1. Giving USA: The Annual Report for Philanthropy (for 2011) is now out. Good news. Bad news. Steady news. I sure hope you read this every year. Lots of info to share with your development colleagues, CEO, fund development committee, and board. What are the implications for your organization?
2. “Design a logo that doesn’t chase away donors.” That’s Jeff Brooks and The Duck Call.
3. Read “Social Influences in Giving,” by Jen (Yue) Shang and Rachel Croson at the Nonprofit Quarterly. Shang and Crosen’s research with NPR documents how a charity can increase gift size just by using social information with donors. A must-read for fundraisers everywhere.
4. Dan Ariely‘s book The (Honest) Truth about Dishonesty is probably something we all should read. The Economist even wrote a column about it.
5. Check out this book, recommended by my colleague Mary Shirley: Non-Manipulative Selling by Anthony Alessandra and Phillip Wexler, published in 1979. Mary says that we fundraisers could learn from this…a step-by-step how-to on building trust and listening to your customer (just substitute “donor”). Monitoring your own verbal and nonverbal communication. And refusing a sale if it’s not in the customer/donor’s best interest. Are you donor-centered? Is your organization donor-centered?
