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Thoughts from the Group
Explore the DRG blog for fresh ideas on all things donor experience, leadership, team building, donor relations, and change management.
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The Art of the First Impression: Elevating New Donor Engagement
We encounter many firsts throughout our lives, and these experiences often shape our future decisions. For example, when you buy your...

The Ask That's Always Appropriate: Creating Donor Engagement Opportunities At Scale
When I was a young fundraiser starting out in major gifts (a story for another day…), I was paired with a much more seasoned fundraiser...

Bridging the Gap Between Numbers and Narratives in Stewardship
As part of the stewardship process donors expect many things from us. Chief among these things is demonstrating the impact of the...

Live from the Red Carpet: 5 Hot Email Trends for 2025
Awards season is in full swing, and while we might not have red-carpet hosts like Giuliana Rancic or Laverne Cox to guide us through the...

Beyond Giving Tuesday: Building Lasting Connections with First-Time Donors
Giving Tuesday can be a whirlwind of support, particularly from new donors who resonate with your cause. But after the rush, it’s...

4 Key Tips for Donor Survey Success
At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, it’s hard to imagine a more powerful tool than a custom survey of your organization’s donor base. I...

Change Is Coming: How To Build Trust With Donors in Uncertain Times
The only thing constant is change . Greek philosophers have given the world much to ponder over a few thousand years, but this...

From Auto-Pilot to Excellence: A Fresh Look at Donor Reporting - Part 2
Designing Your Report Process, Calendar, and Expand Reporting Welcome back! In our previous post, we discussed how to evaluate your...

Crafting the Perfect Donor Welcome: How to Create an Engaging and Inspiring Email Series
A donor has chosen your organization to receive a gift—Congratulations! Now, what’s next? Beyond sending a prompt tax receipt and...

Dear Google, Here's Why Your Commercial Missed the Mark
Dear Google, You got it wrong. I love the Olympics. I’ve been watching it nonstop on the Peacock app. But far too frequently, I’ve had to...

5 Essential Segmentation Strategies for Nonprofits to Connect with the Perfect Audience
One of the more fascinating—and often truly baffling—aspects of the donor experience is what happens to our data after we make a gift....

The Art of Impact Reporting: A Guide to Inspiring Donors
Welcome, fundraising and donor relations enthusiasts! Today, we embark on a thrilling journey into the heart of nonprofit...

How to Engage, Inspire, and Retain First Time Donors (and we have examples!)
First-time donors give for many reasons, and donor retention looks different for each donor behavior type. First-time gifts can come from...

Behavior-Based Donor Relations: Fad or Phenomenon?
Have you ever gotten so deep into a subject that you can’t recall what brought you there in the first place? The concept of...

5 Benefits of Using a Digital Impact Report to Engage Your Nonprofit Audience
Your impact report should be exciting, not boring. After all, this is where your nonprofit takes center stage, showing your target...

5 Ways to Turn Every Communication into a Moment of Gratitude
Thank You. For the well-mannered among us, this simple expression of appreciation is as second nature as “Hello!” “How are ya?” and...

Unlock the Ultimate Donor Matrix: A Step-By-Step Guide
Do you have a steady stream of new donors annually, but find yourself having a hard time retaining those donors year after year? You are...

The Four Pillars of Donor Communications
I think by now y’all know I love a good four pillars—I've got the Four Pillars of Donor Relations, The Four Pillars of the Donor...

How to Craft the Ultimate Donor Thank You Email
Do you ever sit down to write a donor thank you message and poof—all the good ideas you had are gone and you're left frozen, staring at a...

8 Essential Best Practices for Donor Acknowledgments
Our Donor Relations Group (DRG) team regularly speaks and writes about the importance of acknowledgments and the importance of an...
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