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Surprise! Your Favorite Blog Posts from 2022

December 27, 2022 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

This blog is for you. The reason I keep thinking of new topics (and new twists on old topics) is so that you, at your nonprofit, can communicate better, make more friends, and raise more money.

So it matters to me what you like, and what you read.

Here are the your favorite posts from 2022, and some of them surprise me!

1. When You’re Planning Meetings, Include Other Religions: I was sincerely surprised that this was your most viewed post in 2022. Also, gratified. Thank you to every nonprofit that made an effort to understand what Rosh Hashanah, Ramadan, Samhain, Nowruz, and other religious holidays and practices are all about, and to schedule so that all your staff can feel included. (And if you were one of those staff people using the post to say to your employer, “See? See?”, I’m not as thrilled but still happy to be helpful to you.)

2. Remember the Postscript. Donors Do! We all work so hard to craft the ideal fundraising appeal. Then, that work goes to waste if the potential donor doesn’t read the letter! One of the best ways to catch their eye is with a postscript that speaks to the heartfelt reasons they give.

3. Top Ten Steps to Fundraising During a Leadership Change. I’m so glad you enjoyed this guest post by Robin Cabral of Development Consulting Solutions. Between the pandemic and the big cohort of nonprofit Executive Directors reaching retirement age, a lot of organizations needed to know what to say to their donors to ensure continued support. Robin’s post gives you a step-by-step plan for communications and fundraising while in transition.

4. Appeal Letters, Easy to Read. As I get older, my eyes increasingly appreciate the things that make appeal letters easier to read at any age: large font, plenty of white space, short paragraphs, and plenty of pictures, bold and italic font, and bulleted lists.

5. What Do You Call a Donor? Say anything you like about me, as long as you get my name right! Nothing is more personal to your donors than their names–and nothing says “I don’t know who you are and I don’t care” faster than calling them a name they don’t use. This blog post examines the pros and cons of  first names, last names, full names, with or without titles. (This post dates back a few years, and today I would add that getting people’s pronouns right is also key.)

And for a bonus, a little humor: A Priest, a Rabbi, and a Communications Pro Walk into a Bar… Because we take our missions seriously, but we don’t always have to BE serious!

Happy 2023 to all readers of the Communicate! blog, and if you could use expert assistance with your communications and fundraising in the new year, write me: [email protected].

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Fundraising Tuesday: Home-Cook Your Fundraising

May 12, 2020 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

Are you cooking at home a lot more at home since the pandemic began? I know I have been. I’ve been doing some basic recipes that are not a lot of work, but both tasty and filling, like this beer bread.

Beer bread

And I’ve also been taking ingredients I had on the shelf and in the freezer and combining them in new ways. Dried chickpeas and frozen spinach = chana masala.

Chana masala

Right now, your nonprofit should be home- cooking its fundraising.

Now is not the time for anything fancy. Go to the basics: the stuff you didn’t have time to do before the pandemic but that are on every nonprofit’s shelf.

  • Call your donors.
  • Write posts for your blog.
  • Update your website.
  • Listen to conversations on social media, and when you can add s0mething, chime in.

Those are your “beer bread” recipes. You know how to do them, and it’s been way too long since you baked them fresh.

Combine your ingredients in different ways.

  • You already have a database. Put together segments of supporters who care about the same thing, and write to them about what they care about.
  • You already have stories. Re-purpose the same content and use it ten different ways.
  • You already have ways donors can give online. Add ways they can give monthly, on the same site.

Those are your “chana masala” recipes. They look different from what you have been doing before, but they use the same ingredients you already have on hand.

Serve up some beer bread one day, some chana masala another day, and pretty soon your donors will be talking up your organization to their friends! Because let’s face it, nothing tastes as good as somebody else’s home cooking.

P.S. If you want some tips for tasty fundraising–or the recipes for these two dishes!–email me at [email protected].

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Top Fundraising Blogs, 2020

February 17, 2020 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

If you already read my Communicate! blog, thank you…and here’s a list of other #nonprofit blogs you might enjoy. https://garecht.com/the-best-fundraising-blogs/

Top fundraising blogs 2020

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