The news for fundraisers has not been good. The Chronicle of Philanthropy found that the largest charities expect giving to decline by a median of 9% this year and weakness to persist well beyond 2009.
To add insult to injury, CNN just listed "Fundraiser" as one of its most Stressful jobs that pay badly.
Never mind. Fundraisers are resilient. Besides, the best fundraising months are coming up...let's hope everyone will be in a giving spirit.
We've collected advice from nine fundraising experts about how to deal with the current fundraising climate and beyond.
- Katya Andresen, of Network for Good and author of Robin Hood Marketing, provides timely tips with Four essential tweaks to your appeals in a recession.
- Obviously, Nell Edgington, of Social Velocity, is a pragmatist and knows her way around a budget. She provides a clear-eyed tour of Calculating the Cost of Fundraising.
- Beware of "list fatigue" during the holidays, warns Jo Miles, of Beaconfire Consulting. She says to mix it up and segment in her post, In fundraising, sometimes less is more.
- I didn't know a "LYBUNT" from a "SYBUNT" until Lori Jacobwith filled me in with her Effectively Using Your Data. If you're confused about where to put your time and energy during this busy fundraising season, Lori's data checklist will be heaven-sent.
- Do you know which months are the worst for fundraising? Jeff Brooks, of Future Fundraising Now, shows you with his quick-hit chart in Fundraising during your off season. But don't despair, because Jeff provides four great tips for making those months the best they can be.
- Crushed because your grant proposal was turned down? April Northstrom of Grant Savvy reminds us that the rejection might be the starting point for your next (successful) proposal in Proposal Rejection: Saying Thank You.
- Sandy Rees, of the Get Fully Funded Blog, keeps her three Favorite Fundraising Tips completely donor-centric, beginning with letting donors choose when they want to be contacted.
- Barbara Talisman points out that major donors can be identified through social media, a place you might not have thought to look. She explains how to recognize those donors and interact with them.
- Coming full circle (remember the CNN label of "underpaid, stressful job" applied to fundraiser?), Sasha Dicter, of the Acumen Fund, wonders why fundraising is so rarely a path to the top, and if we need to rebrand the role of fundraiser. Food for thought?
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Coming up: The next Carnival will be hosted by FIO Partners Perspectives. "Collaboration" is the theme. Submit posts here by November 25th.
Acknowledgments: Thanks to all who submitted to the Carnival. Thanks also to everyone who tweeted and retweeted the call for submissions, especially @rjleaman (WildApricot), whose RTs made a big difference.
Comments
Honestly, asking for money without doing in return is thoroughly hard enough to do, especially nowadays, financial crisis is increasing, but if you would take this job as a way of helping others, and be glad on what you are doing, probably you will find it very easy. Thank you for the blog.