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....
by Bill Jacobs | Nov 4, 2015 | Donor Retention, Non-profit, Non-profit marketing
This blog is a little different. Sometimes, even among us, we don’t agree on things. Here’s one example. Bill: If you ask 10 people to define marketing in the nonprofit space, chances are, you will get 10 different answers. Here’s the one answer I like, paraphrased...