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

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

Be more intentional about what you’re reading, and Get More Value Out of the Content You Consume. Cane and Table. New Orleans, LA. Good afternoon, friends! MORE

Chris Bailey got introspective in My Vacation To The Lake And Learning To Care Intentionally. Welcome to the August edition of the Nonprofit Blog Carnival! 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

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

How many (what percent of your donors) answer affirmatively to a question about their intentions . Then you’ll have a clear picture that proves whether your your efforts are building awareness and changing intentions. 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

My intention in this series is not to provide a detailed “how to” for building a monthly giving program. Rather, the goal is to point you to resources I believe will prove of help and value. Here goes. Setting Goals. 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

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

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

But, oddly, that’s the first thing fundraisers offer legacy gift prospects and those who have disclosed their legacy gift intentions. . The next most popular offer is a pin. I think these offers are pretty lame. 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

Regardless, fewer links mean fewer chances for users to deviate from your intention. Meanwhile, a straight-forward email donation ask to help support your work is much more effective because you are being clear with you intention and the action you want people to take. 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

In today’s Facebook Live, we talked about our intentions for this series, and also got specific about language choices like Merry Christmas , bad neighborhoods , at-risk youth , and marginalized communities. MORE

Here we take a look at a small element of that overarching topic…… how you might inadvertently betray your intentions and weaken the impact of your pitches. Several posts on this blog explore pride of association and how it can be enhanced and harnessed. FUNDAMENTAL PREMISE: Premiums are not gratuities! They are not gifts. Avoid those […]. 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

Big intent. The era of male-dominated philanthropy recently slipped out the back door. Did you notice? Daddy & Hubby are much less important. It’s women’s turn now. They have big bucks. Big interest. And they have philanthropic decision-power. 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

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

How many (what percent of your donors) answer affirmatively to a question about their intentions . Then you’ll have a clear picture that proves whether your your efforts are building awareness and changing intentions. MORE

As a well intentioned board of directors, we underestimated the need for institutional focus and and the related need for internal (INTERNAL!) Staff conflicts? Indifference? Team working in silos? This story may help you fix these common problems. MORE

Just look at Texas Tech Professor Russell James’ research findings on the gap between giving intentions [for regular donations] and bequest intentions (as noted in his research, Messages to encourage bequests: Testing new findings from neuroimaging ). MORE

Just imagine if you lose 10% of your gift intentions per year without knowing it. I’m just saying that the easiest thing for you to do is to shore up your gift intentions with excellent stewardship that ensures your legacy gift supporters won’t take you out of their estate plans. MORE

This means that after you and/or your team get intentional about diversity, you handle the implementation. She said, “Preparation is crucial—but so is intent.” 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

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

Our intention with this blog is that your nonprofit will see the same value in this service that we do. We use Sigstr at CrowdRise and love them. So, in full disclosure, they are a current partner of ours. Marketing MORE

— Roger admonished us … “My greatest concern today is for those who have become mired in fear, bogged down in some naïve cynicism, intent on tweeting and texting their shared disappointment and rage in a self-reinforcing loop of misery and despair. In his post Friday — Presidential Inauguration Day in the U.S. MORE

Same with the intent to continue giving which is at record levels — also on both sides of the ideological spectrum — according to this report in Fast Company. The election of Donald Trump has served as a booster rocket for giving to groups on both the left and right. Right now — not six months from now — is the time to take action regarding these new Trump donors. And the action you take should not necessarily be the same action you routinely take with new donors. 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