The master of asking properly and using words wisely.

This list came about when a US journal for fundraisers asked me to imagine I’d just started in a new job, with a clean slate and sufficient resources to set about transforming the donor development function. It’s included here to help anyone in an even vaguely similar situation. And to help me set out my philosophy of donor development.

My agency, Yellowfin Direct Marketing, works mainly with fundraising professionals in development, alumni relations, and marketing. Though classed together as a single group, the differences between these institutions – from small, private colleges to large, public universities – can be vast. This, along with the differences between the various constituents of these institutions – alumni versus parents versus faculty and staff versus community – creates many challenges and opportunities for which we have provided and tested solutions.

Here are ten jaw-dropping demographic trends, according to Cheryl Russell, editorial director of New Strategist Publications, in American Consumers Newsletter, 8 January 2008, that make us different from the way we used to be – and what they tell us about our future. While the statistics may be based on Americans, the trends are fairly universal in developed societies.

The final part of a three-part analysis of the benefits of annual supporter surveys.

The second part of a three-part analysis of the benefits of annual supporter surveys.

Once upon a time I wrote a letter for the president of a nonprofit organisation and I thought it turned out rather well – that is, until she sent me this crisp critique: ‘I really don’t like this letter because it just doesn’t sound like me.’ Sigh. How many times have I heard that? So, dutifully, I called her and asked: ‘What do you sound like?’ She paused.