Save your nonessential words and images used to fill space for another outreach effort or your results will be the exact opposite of your intentions. This ad for Volkswagen was (and still is) one of the greatest ads of all time. It was simple and powerful. MORE

We’ve all seen them: social media pages or websites for grassroots nonprofit agencies that appear to have been designed by a student or a well-intentioned volunteer. Guest blogger, Julie Brown, is the program director at the Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation. Julie is intrigued by storytelling, and the opportunity it offers to inspire donors and volunteers to act. MORE

What do you think about setting an intention for the new year? Here’s the tree we set our intentions under for the new year. My friend E and I went up to the top of this dormant volcano here in Portland and made candles with our intentions on them, and we talked about why we had chosen these words. How to make money as a nonprofit consultant Leadership women 2014 intentions new year''s resolutions December 21st was the solstice. MORE

Recently, I got an email from a potential client. He asked me, “Hey, can you research a grant to help us get a computer lab and computers for our nonprofit?&#. And I said, “Here are the 7 different places that you can get free donated computers from!&#. MORE

Nostalgia increases concrete, tangible and general charitable intentions. The mediator of the effect of nostalgia on charitable intentions is empathy. Therefore, nostalgia augments empathy-based charitable intentions and behavior. MORE

And the reason most donor journeys, donor experiences, ‘touches’ or whatever you want to call them are so flawed is because most fundraisers — no matter how great and good their intention to please the donor – have not the slightest idea why a donor chose to give to their organization in first place. In his post, Is There A ‘Donor Journey’? MORE

Tags: Fleishman-Hillard intent to purchase Cone Inc. MORE

Lots of folks talk about the need to launch a mid-level program with all the good intentions in the world. Without question the most neglected area of fundraising — after retention — involves mid-value or mid-level giving. Organizations are leaving millions and millions and millions on the table. But few actually do anything to get a program aimed at the $250 – $5,000 giving level underway. MORE

In Part 3 , we covered two important factors that are worth paying attention to and acting on — ‘Preference’ and ‘Intent’ The ‘intent’ to keep giving. MORE

Who, given the choice, would prefer to receive an important message — a communication whose intent you knew was to move you, a communication you were eagerly anticipating, a communication from someone you felt connected to — by email as opposed to real mail? OK, we’ve devoted most of this week to ‘alternative’ fundraising … peer-to-peer and email fundraising. Time to end the week with a simple reminder about old-fasioned direct mail. MORE

You may have the best of intentions on attending a Twitter chat, but let’s face it, you can’t always make it. I’ve been writing here a lot about hashtags lately….with with good reason. MORE

There’s a movement afoot in the tech world to put ‘ people’ first — before content, before design, and before software. Hopefully the same thing will catch on in the nonprofit world and ‘donors’ will rule. MORE

When I informed a nonprofit about my legacy gift intention, all I really got was a pin. So, we recommend you encourage donors and supporters to disclose their gift intentions early so your organization can begin to get to know them well. Do you give out pins? MORE

Spurred on by my post The Curse of Fundraising Innumeracy , reader Mikaela King over at the National Geographic Society decided to “dog pile” on with what she termed “another illiteracy” in our sector — testing illiteracy. MORE

2008 • Declutter: papers, books, files, computer files, email. Routinize what can (and should) be routinized. Review and upgrade corporate design and branding. Compile and publish the best Change Matters tools. Update, expand, and publish the Nonprofit Fundraiser's Almanac. MORE

Immediately upon finishing a task, get very intentional about what you do next. Feel like you’d be more productive if you could just manage your own attention better and limit distractions? I’ve got a challenge for you. MORE

It’s about maximizing the moments in between tasks and being extremely intentional about what you do next. . MORE

At first, he was hopeful that perhaps, the answer could be boiled down to a simple benchmark formula such as — Nonprofits should attain one new planned gift intention per year per 1,000 active donors. MORE

One of those words is "intent," although warriors like Musashi or Sun Tzu probably meant it more like attitude or spirit than a dictionary definition such as purpose. A combination might work best, as in intent: an attitude that. Image by blackheartking.com (xtyler) via Flickr When you've watched as much Japanese anime as I have, you notice some words seem to keep popping up. MORE

What advice would you give to Chinese fundraisers intent converting the world’s largest middle class into donors? That was Ken Burnett’s assignment at the First China Fundraising Conference in Beijing last month. MORE

Given that similarity, causes and sponsors might consider developing an approach to mission that the military uses called ‘commander’s intent.’ According to Wikipedia , it means: “An intent describing military focused operations and it is a publicly stated description of the end-state as it relates to forces (entities, people) and terrain, the purpose of the operation, and key tasks to accomplish. But commander’s intent puts the lie to that notion. MORE

Telemarketers called too often and too intently. I wonder how many donors give in spite of the fundraising machine, not because of it?! As I read and wrote about the press and public’s outrage over Face-2-Face and telemarketing techniques that’s spilled forth in the UK, I kept asking: “Why or how in the world could a sector this sophisticated have allowed this to happen?” MORE

But the key is to think of the donor’s notification of their planned gift intentions as the starting point— not the end. There’s brilliance down under! . MORE

My intent is usually to do it on the plane home or as soon as I get back to my office. What’s that one bad work habit you want to change but just can’t do it ? C’mon—we all have at least one. But be it one or many, these habits can drive us crazy. MORE

They key to a good brand is working with intention. Branding is automatic.  Everyone has a brand. If a brand is a set of promises and expectations that you offer to the world, and it is , then you should understand that you (and your art) are always making promises. MORE

Donors get clues about the emotional intent behind your words from non-verbal sources (such as body language and voice intonation). Almost 50 years ago, Albert Mehrabian figured out that our words matter least and our body language matters most in face-to-face communications. MORE

” “Further”, Ernst & Young “noted that the survey results reveal that far more insurance consumers actually switch insurers than express an intention to switch — an almost unprecedented finding in market research.”. MORE

The study profiles giving behavior across four generations — Civics, Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y — looking at giving amounts and future intentions, preferred channels, focus of giving, the works. MORE

His intentional use of rhetorical devices adds power to his ideas and strength to his words. If you’ve been tasked with improving the impact of your organization’s messages, one of the best teachers you can follow is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. MORE

Is your intention to build a relationship that will bring money to the organization or do you see your prospects as community connectors? Let your prospects know what direction you are going. When making an introduction, do you set any expectations as to how the conversation will go? It cuts down on the number of uninterested people you talk with if they have an idea of why you’re having a conversation with them. MORE

Bleed, from the bottom of your heart, with appreciation for their very thoughtful gift intention. I guess I’m saying that gift intentions are nice. So you did some great marketing and you met with a bunch of folks. MORE

As the VP of Communications and Marketing at the Case Foundation, guest blogger Allie Burns is charged with spreading the word about the Foundation’s great work with the ultimate goal of mobilizing more people to make giving a part of their everyday lives. MORE

Now, in addition to popping the legacy intention question, I recommend you also ask each Board Member to write down one or several friend’s names. Everyone wants new major donors. Most nonprofits spend a lot of time and money noodling their data to find them. MORE

“YES, LET’S MEET”- They notified you about their gift intentions AND want more engagement such as a face-to-face meeting or a tour of your facility, etc. Never disclosers – Many of your best prospects will never disclose their gift intentions. MORE

Just think about the hours and hours spent on preparing spreadsheets, ‘strategic plans’, Power Points and draft budgets interspersed with and followed by meetings, meetings, meetings — all with good intentions but resulting in little of no action and consequently little or no growth. Too many fundraisers engage in too much foreplay. MORE

That’s the premise The Agitator and DonorVoice will explore at Noon EST today in the 2nd of our behavioral science webinars titled, Capitalizing on Donor Intent: Increasiing the Number of Donor Gifts Per Year. You may think you don’t have an over-solicitation problem, but your donors think otherwise. MORE

In the end, strategy is nothing but good intentions unless it's effectively implemented. - We ALL have good intentions. "I The problem is, intentions are meaningless unless you CONSISTENTLY put your weight (time, talent and treasure) behind them. The real question is, how can we be people who align strategy (intention) with execution (action) to ensure that we live good lives? Be INTENTIONAL about these interactions. MORE

Digital Trends Report 2015 , a report from Consultancy and Adobe, provides a look at corporate marketers’ intentions in the digital arena going forward. MORE

And that is, despite the best intentions to provide a good product, process. We really didn’t plan it this way, but fate intervened wondrously to help reinforce our yesterday’s post on Donor Experience. MORE

It’s called Good Intentions Are Not Enough, and it is EXCELLENT. And Good Intentions Blogger Sandra talks about this, in her 1 Million Jasons post. The end goal with each Jason was for them to understand that Good Intentions are Not Enough.” Have you read this blog? MORE

At your events, the most important thing you can do is connect with your guests. Attendees come to the event from many different places, some are already close to the organizations, some are just trying it out for the first time, and then there is everyone in between. I find it really easy to get lost in a good conversation and then miss an opportunity to meet someone new or connect in a deeper way with a guest still learning more about the organization. MORE

Enjoyment of video ads increase purchase intent by 97% and brand association by 139%. What are your intentions for your organization’s social media strategy? I apologize for the headline (and the macarons). MORE

This seems like such a basic, "Fundraising Ethics 101" topic that I'd never have to write a post explicitly about it, but it seems that even high profile nonprofit organizations need to be reminded: Donor Intent is King! This month started with the news that country star Garth Brooks had won his million dollar lawsuit against a regional hospital. The issue was over a donation Brooks had made with the understanding that a building would be named for the singer's late mother. MORE