by Bill Jacobs | May 31, 2021 | Donor Acquisition, Donor Retention, gratefulness, Non-profit, nonprofit analytics, Nonprofits
A year ago, all of us in the business of fundraising were nervous. Lockdowns were taking place across the world, there were shortages of toilet paper and no one was sure how donors would respond. No one could have predicted that donors would respond in a such an...
by Bill Jacobs | Aug 12, 2019 | Donor Acquisition, Donor Retention
Last week, I was revisiting some 10-year old analyses. It was both comforting and alarming at the same moment. Comforting in the fact that your Multi-Year donors today (those who have given to you in at least the last two consecutive years) perform very similarly to...
by Bill Jacobs | Jul 29, 2019 | agency new business development, Donor Retention, Donor Stewardship
Recently, I attended the Bridge Conference in Washington, D.C. While there, I was struck by two simple things. First of all, it sure can rain in the capital… I was in a meeting at one of the restaurants on the lower level of my hotel when one of the fountains began to...
by Bill Jacobs | Sep 5, 2017 | Donor Retention
If you could summarize the consultant chatter over the past decade into one phrase, I would nominate “donor engagement” as the winning phrase. But what does that mean exactly? As a donor behavior scientist, I am a firm believer in what Peter Drucker said: “If you...
by Bill Jacobs | Dec 21, 2015 | Direct Mail, Donor Acquisition, Donor Retention
I’ll be darned. Direct mail acquisition seems to be making a comeback. OK, perhaps not to the degree of a Star Wars $250MM opening weekend comeback. But as I am reviewing recent acquisition (and reactivation of deeply lapsed donors) results, I was pleasantly surprised...
by Bill Jacobs | Dec 14, 2015 | Direct Mail, Donor Retention
Any of us who have studied donor behavior can tell you that your best prospect for a sustainer or monthly pledge donor is someone who has been on your file for several years and has averaged 3 or more gifts a year. And the best recruitment should be done in January....