We all have them. We don’t have to stay in them. — I recently had a phone call with a friend who is in the nonprofit fundraising world and that conversation inspired me to write this post. They were having a rough day. We talked it through and we both felt better afterwards. My point in writing that is whenever I support…

How is your donor data? — In nonprofit fundraising, we hear it all of the time: talk with your donors about their personal information. How do they want to be thanked? Is this the correct spelling of their name? Are they married? Who is the main donor? Are we thanking the right person(s)? I’m sure we…

A couple incidents in the last month have me wondering! — At 57, I spend a lot of time thinking about retirement, and aging. With the type of work I do, and my love for it, I already feel like I am partly retired, if that’s a thing. Aside from the financial part of retirement (which takes a lot of my…

Asking a donor for a donation is what we do, and is what they want us to do. — I’m attending a nonprofit conference on planned giving and am super excited for it! I have had the chance to meet with former colleagues and the topic of fundraising professionals fearing the ask, asking a donor for a donation, came up as still being an issue in nonprofit fundraising. I…

In loving memory of US Navy diver Robert Stethem. — Happy Memorial Day. Robert Stethem was a US Navy diver who was tortured and killed in June of 1985 after his flight home from an assignment in Greece was hijacked by terrorists and he was identified as US military. I remember following every second of the hijacking. Back then I…

It’s always impactful to take the time to thank your donors. — When boards and nonprofit leadership talk about fundraising, individual donors are typically, and easily, talked around or even not thought about. Meanwhile, so many of us have donor retention rates under 40% and direct mail response rates are under three percent. I can see why many in our world don’t…

Having 27 years of being vegan behind me is preparing me for getting older. But I also need to exercise! — They have been telling us to eat more veggies for as long as I can remember. Even being vegan (one who consumes no animal products) I have to remember to eat my veggies. We grow a lot of our own food. And still there are times when I realize I…

Another shining star decides to leave. — I love being in the nonprofit world. I love being a consultant in the nonprofit world, being able to work with so many missions that are embedded in my heart. I talk up our world all of the time. Nonprofits need good PR. Recently, someone I highly respect, decided to…

Making sure our data (and actions) reflect all we need to know about our donors. — I recently met with a development person from an organization that we support financially. They were one of the first organizations we donated to upon our arrival to Los Angeles almost eight years ago. Our first donation was not our last, and now we are “members” as well as being…