It’s a Blogiversary – The 300th Posting of the Fundraising Blog…

…and I’m taking this opportunity to thank a few people and emphasize the fundraising rules upon which all of the blog postings are based.

Giving Thanks
First, I have to thank Carter McNamara, owner of this website and creator of the Free Management Library, for inviting me to “invent” the Fundraising Blog, and to keep it going for well over three years … with no end in sight ☺

I also have to thank the other “regular” writers whose experience and expertise have really made this venue a valuable resource for the nonprofit community:
• Andrew Grant, an early contributor on the subject of Grants & Grantsmanship;
• Natalie Lewis, for her writing on Special Events;
• Rick Christ, for his look into Fundraising and Social Media’
• Lynn deLearie, for her ongoing, in-depth look at Grants & Grantsmanship;
• Jayme Sokolow, for clarifying the mystical world of Federal Grantsmanship;
• Bill Huddleston, for sharing his expertise on the Combined Federal Campaign;
• Christine Manor, for her insights on the Accounting “Rules” for fundraising;
• Tony Martignetti, for beginning our education into Planned Giving; and,
• Tony Poderis, for sharing the insights gained over his 40 years in Fundraising.

I also want to thank, for their Guest Postings: Carter McNamara, Gail Meltzer, Ken Ristine, Mari Lane Gewecke and Andrea Kihlstedt. And, I invite you to think about submitting a guest post – to Guest Posting.

Fundraising Basics
• Grants & Grantsmanship are not matters of sending as many requests for funding as you can generate to foundations, corporations and government entities. This is about researching, assembling a team, working to create the appropriate grant request for each potential funder, establishing relationships with funders, and demonstrating to funders that you’ve used their support as you’d agreed and that it has made the desired impact/result.

• Special Events are not “fundraisers” that get thrown together when you need money. These activities are planned, staffed, implemented and followed-up as any development activity should be. You need a committee that can bring attendees, give at levels that set the example, and get others to give. You need the ingredient(s) that will make people want to attend/participate.

• Social Media are marketing venues. Giving via social media is productive only if you can get vast numbers of people to give the “smaller” gifts. Social media are best used to get people to want to know more about you, to want to volunteer, to want to support you, and to thank them for doing all that.

• Planned Giving scares a lot of people because they think it’s all about insurance, trusts, complicated documentation and state registration. In fact, 90% of planned giving involves none of that, and it’s easy.

• The Combined Federal Campaign raises billions, and too few nonprofits take advantage of that opportunity. The CFC could have federal employees doing face-to-face solicitation on your behalf.

• At the “Base” of it All, Whether it’s about a Major Gifts Program, A Capital Campaign, the Annual Fund, or any/all of the above subject areas, fundraising is about getting the (potential) donor to want to give to you. And the key to making that happen is understanding that the donor gives to satisfy his/her needs, not yours. When you’re getting ready to ask people to support you, ask yourself, “Why would they want to give to you?” The answer probably has less to do with your organization and its mission than you might think.

All 299 of the other posts to this blog are available to you via the links at the right of the on-line page. All postings are accessible by clicking on the category in that list.

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Many of the blog postings have been compiled, by subject, in
The Fundraising Series of ebooks.
They’re easy to read, and cheap ($1.99-$3.99) 🙂
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Have a comment or a question about this blog, this posting or about starting, evaluating or expanding your fundraising program? Ask Hank