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Reaching donors when you don’t have an “Aunt Bertha”

I had the pleasure of attending the DMAW Annual Meeting and hearing from keynote speaker Nancy Harhut about how to hack the brains of donors, members, and other humans. It was fascinating! Nancy shared a story about where her interest in fundraising began – at age eight when, incentivized by a banana-seat bike prize, she…

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A mail donor and a digital donor walked into a bar…

If your first reaction to the title above is, “I don’t get it, is that a joke?”, then you likely were not among fortunate, dedicated marketers, who braved the region’s first snow dusting of the season to attend this month’s DMAW Lunch and Learn, “Digital First: Why Translating DM Content Just Won’t Cut It!” While…

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Key Takeaways – National Association of Charitable Gift Planners 2018 Conference

Last month, I attended the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners Conference in Las Vegas. This is the premier national gift planning conference, with three days packed with presentations on all aspects of planned giving. I’ve been happy to see an increasing number of panels and discussions focused on marketing – the main driver for…

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Online Fundraising Best Practices for Nonprofits

Best Practices and Bold Innovations: Recapping the Best of Bridge Lunch and Learn If you missed out on the 2018 Bridge Conference like me, I hope you made a point to attend DMAW’s Best of Bridge Lunch and Learn on October 18th! At this Lunch and Learn, one of the most popular sessions from this…

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Gain & Sustain: Tips for Long-term Growth and Success in Nonprofit Monthly Giving Programs

DMAW Sustainer Day, September 2018, was an opportunity to listen to experts from some of the most respected and relevant nonprofits in the U.S., including ALSAC/St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, Humane Society of the United States, and The Nature Conservancy, answer questions and share success stories about monthly giving programs. The day was fast-paced, fun…

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Building a Zipper to the Moon

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I find group brainstorming sessions a bit intimidating. I mean, the creative team is there. And they always have the best ideas, right? And yet, here I was, attending a session on brainstorming, led by two top-tier creatives, Prudence Bovee and Steve Fleshman. The tables were set for…

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Applying Digital Tactics to Membership Organizations and Components

With a lengthy to-do list and planning for our large annual governance conference, the thought of missing a full day of work is quite daunting. But the time spent at the DMAW Digital Day Forum was so worthwhile! To my pleasure, I was able to immediately start applying some of the digital tips and tricks…

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We entered muggles. We left magicians.

I think it was Dumbledore who once said, “Magic is best taught in the morning.” In truth, I’m not sure he said this. But morning was the perfect time for DMAW to host “Mid-level Magic”—taught by marketing masters Lisa Maska, CFRE and Jillian Leslie of Lautman Maska Neill & Company. Lisa and Jillian opened this…

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Production Strategies Forum

Direct Mail production is complex and ever-evolving. With the introduction of new technologies and techniques, it’s more important than ever to understand the many options and applications available to you. Our Production Strategies Forum on June 19th is designed to guide you in that effort. We have gathered some of the industry’s best and most…

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What the Data Tells Us: Biggest Takeaways from 2017

Why would a college professor drive 3 hours each way through DC traffic for a DMAW Wake Up & Learn session? HINT: The answer is a 4-letter word… DATA! That’s right—you say analytics, and I say, “YES, please!” Carol Rhine’s insightful Target Analytics presentation was definitely worth the trip from Salisbury, MD. I’m a firm…

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