A warm, no-ask Thanksgiving note is a fixture of most year-end plans, but the best research we have on thank-yous suggests gratitude alone may not move donors. Here's how to make your November message show donors what their gift actually did, and how to find out whether it's working.
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Google Ad Grants rarely produces donations directly. Here's how to use your $10,000 a month to capture email subscribers who become donors later.
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A donor can skip your year-end letter and still give, but they can't give by mail without the reply card. Here's how to make that small card easy to read, fill out, and send back.
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Most people who visit your nonprofit's website leave without giving and never return. Here's how to turn your busiest pages into a steady source of new donors.
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Your year-end appeal can't raise a dollar from the spam folder. Before December, confirm your email authentication, sort your list by who's actually engaging, and protect the sends your best donors are waiting for.
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Before you spend on ads, know your allowable cost per donor. A simple five-year model shows what a new online donor is worth and how much you can pay for one.
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Donors who gave this fall are some of the likeliest people on your file to give again, so leaving them out of the year-end appeal usually costs you. Here's who to hold back, and what the letter for everyone else should say.
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Most nonprofits learn how year-end went on January 2. Here's how to build a simple pacing chart and know by mid-December whether you need to change course.
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Paying a fundraiser a percentage of what they raise looks risk-free for a small nonprofit, but it quietly moves the risk onto your donors and pays for the wrong part of the job. Here's why the model backfires and what to offer instead when money is tight.
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Your biggest year-end gifts usually come from a few donors. Here's how to pick your top 25 and ask them personally before the mass appeal arrives in December.
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