Michele Lutz

The Far Side of Fundraising Tip of the Week Transactional fundraising leads to high rates of donor loss. Most organizations lose 4 out of 5 first-time donors. The more rapidly and impersonally we secure support, the more we sub-optimize giving potential and the more rapidly donors depart. High rates of donor attrition, coupled with the continue contraction of giving households, spell long-term disaster for most nonprofits. Don't follow the transactional lemmings as they plunged into the sea. Adopt sustainable practices. You may be in the minority but you will help your organization survive and eventually thrive. This one requires that you closely to see who stands out in adopting sustainable practices.

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To Find Your Best Fundraising Opportunities, Remember: A significant portion of donors are underwhelmed or dissatisfied with their giving experience, including yours. You may have assumed that are satisfied because they continue to give and continued to be stewarded. Yet we so often fail to realize that few donors are dissatisfied with their personal treatment but underwhelmed by: ⏹ The lack of a compelling plan to more fully realize your mission promise ⏹ The insufficiency of information about concrete, specific, sustainable differences being made ⏹ The absence of major-gift-worthy ideas Donors want to be feel a part of something bigger than themselves but too often are met with small administrative concerns. They want to contribute to an organization that is attacking the root causes of societal concerns but too often are presented band-aid budget-balancing concepts. They want to hear from those who are delivering essential services and making incremental progress notwithstanding great challenges but all too often are treated with gauzy, rah-rah rhetoric from on high. Too often we assume stewardship is about thanking and recognizing but our research shows the vast majority of donors feel adequately thanked but under-involved in mission delivery and under-informed about mission impact. So job one is to check in with your donors, find out what they feel is missing, and to respond to their philanthropic yearnings. You can then bring on more supporters by remembering the same lessons. A significant portion of donors at other organizations are similarly dissatisfied or underwhelmed, including those giving to prominent and seemingly successful organizations. You can dislodge and ultimately win over donors from those organizations if you provide what they are not getting at other organizations but only if: ⏺ You put forward fundraising concepts that are society-serving, that demonstrate how to give through your organization not just to it for mundane needs ⏺ You demonstrate how donors will be a part of the action and provided an inside view of mission delivery ⏺ You establish the means of creating regular conversation with donors so you can learn from their most rewarding philanthropic experiences and avoid replicating their most dissatisfying and under-whelming ones. The tactical imitation, lack of strategic imagination and formula playing, albeit with the latest tech, that pervades our field won't allow us retain or optimize the potential of the donors we already have much less fetch new ones.

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Do all capital campaigns need a fundraising consultant? Read on to learn about different types of fundraising counsel and how they can benefit your organization! #nonprofitfundraising #nonprofitcapitalcampaign #capitalcampaign #capitalcampaignconsultant

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📊 Making Your Association’s Research Matter 📊 This week’s Association Insights dives into how to make your association’s research resonate with the media and public. Start by linking your findings to real-world issues like economic growth or public health—connections that make the impact of your research clear. Framing research around current trends or news increases media interest, and presenting findings in simple, relatable language or visuals like infographics helps audiences grasp complex ideas quickly. By making your research relevant, accessible and actionable, you’ll amplify its impact and ensure it captures attention. 💬 What strategies help your research stand out? Share your thoughts in the comments! #AssociationInsights #ResearchImpact #PublicRelations #OnWrdUpWrd #Communications

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Did you miss Kathryn and I on LinkedIn Live yesterday? Watch our discussion on capital campaign planning here!

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Learn the steps for making a professional capital campaign solicitation that we train our committee members to use. Read now!

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The association community, through ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership, has urged both presidential campaigns to recognize and prioritize the contributions of trade and professional associations in their policy agendas. From the letter, associations account for over 1 million jobs, generating more than $71 billion in wages, and hold more than 272,000 events every year that attract nearly 52 million participants and generate $42 billion in spending. Associations also pay almost $28 billion in federal, state and local taxes each year, and events generate an additional $7.5 billion in taxes. https://lnkd.in/g5bkmP7Q #associations #associationmanagement #policy #vote

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