Award Winning Blog

How To Write Good

C’mon, you really wanted to correct that headline, didn’t ya? And it’s just that schoolmarm tendency in folks that makes for so much bad direct response fundraising copy. That’s the conclusion I draw from a fascinating dissertation by Frank C. Dickerson, Ph.D. as part of his doctoral studies at The Peter Drucker Management Center and […]

Learn More June 12, 2009

Total Giving Down; Online Up

According to Giving USA, total giving to US charities declined 5.7% in real terms in 2008 compared to 2007, the first decline in real terms since 1987. Total giving in 2008 amounted to $307.65 billion, with these components (all declines inflation-adjusted): Individuals — $229.3 billion, down 6.3% Foundations — $41.2 billion, down 0.8% Bequests — […]

Learn More June 11, 2009

Friend, Or Mere Acquaintance?

Our sister firm DonorTrends has just been in the field with a survey on donor loyalty for a major national nonprofit. This group has been around a few decades, long enough to develop some considerable brand awareness and loyalty. Here’s an interesting finding: Respondents are three times more likely (60% to 22%) to think of […]

Learn More June 10, 2009

Sharing Personal Information

At the heart of usage of online social networking is one’s attitude toward sharing personal information. Here’s a chart from a new study of the ‘Gen Next" (Gen Y, born 1977 or after) by the Pew Research Center. 62% of under-30s believe that sharing personal information via the internet is a good thing, so it’s […]

Learn More June 9, 2009

Are You OK With 1 Percent?

That’s the question asked by Steve MacLaughlin, Director of Internet Solutions at Blackbaud, in a recent blog post. He’s talking about the fact that, on average, online fundaising appeals get less than a 1% response rate … indeed, the average is less than 0.2%. Steve looked at data from the 2009 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study done […]

Learn More June 8, 2009

The Payoff From Inspiring Donors

Yesterday, in light of declining donor retention rates, we raised the question of whether nonprofits were doing an adequate job of inspiring their donors. Here’s a response from Jay Love, CEO of software solutions provider eTapestry. His firm is participating in the Fundraising Effectiveness Project, an initiative sponsored by the Urban Institute, Association of Fundraising […]

Learn More June 5, 2009