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FUNdraising in the Month of December

By Mary Walker, Petrus Blog Contributor


 

December is the time for the FUN part of FUNdraising! After getting the Christmas/Year-end appeal out,  grab a cup of hot chocolate, sit back, open the mail, and count up the donations! 

 

I hope you get to do lots of that, BUT there is still work to b...

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Level Up Your Nonprofit Supporter Stewardship: 5 Steps To Executing A Thank-A-Thon

By Rhen Hoehn, Director of Marketing.  This post first appeared on the Bloomerang blog.


Phone-a-thons have been a tried-and-true fundraising staple for decades. Gather volunteers, have them call a long list of donors, and have them make a solicitation. With fewer people picking up their phone for...

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What Does A Fundraiser Even Do?

That’s a great question! What do fundraisers do anyway? Meet for coffees at high-end coffee shops, wine and dine prospective donors, rounds of golf on the best golf courses around the world, etc. You name it, I’ve heard it! 

 

I think a lot of folks think fundraisers are the non-profit’s sleazy us...

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Donor-Centered Language

By Mary Hernandez, Petrus Blog Contributor


Your year-end appeal is about to get to the final proofing stage, and thankfully, there is still time to edit with a critical eye and include your donors as a key player in your messaging. 

 

Your appeal likely includes these elements:

  • Transformat...
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Rule of Thirds can Help us Visualize our Benefactors

By Mary Hernandez, Petrus Blog Contributor


What is it about a photograph that draws a person in and compels one to fixate on the point of interest long enough to find himself somewhere in that captured landscape?

 

My photographer friend Amy explained the Rule of Thirds in photography - which...

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The Infinite Game of Fundraising

By Andrew N. Robison, President of Petrus Development and Jason Shanks, President of OSV Institute


“A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.” - Henry Ford 

Toss the ball. Grab some jacks. Move your piece here and chute down the ladder. Have you ever considered the fact that ...

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Donor Centric Fundraising - Interview with Tom Ahern

In this episode, Andrew visits with Tom Ahern, communications guru and author of six books, including How to Write Fundraising Materials that Raise More Money and What Your Donors Want and Why.  They discuss a variety of topics and strategies, all in the world of communications. Tom is a huge advoca...

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The Heart of Development

 This post is an excerpt from Episode 5 of The Petrus Development Show.


Recently, I sat down with Peter de Keratry, Co-Founder of Petrus Development for a conversation for The Petrus Development Show. We covered a variety of topics, but one topic we covered was what development officers truly nee...

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The Donor Visit that Taught me 3 Basic Principles of Development

By Andrew Robison,  President of Petrus Development 


This post is an excerpt from the Fundraising Focus series presented by the Catholic Campus Ministry Association (CCMA).

Many years ago, I was sitting in a donor meeting with my boss at the time, Greg Gorman, and a major benefactor for St. Ma...

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Seven Books for Any Catholic Fundraiser’s 2025 Christmas List

By Andrew Robison, President of Petrus Development


"A capacity, and taste, for reading gives access to whatever has already been discovered by others.” – Abraham Lincoln

 

Every year as we get close to Christmas, my family always asks me to give them my Christmas list. Not really being one to...

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