Hard to believe, but it’s been almost 25 years since I became a fundraiser, working for a large nonprofit, managing its monthly donor program. At the time, the development department consisted of someone responsible for donor appeals, another for acquisition of new donors and someone for major donors. Everybody was responsible to raise a certain amount a year. In those days, monthly donors “touched” the other departments, as we were only...

Now you’re in the middle of evaluating your appeal results, it’s up to you to make sure that the donor feels good about their giving experience—no matter what the amount. I recommend pulling in some extra people, volunteers and board members to make thank-you phone calls. Put some extra effort into sending out the thank-you letters pronto. And make sure you’re ready to send out tax letters well before the end of the month. If you’ve been...

Monthly Giving, Driver of Sustainable Fundraising Par Excellence! Monthly giving is probably one of the least understood methods of sustainable giving in the US, but yet one of the most powerful ones. Once you start, you’ll experience the power, but it’s the starting that’s often the most difficult. Today, I’d like to address the first 3 of the Eight Principles for Sustainable Fundraising ™.as they all relate to monthly giving as a major driver...

As a fundraiser and donor relations professional, you work hard every day to make sure your donors feel important. You know like no other that all donors need to feel appreciated, no matter how much they give or how often they donate to your organization. That’s why I’m still amazed at how difficult this seems to be, especially as organizations grow. Especially if there are multiple “cooks in the kitchen.” Often decisions are made...

A few weeks ago, I shared how I made 20 online donations on Black Friday. For some, this was a repeat donation; for others, it was my first. Of course, all organizations sent me an auto-responder message and a “thank you” email message. So far, so good. But, I’m very disappointed in what came after that. Why? In 65 percent of the organizations, there was a big nothing. As of Saturday’s mail (16 days later), I have only received five “thank you”...

There’s never a bad time to convert your constituents to give monthly, but there are two months a year that typically fit better in your overall communication plan: January and September. Now’s a good time to look at what you could be doing to make your donors stay longer and become more loyal. If you’ve always wanted to try taking over the home page for monthly giving for a month, September is a good month for it. If you’ve been following my...

  We know that video gives a major boost to open and click-through rates online. So, why not use it to your advantage and invite other donors to join your monthly donor program? Look at your current monthly donors—even if you have just five of them. Call them up, and ask them if they’re willing to share why they’re giving monthly. Then ask them if they’d be willing to say this on video. You don’t have to have a huge budget to make a video...

This question comes up regularly, but especially now, as nonprofits are starting to prepare their fall and year-end appeals. Should you or should you not ask your monthly donors for money? The answer is a resounding YES. As in YES, you should absolutely ask your monthly donors for money at this time of year. Unless the donor told you that he or she doesn’t want to hear from you, now is the time to engage and ask for a special or extra gift. If...

Originally posted in NonProfitPro Today on September 5, 2017 First of all, let me add my thoughts and prayers to those who lost their home and everything else after Hurricane Harvey. And I know we’re not out of the woods yet, with other storms coming near. Fortunately, there are many wonderful experienced organizations on the ground to help the victims. And, of course, fundraising activities have ramped up. People are literally walking in the...

First posted on July 17, 2017 by NonProfitPRO Today You may have read before that I grew up in Holland. I didn’t move here till I was 32. I became an American citizen when I was 47. In Holland, nobody had heard of “Saturday Night Live.” Instead, we grew up learning British English (not until high school, mind you) and watching British comedies. One of the favorite shows was called “And now for something completely different!” If you have a...

Originally posted on NonProfitPRO Today, June 19, 2017 Two weeks ago, I was checking my credit card statement and noticed several iTunes charges on it. The charges were going up in value. Believe it or not, I don’t have an iTunes account, so that was an immediate flag. I called the credit card company right away to dispute the charges. They, of course, canceled my card and sent me a new card. I’ve used this card for multiple monthly...

One of the neat things about the internet is that it’s really made asking for monthly donations so much easier. Especially after they’ve just done something else. There are so many success stories. Where to begin? Let’s start with your auto-responder. Say, you’re an advocacy organization and you do ask people to sign your petition. Did you know that you can use the auto-responder after they signed the petition not only...

This post was written for and published by Donor Perfect  Just a few years ago, setting up a monthly donor program was difficult. You had to do lots of workarounds, hire professionals to set it up.  or outsource the process and then spend money on direct mail or telemarketing to start asking donors to join your monthly donor program. It was expensive and labor intensive. Email campaigns were for the ‘big few’. Everything took a lot of time....

As we’re all getting closer to our own tax filing deadline, nonprofit organizations have to give consideration to their own tax filings as well, May 15th is right around the corner! That’s why I’m pleased to share a guest blog by James Gilmer, Harbor Compliance A Primer and Pitfalls on IRS Form 990 One of the most important tasks for nonprofits, no matter their industry or purpose, is the annual IRS 990 return. For new...

Let me repeat that question again: Can you convert an angry donor to give monthly? YES, you can! And here’s why! A donor who is angry and picks up the phone, cares enough about your organization to let you know that something is bothering him or her. So, if you treat the donor the right way, you may be able to convert him or her to give monthly. Most donors call to complain about the number of times you send them something in the mail....

The best time of year to ask for monthly donations is NOW!  If you’re serious about generating sustainable revenue for your organization that is! January is a great month to start. You have all these wonderful new donors you brought on over the holidays. So how do you start? Simply start by adding the “make it monthly” or “make it recurring” to your online donation page. If you don’t ask, you’re not...

When I start working with new clients or talk to nonprofits, the following issue comes up every now and then. Thank you to James Gilmer of Harbor Compliance for his guest blog on this important issue! Fundraising is Good, but Compliance is better! Fundraising is the lifeblood of most nonprofits. Whether it’s by monthly, annual, or one-time gifts, few organizations can survive without critical donations. While your organization may be going to...

Monthly giving now is EASIER to set up than it’s ever been! I’ve been managing monthly giving programs for a very long time! (for more than 2 decades!). We started by using direct mail and telemarketing. DRTV and face-to-face were still in its infancy when it came to monthly donors . And can you believe it, email appeals did not exist!! Nobody had heard of i-phones, mobile giving or social media. Up to just a few years ago, it was much...

I hope you’re having a wonderful time this holiday season? I had some time to catch up on some reading, relax and I made my new year’s resolutions. One of those is to never stop learning. That’s why I have amazing news: One of my colleagues has put together a fabulous Fundraising Summit, that’s totally virtual and free. It’d held on January 5-9 and you can attend it simply by clicking here. You’ll see an...

Now, after Giving Tuesday (and any GivingDay for that matter) Christmas is almost here! This is when my friend and colleague Pamela Grow of Simple Development Systems organizes the 12 days of Christmas event. It’s a great way to get some ‘freebies’ from my esteemed colleauges. And I’m pleased to say that I’m one of them. So just click here and sign up for the 12 days of Christmas Nonprofit Giveway. I hope you enjoy...

I just came back from an amazing week at the   International Fundraising Congress with amazing inspired, energetic fundraisers from some 60 countries. You may have heard me speak about this conference before. It’s really the top conference in my book! And I’m not just saying that because it’s being held on the other side of the ocean in my native country the Netherlands! (I was able to spend the weekend celebrating my...

Bon giorno, You may wonder, why I am writing about history all of a sudden? Because I just came back from a terrific but short trip to France and Italy… Something we’d planned for a while and it was finally happening! We saw where our World War II veterans stormed the Normandy beaches and helped liberate our European fellow men and women. And we saw so many amazing (and old) things, one can only be full of awe!! The most impressive...

While you know me as someone managing monthly donor programs and annual fund appeals, occasionally I also manage events. One of my absolute favorite events of the year is the local Cape Cod and the Islands, American Red Cross Heroes Breakfast. This year was even more special as we had the REAL Captain Phillips (played in the movie by Tom Hanks) present the awards to real local heroes who have made a difference to their neighbor. Some 550 people...

I’m very excited. Here’s some shameless self promotion and slight change of pace from the recent monthly giving posts. (Don’t worry, we’ll get back to those soon. I’m working on a big one about using Account Updater to prevent recurring credit card donors from dropping off, really exciting stuff!!) On April 11th, I’ll be speaking at the Fundraising Day in Rhode Island on How to make your Annual Fund stand out...

Now that I have your attention: This is just a great fun book to read when you’re not busy fundraising. Fundraising the Dead, written by Sheila Connolly If I’m not fundraising, working with my clients, presenting, blogging or writing, I READ. And, I absolutely LOVE getting physical books from my local library, although I have started to enjoy books electronically, especially easy on trips. So, when I was ‘nosying’ around...

Wow! Can you believe it? Another busy summer is coming to a close. First of all, let me wish you and your family a wonderful Labor Day weekend! My husband and I and our little cat Mientje did some ‘right sizing’ earlier this year and we’re finally done unpacking boxes and organizing closets. We’re now starting to enjoy the house and we even had some time to play tourist on Cape Cod! Working on pictures today! If you’re like most of my clients,...

Here’s part of a press release sent. Erica Waasdorp Appointed as US Ambassador for the International Fundraising Congress in the Netherlands to be held in Noordwijk, the Netherlands from October 15 – 18  Marstons Mills, MA – June 26th, 2013 – Erica Waasdorp, President of A Direct Solution, was recently appointed as the US Ambassador for the International Fundraising Congress (IFC). This event will be held at the Leeuwenhorst...

It’s been a long time coming, but finally, it’s here: the new and updated site for A Direct Solution, complete with a blog, links and calendar to show you where Erica is speaking or what we’re doing as a company. As we’re working with nonprofits, we absolutely LOVE sharing our knowledge, as it makes all of us better in what we do. I personally still learn something new every day and I’m very happy to help the...