Donor-Centric Language: Efficacy and Ethics
The language we use matters. When is donor-centric language an effective way of garnering support, and when do fundraisers cross the line in communicating real issues with transparency and authenticity? A long time ago (and yes, sometimes still today), nonprofits centered themselves in their communications to donors. Fundraising appeals were very – to put it bluntly […]
Why your Board and Staff need first-hand experience
I’ve written extensively about the importance and benefits of taking major donors to the field. In this article, I’d like to highlight the value that your organization can gain from sending board and staff members. In some organizations with international missions, it is routine for executive and development teams to make multiple site visits. In […]
3 Initiatives Every Donor Trip Should Support
When planning to take donors or volunteers to the field, it is imperative that the trip aligns with your organization’s Mission, Strategic Plan, and Development Plan. Failure to think through a travel program’s role in each of these three could result in creating unachievable goals for the trip – or worse – no goals at […]
Metrics and Measurements for Travel Programs
Everyday nonprofits are running travel programs for donors, board members, and volunteers without having any metrics in place to determine the program’s success. We’re all very familiar with the metrics and measurements we use in our mission-related work (also called Monitoring & Evaluation), as well as the benchmarks and goals we set for fundraising (as […]
How to select the right internal manager for a trip
If you have an organization with more than four paid staff, this is for you… Planning a donor trip is tough work and usually involves the coordination of the Development staff, Leadership, Program/Field Staff, Partner Organizations, and Board. With so many stakeholders and different people involved, there should be nothing but clarity in terms of […]