Archive for January 2015

A Renewal can be defined as a letter or email written to an existing donor, typically as part of an overall Annual Giving program. It usually consists of multiple renewal appeals and special appeals. The goal is to renew a donor’s support annually, upgrade their gift to another level or even better… convert sporadic/one time donors…

Online giving is on the rise, increasing by 14% in 2013 and up 8% in the first half of 2014. Greater giving online is not a trend; it’s the future. That’s why it’s so important that non-profits have an optimized website, that encourages online giving. This month we created a Tool Tips Tuesday post with products…

If you read my last post, “How To Create A Fantastic Non-profit Website”, you know that I spoke about three important elements of npo sites. Throughout this article, I refer back to these best practices, so I’ve quickly summarized them below. (If you read my last article feel free to skip the paragraph below). Firstly,…

The best non-profit websites are designed to clearly communicate your mission and inspire people to donate. The greatest sites are simple and useable, but also do a good job of evoking a powerful emotional response. They need to be easy to navigate and your donors should understand your site at a glance (more on this…

I’ve been involved in software implementations for over 10 years and there are two core factors involved in successful non-profit and for-profit implementations. 1. Resistance to change It’s human nature for folks to fear what they don’t know; it’s called a comfort zone for a reason. From the beginning of an implementation you need to devise a…

If you work at a non-profit (especially in donor retention or a similar role) you know that asking people for anything, especially their hard earned money, is not easy. What makes donation requests really tough is that there are so many charities desperately in need of funding, all of which are trying to solicit donations.…