A few years ago I attended a fundraising conference and had the chance to hear Stephen Pidgeon of the direct marketing agency Tangible Response speak and my life was changed forever when it came to writing appeals.

You did it. You crafted a compelling appeal with a great story that is sure to inspire action from your recipients. But you are no novice. You know that the wrong ask amount can cause even a great appeal to fall flat and donation response rates to plummet. Situations where major donors are asked for a mere $25 are the stuff of nightmares. And asking for too much from a given donor can inspire eye rolls and opt outs faster than you can click a mouse.

In this day and age, you need to personalize even this part of the fundraising process. But how?

Return on Investment, Acquisition Rate, Conversion Rate, oh my! These and so many more fundraising statistics are helpful in their own way, dear nonprofit fundraiser, but so many can tempt one into simple snapshots of the past, leading to short-sightedness in the future. How can one avoid the temptation of the myopic and rejoice in clear-eyed, future-focused fundraising success?

Lifetime Value. (Cue angel choir).

Lifetime Value (LTV) transforms all of the donations you receive and the money spent acquiring them into a single, powerful number. That number can predict the future and, more importantly, grant the foresight to inform strategy so you can change that future, and raise more money at less cost to do more good.

But how does Lifetime Value help inform, and how do you find that powerful number for your own organization?

Charitable donations are at record highs in the United States these days. The trend started in 2015, strengthened in 2016, and hit fever pitch with the election and inauguration. Sustainability of this historically high giving is in doubt, however, and savvy nonprofits are strategizing how they can both capture the moment and do so in a way that sustains them through uncertain times ahead.

Chief among these strategies should be a laser focus on amping up monthly donations that can keep on keeping on even if times get tough. But how?

2017 is quickly flying by! Are you finding your nonprofit in need of a solid year-round fundraising strategy to ensure that your organization meets its mission? Never fear! It's not too late to plan for making this year your best fundraising year yet!

In this webinar given on January 12, 2017, veteran fundraiser and Professional Services Manager, Marisa Taylor, shares tips, tricks, and ideas for building your nonprofit fundraising calendar to transform planning into reality so you can engage and mobilize donors.