Our new puppy, Charlie. A puppy for your happy fundraising summer thoughts. This is the 173rd Fundraising Writing Newsletter. If you find value here, please tell a fundraising friend. (Your fundraising friend can subscribe here for free.) Wednesday, June 25, 2025 Hi Reader, Summer snuck up on me. So did this puppy. Meet Charlie! He's a cavapoo. We've had him for 1 week, and already we are head over heels. After Brett and I lost our dear Pepe and Daisy within 12 months of each other last year,...
20 days ago • 2 min read
This is off the wall! This is the 172nd Fundraising Writing Newsletter. If you find value here, please tell a fundraising friend. (Your fundraising friend can subscribe here for free.) Wednesday, June 11, 2025 Hi Reader, Brett here: I'm the kind of guy who counts on forgetting. (I know me.) That's why two of my best buds are Google Calendar and iPhone alarms. Best bud #1: Best bud #2: Maybe you're not like me, your memory is good as gold, and you are fond of saying "checklist schmecklist",...
about 1 month ago • 6 min read
Photo Credit: The Fundraising Summer School The professor holds forth, and I am all ears! This is the 171st Fundraising Writing Newsletter. If you find value here, please tell a fundraising friend. (Your fundraising friend can subscribe here for free.) Wednesday, June 4, 2025 Hi Reader, One of the highlights of my recent trip to the UK and Ireland was meeting Professor Russell James in person. Brett and I had met him virtually when he was the special guest for a couple of Tom Ahern webinars...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
A fundraising golden rule: know and care for your donors. This is the 170th Fundraising Writing Newsletter. If you find value here, please tell a fundraising friend. (Your fundraising friend can subscribe here for free.) Wednesday, May 28, 2025 Hi Reader, Brett and I just returned from the UK and Ireland, where I presented at The Fundraising Summer School in Dublin. It was the trip of a lifetime. I'm so happy and grateful that we got to do it. My favorite destination was Bath, England, where...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Life is better when shared. This is the 169th Fundraising Writing Newsletter. If you find value here, please tell a fundraising friend. (Your fundraising friend can subscribe here for free.) Wednesday, May 7, 2025 Hi Reader, On Saturday, Brett and I will be headed to the UK. We're so excited. It's my first time out of North America, and Brett's first time returning to Bath, England, since he studied there for a semester in 1992. We will end our trip in Dublin, where I'll be presenting with...
2 months ago • 3 min read
It seems we're not ready for this. We should be. This is the 168th Fundraising Writing Newsletter. If you find value here, please tell a fundraising friend. (Your fundraising friend can subscribe here for free.) Tuesday, April 29, 2025 Hi Reader, Brett here: 11 months ago, I wrote here about my prediction of an AI backlash soon — within 1 year, I said. Though we're not quite at a full year, I think I can safely say my prediction deserves a grade of D: barely passing. There's a lot of evidence...
3 months ago • 4 min read
Interrupting is impolite. Interrupting can be necessary. This is the 167th Fundraising Writing Newsletter. If you find value here, please tell a fundraising friend. (Your fundraising friend can subscribe here for free.) In this issue: ✅ Fundraisers should— MOO, interrupting cow! 🐮 ✅ Hot Off the Presses! ✅ Randomly yours: to inspire and recharge you Tuesday, April 22, 2025 Hi Reader, I don't know about you but I'm old enough to remember "children should be seen, not heard." Those days are...
3 months ago • 2 min read
I love love! This is the 166th Fundraising Writing Newsletter. If you find value here, please tell a fundraising friend. (Your fundraising friend can subscribe here for free.) In this issue: ✅ In life and fundraising, love needs honesty. ✅ Randomly yours: to inspire and recharge you Wednesday, April 9, 2025 Hi Reader, 36 years ago, Brett and I had been dating for 2 months when he wrote me this letter. Two things: 1.) I love this letter so much that I recently framed it. I keep it propped up...
3 months ago • 3 min read
This week's newsletter is courtesy of the Department of Choreography and Merriment. This is the 165th Fundraising Writing Newsletter. If you find value here, please tell a fundraising friend. (Your fundraising friend can subscribe here for free.) In this issue: ✅ Has your fundraising brain been "Severed"? (I hope not!) ✅ TOMORROW (1 day only this year) ✅ Randomly yours: to inspire and recharge you Wednesday, March 26, 2025 Hi Reader, No worries, no spoilers — And you don't need to know a...
4 months ago • 4 min read