Withisms from Lori

Ella Scarpone, age 6, Summer 2012

It is August 1 and there is one more month of summer left to implement some of the great tips I found in two posts this week. I've also got a reminder from my blog archives of a post I wrote about summer fundraising.

I encourage you and your team to spend time before the busyness of the fall fundraising season to do some planning so your fall fundraising season is an “off the charts success!”

From my blog archives Development Doesn’t Take a Summer Vacation

1. Maintain a monthly schedule of donor thank you calls.
2. Stay in touch with supporters using short, 250 words or less email updates with stories or quotes from clients.
3. Make a phone call to personally invite key supporters to participate in a summer event like a client picnic or graduation ceremony.
4. Have some of your clients draft hand-written thank you notes to a select group of supporters.

Here’s an excerpt from Five Tips for Ramping Up Your Summer Fundraising by Pamela Grow

1. Reanimate your story-gathering.
2. Research prospective foundation/corporate support.
3. Spend time with some of your monthly donors & find out why they give.
4. Pick the brains of fundraising professionals for “outside-the-box” strategies.
5. Develop your social media game plan.

A Fundraising Checklist: Should You Consider “Summer Fundraising?” by Patrice Simonnet found on the Men in Black presents 101FUNDRAISING Blog includes these short lists:

• 3 things you have to be doing during the summer
• 3 things you should be doing during the summer
• 1 thing you COULD be doing this summer

What else can you be doing? Let me know how you are making the most of your summer!