.  Know what they want and what they detest.

Love your audience and you will frame messages just for them.  They won’t read your messages if they don’t feel the love.

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