Online Webinar Proves A Useful Forum for Defining Donor Recognition Standards
Last week I had the good fortune of presenting in the Association of Donor Relations Professionals webinar series. Our topic was “Think Before You Thank: Donor Recognition Best Practices”. The session had over 200 attendees representing a wide variety of organizations throughout North America. I was impressed by the level of involvement from the audience; their questions were thoughtful and wide-ranging. Continue reading »
Filed under Donor Communications, Stewardship, Think Before You Thank | Tags: Communications, Donor Recognition, Stewardship, Think Before You Thank, Trends in Fundraising | Comments OffPhilanthropy Center
We regularly use the term philanthropy center and when we do, we sometimes have to remind ourselves that this term has meaning to us as donor recognition consultants, but it’s meaning may not be apparent to others, even our fundraising clients. Continue reading »
Filed under Best Practices for Donor Recognition, Donor Communications, Recognition Environments, Robin E. Williams, Stewardship, Think Before You Thank | Tags: annual giving, Best Practices for Donor Recognition, Communications, donor wall, environmental graphic design, Gwinnett Medical Center, Interactive Displays, new media, Philanthropy Center, Stewardship, Trends in Fundraising | Comments OffTime to Rethink Your Approach to Social Media?
Last December, in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Internet, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency hosted the DARPA Network Challenge to explore the role of the Internet and social networking in contemporary communication. Whether influenced by recent events, like political protest in Iran or Columbia, or not, the rules of the contest were simple. DARPA moored ten eight foot red weather balloons in different locations across the continental United States, and teams tried to track them down as quickly as possible. While most of us were putting the finishing touches on our holiday shopping, a team from MIT tracked down all ten balloons in just under nine hours. Continue reading »
Filed under Donor Communications, Philanthropy, Social Media, Stewardship, Think Before You Thank | Tags: Communications, Development, Facebook, Friend Raising, Fundraising, new media, online giving, Philanthropy, Social Media, Trends in Fundraising | Comments OffEmerging Trends in Donor Relations
This new decade heralds significant changes for Donor Relations and its influence on fundraising success. We see that these emerging trends share a common theme: to build better relationships with donors as a means of fostering greater giving. As is the case with all relationships in our current crowded, information-saturated world, the emphasis will be on the quality, not the quantity, of donor interactions.
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A Designer’s Opinion: Function Over Form
I often see donor recognition creatively achieved but lacking in function. Form should always follow function! I recently came across the SEGD, Society for Environmental Graphic Design, 2009 Merit Award. It commemorated a sculptural donor recognition piece for St. Michael’s Grammar School in Melbourne, Australia executed by two local design firms, Nexus Designs and Fallon Image Design.
Filed under Donor Communications, Think Before You Thank | Tags: Best Practices for Donor Recognition, consultant, Donor Recognition, Fundraising, Stewardship | Comments Off