Thursday July 23- Acquisition madness

Hi !

Hedley Lamarr: What’s cookin this week 

In this week’s enews…

• What the heck is wrong with NPO leaders?!

• Do the math. See? More money raised!

• Challenge: What makes your organization unique or special?

• MUST READ: Signs your Board is getting in its own way

• Potential waste of a LOT of peanut butter

• P.S. Excellent social engagement (not so great the topic)

The solution to last week’s Triple E (enews easter egg): Yoga poses.

There are times when I want to just bang my head into a wall and scream into the void. Page 23 of a report I read was one of those times.

Today I’m gonna get a little ranty because we KNOW what works and yet leadership continues to do just the opposite. Einstein’s definition of insanity applies to this week’s edition.

From last week’s poll: Almost 50% of you answered that as things stand today, you will fall short of hitting your 2026 fundraising goals.

That sucks.

Let’s dive into what you and nonprofit leaders should be doing between now and December 31 to not only hit but surpass your fundraising goals.

Bart: What the $%!# are leaders thinking?!

Like you, I do my best to stay on top of the latest sector data. One of the organizations I follow- Center for Effective Philanthropy- published their annual State of Nonprofits 2026 study and analysis. They survey nonprofit leaders to get a feeling for what’s going on out there.

Lots of great data and info in their study. One chart specifically caught my eye. Here’s the chart from page 23:

The first thought I had? FFS!

Engaging existing funders/donors SHOULD BE 100%, not 77%! And that should be the case whether you’re dealing with a financially challenging climate or not!

Sorry but needed to get that off my chest.

I’ve said it many times before: Acquisition costs 5-10 times MORE than retention. So if you’re having money flow problems, it makes sense to steward and engage existing donors rather than spend all that money, time and effort on finding new donors (first time donor retention is only 18%- you’re wasting tons of money prioritizing acquisition over retention!!!).

Look: The sector’s average retention rate is only 40%. So if you’re always losing 6 out of 10 donors year over year, I understand why you have to prioritize acquisition (look at the above chart: More leaders chose acquisition over retention!)

Heck, there’s a part of me that gets it: You’re hoping to find MacKenzie Scott and she’ll drop $50,000,000 in your bank account. So of course it “makes sense” to prioritize acquisition.

Benefit of the doubt: Maybe the leaders in this survey have high retention rates and they need to open new avenues to bring in supporters. If that’s the case, fine.

But let’s not kid ourselves. Right now it’s VERY tough out there. Federal funding is down. Fewer people are donating. Foundations are inundated with applications.

Which is why for the next 161 days (and beyond that obvs), you and your team should put an emphasis on engaging, stewarding and relationship building with existing donors.

But hey, don’t take it from me. Time for a quick math exercise.

The Waco Kid: Do the math!

🧮 I’d like you to take ten minutes TODAY and do the below math.

1. What is your current donor retention rate? To calculate: Number of returning donors in 2025 / total number of donors in previous year (2024) x 100 =

2. What is your average donation amount?

3. How much more would you have brought in if you had raised your retention rate in 2025 by 5%? 10%? (Both of which are VERY attainable with a good fundraising strategy that plans out stewardship and engagement)

Now please do the following calculations with your first time donors from 2024.

1. What was your first-time donor retention rate in 2025? (What percent of first timers in 2024 gave again in 2025)

2. Wat was their average donation?

3. How much more would you have raised in 2025 if you had raised the first-time donor retention rate by 5%? 10% (Again, VERY attainable!)

Look at your answer to both number three’s. It’s not $100. My guess is it’s way more. And it would be even higher for each donor you retain.

See my point?

From the CEP chart, I’m ok with reducing programs/services. Yes it’s painful but sometimes you have to go “back to the basics” before expanding.

I’m not a fan of reducing salaries or reducing staff. That’s a knee jerk reaction which simply puts a much larger burden on the staff left behind and it means they’re gonna start looking for other work which may compensate better.

I’m a former CEO who was a leader during the global financial crisis of 2007-2009. I get the pain points all of you are facing.

It’s not magic. When you properly thank, engage, steward and communicate with supporters, they will stick around longer. That means you spend less and raise more. Win win.

Only 161 days left till year’s end. It’s coming. Put an emphasis on retention this year and you won’t just hit but you’ll surpass your fundraising goals.

P.S. If you need help with retention, hitting and surpassing your goals, reply to this email. I’m ready to help your organization grow and thrive!

Lili Von Shtupp: What makes you unique?

I have an exercise for you.

I read a lot of nonprofit websites. I subscribe to many organization enewsletters. That might include yours! (I love reading about the good work you’re doing out there!)

When I work with organizations, I ask them what makes them unique and different. Often the response includes “we’re the only ones doing X.” But is that true?

From a donor’s perspective- the one that matters!- they may see you as similar to three other local organizations. Which means differentiating yourself from them and making that clear to your audience is crucial for fundraising and marketing success.

So today I’m giving you an exercise:

Reply to this email and in 15 words or less, I challenge you to tell me how your organization is different/unique/special.

This thought exercise is meant to help you and your team sharpen your pitch and allow people in the community to better understand what you do, who you help, how you help them, why it’s needed.

But BEFORE you hit reply, take a few minutes and consider things through the eyes of a donor. Are you really unique or do they view you as similar to other local organizations?

I worked with an organization on their fundraising strategy. They claimed to be unique and the “only ones” doing what they do. But once I dove in and spoke to others in the community, that changed. Which meant they had to do a better job of explaining the differences.

Go ahead. Give it a try. I’d love to see what you come up with!

📌 Further reading: Saying you’re unique gets you only halfway there 

Mongo: A little of this and that

In this section I’m going to share with you great content I’ve picked out that you can learn from.

1. 15 signs your Board is getting in its own way. MUST READ!!! (LinkedIn)

2. 50 nonprofit social media content ideas (Blackbaud)

3. Effectively utilizing internal links on your website (Mod Lab)

4. How to turn program data into a story people wanna read (Nonprofit Learning Lab)

5. 10 annual report mistakes to avoid (Nonprofit Tech For Good) The biggest mistake not mentioned in the post? Do NOT call it an annual report! Call it an Impact or Gratitude Report and make sure it’s donor centric.

Governer William J. Le Petomane: But can you eat it?

With my dad’s recent passing, I understand what it means to do things in his honor and to remember him.

But I’m wondering if a museum in Rotterdam has taken a tribute to a former artist a little too far. Or maybe I just don’t get art and why wou’d waste so much peanut butter.

Have a great weekend!

P.S. This is how you do social! Engage with others in a clever and funny way. Make sure your engagement is relevant to your mission/work. Chime in when something in the news is happening that you have an expertise on.

And of course, I hope none of you are sick with what’s going around.