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? 

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

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