If Your Nonprofit’s Donations Were a Dollar, 75 cents of it would be…

from individuals. So focusing on your individual giving plan, not just grants or not just events, is the way to go. Specifically major gifts.

These are two new charts from GivingUSA about 2011 giving. Religion, as usual, takes the lion’s share of giving. And why do you think that is?

They ask every week!

Could you ask every week?

No, not in email, your donors would get sick of it.

Not in direct mail, you can’t afford it.

Not in events, that would just be exhausting.

No, you need to be having one on one meetings with your donors.

You need to be talking to them every week, not necessarily inviting them to events, but certainly giving them multiple opportunities to get involved with you.