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A lot of the nonprofits we work with are well-established organizations. They have a good grip on best practices and they execute the basic principles of fundraising well. But just as a start up can shake up a whole industry, so can a new nonprofit teach all of us old hands a few things.

Recently, someone I know received an annual campaign appeal from an organization that he has had a long and deep relationship with. His family has made major gifts to the organization, and they’ve made the organization a planned giving beneficiary. In this particular appeal, he and his wife were misidentified with an incorrect first name and salutation. At the same time, three other letters, with different names but listing his address, also appeared at his door.

I received this lovely donor gift at a recent charter school event. A 4^thgrade student, Marcus, had selected the word “Seasons” and then used his creativity to paint his representation of what the word meant to him.

Seth Godin recently sat down for an interview about fundraising. At Donor By Design, we’ve always enjoyed Seth’s writing and applied many of his thoughts to our work,* but it was extra special to have him turn his attention to one of our favorite subjects.

Recently, a charity lost two generous annual donors because of a mistake that could have been avoided.

Read the first post in this series.

It’s no secret that personal giving pages are changing the nature of the way we ask for gifts. It’s highly likely that, if you’re reading this, you’ve supported a friend or family member in a walk or run to raise money for one cause or another.

Read the first part or second part of this series.

For the longest time I avoided giving gift cards as presents. It seemed like such an impersonal gesture. I had visions of the recipients stuffing all their newly acquired gift cards into their wallets and heading off to the mall without a single thought as to who gave them what card or attaching any kind of significance or meaning to them other than the dollar value encoded on the magnetic strip.

I was stunned by the phone call.