As you know, I am forever identifying new resources. I think of myself as a “curator of useful resources.” How does that sound?
1. Visit www.askingmatters. Join up. Check out the presentations. Read Andrea’s book about asking styles. And, on Thursday, April 18, listen to a conversation with Tom Suddes. How great this session with Tom Suddes sounds: Take a quantum leap in your fundraising. Learn to show (not tell). Learn to listen (not talk). Learn to engage (not pitch). You’ll learn about Tom’s Donor Engagement Tool. So sign up now at www.askingmatters.com.
2. Read the March 15, 2013 Agitator: What is the Watchdog Watching? I loved this one. “The Agitator’s view is that the idiotic ‘cost of fundraising’ metric favored by overly zealous watchdogs, media, some regulators, and ill-informed boards and fundraisers is, well, simply idiotic.” Share the Agitator’s blog with your boss and your board and your fundraising committee. Talk about this and what it means. Talk about how you will talk with your donors and show your donors.
3. Read Jeff Brooks’ blog about that brochure enclosed in your direct mail solicitation. Pull out the brochure! Get rid of it. Brochures kill direct mail, says Jeff.
4. Emotions trigger human decisions – and that applies to your donors. Subscribe to www.neurosciencemarketing.com. You’ll find lots to learn…things that surprise and perhaps shock you; useful consumer research that applies to donors and giving, too. Watch the Super Bowl 2013 ad winners – and watch the brain scans. Which emotions do you see? How will you use emotions in your fundraising?
5. And, read this Agitator blog, “In Praise of the Extra X.” In honor of National Women’s History Month. In honor of the feminist movement. If you’re too young to know about Betty Friedan and The Feminine Mystique, then fix that “too young problem,” right now. If you’re a man, read the book. If you’re a woman, read the book.
