FundRaiser Blog

The FundRaiser Software Blog is an excellent resource for nonprofit organizations looking to learn more about fundraising, donor management, membership management, and much more.

Reconnect With Donors During This Difficult Time

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With the uncertainties in the world right now, you may be wondering how best to, or even if you should, reconnect with your donors. It’s understandable. Everyone has so much on their minds right now. And yet, there’s a good chance that people need the work that you’re doing. It’s important that you continue to let them know that you’re there, honoring your mission, even with everything that’s happening.

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Increasing the Courage to Asked Lapsed Donors to Give

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Sometimes all you need to make a change is to see things from a new perspective. Earlier this month, that happened for me, and it resulted in success for a fundraising campaign I was organizing.

As the campaign approached an important deadline, we were still short on our break even point. It was then that something lucky happened. A new donor mentioned how eager she was to be included in the line up of published sponsors-- she had been impressed when she'd read over the list of names from last year. Her enthusiasm for our sponsors was such a welcome breath of fresh air. It moved me out of the 'hard work to raise money' frame of mind, into a space of deep appreciation for the people who recognize and support the value of our work. 

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Short Take: Variations on LYBUNT/SYBUNT

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As we move into the second half of the year, it’s a good time to start thinking about donors who have given last year, or even some year, but not yet this year. Built into the FundRaiser reports are options for LYBUNT (Last Year But Not This Year) and SYBUNT (Some Year But Not This Year). These are both great tools to determine donors who have given during your last calendar (or reporting year if it’s different) year, but not this one, and begin to extend your outreach to those individuals.

However, did you know that in our groupings options, we offer even more variations on the traditional LYBUNT/SYBUNT criteria?

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Inviting LYBUNTS to Renew Support

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Dear Kim:

What is a Lie-Bunt?  I have some pro bono consulting from this high powered direct mail and social media person and she told me we have a lot of lie-bunts we should be asking.  I already feel stupid around her and don’t want to ask her what she means.  Do you have any idea? 

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Using FundRaiser to Increase Mission Impact

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I’ve worked at FundRaiser for many years now, and for all of that time I’ve been deeply inspired by the work our customers do. Committed to a wide range of missions, the nonprofits using FundRaiser actively make a difference in our world. 

Given that sense of admiration, of course I decided to try my own hand at the fundraising part of nonprofit work. What I’ve learned is that each time I use FundRaiser to help raise funds for an organization I care about, I succeed. I also learn something new about the whole process of fundraising, and I get better for next time. That all adds up to more funds to help achieve what I’d like to see happen in the world. An example, in the first year of using FundRaiser, I learned the value of some very basic donor management practices:

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A Kind & Common Sense Approach to Donor Relations

A Kind & Common Sense Approach to Donor Relations

 

Dear Kim,

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Moving Members Up The Giving Ladder

Moving Members Up The Giving Ladder

Moving donors up the giving ladder is one of the prime reasons to keep a donor database. Here are some tips for how to prepare to ask your members to move up the giving ladder.

Creating a Reality-Based Gift Chart

Compile an A to Z listing of all current donors and lapsed donors—no more than three years (excluding those whose reason for lapsing is known).

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How A Little Bit of Donor Outreach Created Campaign Success

How A Little Bit of Donor Outreach Created Campaign Success

In June, I tried my hand at my first fundraising campaign. I started with a basic mailing to loyal donors. You can read about my beginning efforts in my blog post here.   

After I sent the letters out, I didn’t have to wait long before our first donations came in. Loyal donors replied rapidly, and it was great fun to open the envelopes and see their notes and checks. 

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LYBUNT? SYBUNT? OMG LOL


What's in an Acronym?

In Kim Klein's blog article this month, she explains what the term LYBUNT means, which is a good thing, but there is another that is used in FundRaiser we need to know, too:  SYBUNT.  SYBUNT is similar to LYBUNT, but reaches further into a lapsed donor's past.  A SYBUNT has given "Some Year But Not This".  You can find both of these terms scattered throughout FundRaiser:  in the "WHO" section of reports and mass mailings (in the "MasterFile" dropdown), the "Common Patterns" section of creating a Grouping, and elsewhere.  They are just easier ways to describe certain donor situations.

Precisely, Generally Speaking

Once you know the definitions, you may run into another situation due to the business world view that there are two distinct types of years:  calendar and fiscal (which FundRaiser calls "Reporting" year).  FundRaiser's Reporting year is, by default, set to the calendar year, but can be changed to coincide with the fiscal year your organization uses for accounting purposes.  It's changed in the Options, General, Printing menu, and requires that you set the beginning month of the yearly period you want to consider for your Reporting year.  Be aware that, if you make a change here, you will need to run the Rebuild Statistics Page Data utility (in the Utilities menu) in order to make certain all the yearly totals reflect your reporting year, and that people are able to be put properly in their LYBUNT and SYBUNT places.

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Inviting LYBUNTS to Renew Their Support

Photo of cats

Dear Kim:

What is a Lie-Bunt?  I have some pro bono consulting from this high powered direct mail and social media person and she told me we have a lot of lie-bunts we should be asking.  I already feel stupid around her and don’t want to ask her what she means.  Do you have any idea? 

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Wait a minute, while we are rendering the calendar
social media publicity materials upgrade on site training End of Year Letters donor source New Year donor attrition rate mode code upgrading donors communications Resiliency repeat donors Reporting to IRS tribute gifts letter Network for Good LYBUNTS donor advised funds development director Thanksgiving Crowdfunding Campaign lapsed donor technical support raffle ticketsales the Ask donor targeting Alternative Addresses holiday annual maintenance plan campaign Constant Contact arts legacy giving Facebook community supported gardens Facebook campaign membersip benefits custom page donor retention updates banquet auction SYBUNTS gift entry fundraising donor prospects large donations volunteers National Change of Address data conversion Company culture merge fields #GivingTuesday foundations how-to videos donor slip campaign management gift notes field nonprofit fundraising small donations general ticket sales PayPal appeal letters donor loyalty board members NCOA processing flash sales spreadsheets follow up product news Codes tax summary letters moves management training tip user interface Task List change of address updating FundRaiser Basic GoFundMe project holiday giving operational costs Tickles happiness giving levels support solicitors donor attrition vacation fundraising letters Groupings features word processor accounting software passwords tech tip Reminders mission driven Donor Portal donor engagement donor recognition training FundRaiser Hosted texting donors membership programs phoning donors holiday letters major donors how to handle auction gifts appeal donation history transparency GivingTuesday donor contact information office prospects understanding giving trends memorial giving Congratulations Snow Birds role of nonprofits major gift prospects case study correspondance grants donor preferences government grants welcome packet new version online donations donor profile budget mailing operating systems corporate sponsors pictures look and feel importing csv customer service giving history animal rescue in honor of donations customer portal increasing giving amounts add ons building donor relationships password protection new donors targeted mailings pledges overview planned giving entering auction gifts event management data entry charity golf tournaments premiums ROI email direct mail data analysis monthly giving gift acceptance policy Personalizing donor retention rate In-Kind gifts Thank You Volunteer module anonymous donors new leadership Cloud online donations volunteering new features community broadcasting advanced tab annual campaign segmenting donors thank you letters merge notes new nonprofit letter templates FundRaiser Spark grassroots campaign backing up data correspondence Importing Data donor relations alumni planning brick campaign recurring gifts reports relationship tracking donor community arts nonprofits motivation membership benefits Excel disaster relief personalizing letters spare fields endowment campaign announcements adding personal notes to letters motivation code security user spotlights capital campaign salutation

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