Amazon has a new feature that can help your small nonprofit raise more money from Amazon Smile this holiday season. Amazon's new Idea List feature allows your small nonprofit to create its own holiday gift-buying guide and share it with your supporters. For example, I set up an eco-friendly and Fair Trade gifts guide for my nonprofit, Voices for Earth Justice. As of now, it has about 70 items on it. I like the idea of making my own gift-buying guide for three reasons: I'm hel

#GivingTuesday is less than two weeks away. What are you planning? It's not too late to make it a great day for your small nonprofit and your community of support. How? Instead of asking, asking, asking all day, make it about thanking, thanking, thanking! One of the my favorite experiences over the years is bringing together board members, employees, and volunteer staff members to have a "Giving Thanks Party." At these simple events, we call and write notes to your best donor

Fundraising done right is one of the kindest, most generous things you can do. A few years ago, a young couple was going through a hard time. Both of them had difficult health problems that cost a lot of money to treat. Both of them lost their jobs at about the same time. In no time at all, they were out of money. They couldn't afford food. They received an eviction notice from their landlord. About the same time, my wife and I bought a new house. We were holding onto our old

This post is part of my year-fundraising series. This fall, you can follow along here to receive training and tools that will help you launch your own year-end fundraising campaign. The lessons I'm offering are best for small nonprofits (five or fewer employees). Ready for an amazing and successful Giving Season? Rock 'n' roll. If you’re following along with the Merry Year-End Fundraising program, you now know: With whom you need to communicate (partners, friends, acquaintanc

This post is part of my year-fundraising series. This fall, you can follow along here to receive training and tools that will help you launch a year-end fundraising campaign by October 1. The lessons I'm offering are best for small nonprofits (five or fewer employees). Ready for an amazing and successful Giving Season? Rock 'n' roll. You don’t have a year-end fundraising campaign unless you have a goal. The right goal is the “X” on the map that leads to buried treasure. The w

This post is part of my year-fundraising series. This fall, you can follow along here to receive training and tools that will help you launch a year-end fundraising campaign by October 1. The lessons I'm offering are best for small nonprofits (five or fewer employees). Ready for an amazing and successful Giving Season? Rock 'n' roll. I’m sorry. I made the mistake of thinking I could keep working on my year-end fundraising series while on family vacation. I should have known b

This is the second post in my year-end fundraising series. In August and September, you can follow along here to receive training and tools that will help you launch a year-end fundraising campaign by October 1. The lessons I'm offering are best for small nonprofits (five or fewer employees). Ready for an amazing and successful Giving Season? Rock 'n' roll. If you read the first post of my Merry Year-End Fundraising program, you’re making a list of people who care about you,

This is the first post in my year-end fundraising series. In August and September, you can follow along here to receive training and tools that will help you launch a year-end fundraising campaign by October 1. The lessons I'm offering are best for small nonprofits (five or fewer employees). Ready for an amazing and successful Giving Season? Rock 'n' roll. Let's start here: I don't want your year-end fundraising to just "get by." I want more for you than just a successful yea

I want you to get excited about year-end fundraising. Yes, I want you to get excited about it! Especially if you've never really done it before. If you've never tried running a real year-end fundraising campaign, this is the year I want you to go all in. Why? Energy, money, people, and time. As in more of all four flowing into your nonprofit this holiday season. Maybe you have doubts. I understand. It's peak summer. You don't want to start thinking about the holidays already.