AFP Top Ten Fundraising Tips for the Week: Newsletter, Annual Report, Content Marketing & More!

Need some tips on how to do your job better? Or maybe just a reminder on some key skills, the insight on the latest research, and the latest, coolest ideas from the best minds in the fundraising profession?

Each week, AFP gathers the top blog posts, videos, articles and other resources to help you keep on top of latest trends and reach your fundraising goals. Here’s this week’s Top Ten:

Things I Wish I’d Known When I Started My Career (PhilanthroBlox): Long-time fundraiser Katherine Curtis lists 10 things that she didn’t learn in books. Some are funny. Some are serious. And some are things she never thought she’d deal with, but she has.

When It Comes to Reaching Donors, One Size Doesn’t Fit All (Philantopic): In 1994, a team of social scientists conducted a study to determine what motivates an individual’s interest in and support for a nonprofit organization. Their research concluded that donors fall into seven distinct groups, which they dubbed "The Seven Faces of Philanthropy.” Now these seven donors talking about what they respond to when it comes to engagement.

Content Marketing for a Cause: How Nonprofits Improve Donor Retention (Skyword): Content plays a central role in retaining existing donors and growing a nonprofit’s primary revenue stream. If your current content strategy isn’t making an impact on your present donor audience, consider what strategies you can borrow from the following examples.

A Guide to Fundraising on the Back of a Postcard (Queer Ideas): They say that the best personal finance advice can fit on a 3-by-5 index card and is available for free in the library. So, is it possible to refine the fundamentals of fundraising down to a handful of points?

Six Things You Can Do to Close the Gender Gap in the Nonprofit Sector (Guidestar Blog): Women make up approximately 70 percent of the fundraising profession, yet they only hold 30 percent of senior-level fundraising positions. Here are six things everyone can do to help your female colleagues in the nonprofit sector.

Fifteen Best Practices in Setting Up and Sending Nonprofit Newsletters (Get Fully Funded): There are two parts to a successful newsletter: Content (what you share) and set up (how it’s put together). Here are some best practices that can save you a lot of time and prevent mistakes.

It’s Okay to Bless and Release a Donor (Fired Up Fundraising): What is meant by Bless and Release? It’s what you do with an incommunicative, unresponsive donor: You just let go and release them from your attention.

The $110 Billion Treasure Trove for Nonprofits (The Agitator): $110 billion.  That’s how much money is held in donor-advised funds (DAFs) in the United States right now.  These funds are earmarked to go to a charity like yours.  How are some tip on how.

Exploding Bequest Myths (Hilborn): There is still a great deal of mystery and mythology around legacy gifts. This holds so many fundraisers back from raising significant funds from their donors – gifts that they would gladly give. Here’s the truth about legacy giving.