Small and Mighty!

Leah Eustace of GoodWorks Co. asked us to work with her on this post about why small shops (charities) are way more WICKED than the big shops… you’re more nimble, you’re usually not as silo’d, you tend to be a little more chilled and relaxed, you care for each and everyone of your donor more, [...]

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What do you have on YOUR wall?

I would say -oh -like 95% of charities (or at least the offices I have been to) have posters from their events, awards they have won, pictures of this and that. But, I’m curious… What do you have on your wall? I saw this tweet last week: @ActionAidUK: This inspirational piece of art in our [...]

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Channel vs Campaign

“Direct mail is dead.” “Social media is going to change the world.” “Online is the only way to go.” “Our donors don’t give to mail.” “Telemarketing doesn’t work.” “No one watches DRTV.” After a few meetings this week and a bunch of reading, I am astounded at how much attention is given to specific channels [...]

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We <3 donors

And assuming you do too, here’s a helpful Venn diagram to help keep your communications and fundraising right on target. edit:

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#YearInReview What did you ship in 2010?

My good friend (in my mind) Seth Godin asked me, asked all of us – what did we ship in 2010? Seth uses this term “Ship” to talk about ANYTHING you might have delivered to your market. Anything. As a entrepreneur, I am crap at reflecting and celebrating – there is always new work to [...]

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#afpcongress: By the hashtags, scribbles, photos and vids

Here are the highlights from our scribbled notes and tweets from Congress. We heartily encourage all fundraisers to check out the #afpcongress hashtag to review the highlights from all tweeps in attendance. Scribbles: Wendy Mesley: “Trust is not being given to institutions but to individuals.” Sean Triner (@seantriner) on “witnessing”. This is brilliant. Sean insists [...]

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RE: Fightin’ Words!

Here we go. Nothing like waking up and over your morning coffee, tucking into a blog post that instantly makes your blood boil. In case you doing want to read The Agitator article, let me nutshell it for you. Wikipedia is in the midst of conducting its annual fundraising campaign – which has been collaboratively [...]

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Are we innovative?

Innovation is a funny thing. Everyone says they want to be but are afraid to do so when they get the chance. As someone who is creative, I see opportunities to be innovative all the time but have had clients who swear they want it – and then at the last minute chicken out. As [...]

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#hashtags

I’ve spoken about the value of using a tool like twitter for professional growth. And hopefully if you are using it, you have been using #hashtags to follow certain conversations or events. If not, I quickly show you how and why you should be! I failed to mention there is a great tool called Tweetchat. [...]

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Direct Mail Stupidity

I promise this will be the last time I rant for a while. My darling wife questions my sanity when I get so upset over something as innocuous (at times) as direct mail. But I’m sorry, I can’t help it. When charities and consultants start treating donors all the same, without thought, appreciation, like a [...]

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