This article first appeared as a series of five posts on Kivi Leroux Miller’s Nonprofit Communications blog in November 2007. Those posts have been combined into one article here.
The fundraisers at the University of California at Berkeley (Cal), my alma mater, had a problem: they needed to raise more money from alumni to support the diverse education and research programs where Cal excels, but their current direct mail program wasn’t increasing the size of the alumni donor pool. While the standard annual appeal in a letter format did a good job at renewing existing donors, says Virginia Gray, Cal’s associate director of annual giving and regional programs, the letters weren’t bringing in many new donors.
To learn more about these alumni who weren’t currently donating, Cal sponsored some focus groups. “We found that a lot of people felt like going to Cal was a big, impersonal experience and they didn’t have the same emotional connections and bonding experiences that you’d find at a smaller university,” says Virginia. (more…)
Nonprofit Times publishes an annual “2007 Power and Influence Top 50” — the nonprofit executives it says are the sector’s top thinkers, innovators, and leaders. We were curious how the organizations these people work for market themselves, so we compiled some links for you. You’ll find links to the organization’s main web site, annual reports, newsletters, press rooms, and donate pages, when we could find them. The list is now in alphabetical order by organization, instead of in the order Nonprofit Times used. (more…)
How Does Your Website Donate Page Compare?
We’ve compiled links to several donate pages on websites of the “NPT Power and Influence Top 50.” Check them out and use the ideas you like on your website.
Great Blogs for Fundraising Advice and Commentary
You’ll find some great advice on nonprofit fundraising on these blogs:
Donor Power Blog by Jeff Brooks
Don’t Tell the Donor by A Nonprofit Fundraiser
Fundraising for Nonprofits by Gayle Roberts
Tactical Philanthropy by Sean Stannard-Stockton
Everyday Giving Blog by Roger Carr
