Most people I know would prefer to hear a story about someone your nonprofit has helped than to listen to the latest statistics about the population you serve. The next time someone asks you what your nonprofit does, skip the statistics and tell a story. If you use the basic rules of storytelling below, you [...]

Each year I look forward to Giving USA’s annual research report on charitable giving in the United States. I love the way they use simple charts to show how much money is given in each area of contributions (individuals, corporate, foundations, and bequests) and also show what sectors receive this money. I often use these [...]

I receive many newsletters from nonprofit organizations. Because I am always looking for interesting ways to raise money, I open most of these and skim through them quickly. However, there are two nonprofits whose letters I read very carefully. Why? Because I know that these nonprofits will tell me a story that that touches my [...]

The first answer to this question is how not to pay a fundraising consultant: under no circumstances agree to pay the consultant based on a percentage of what s/he raises for your nonprofit. This is true whether the consultant is helping you with proposal writing, major gifts, special events or any other development work. Members [...]