Lautman Thoughts
Lautman Thoughts
An Ode to Sharing
We’ve all heard the saying, it’s better to give than receive. As fundraisers, we’d be hard-pressed to argue with that sentiment. And nowhere is that more true than when we...
Lautman Thoughts
The Great Pumpkin and the Myth of the Unsolicited Donation
With Halloween just around the corner, one of my favorite holiday specials “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” will be on television once again. If you haven’t watched it in...
Lautman Thoughts
Paradox of Choice
I recently received an appeal in the mail from an organization I support. The letter and case for support were strong, but when I got to the reply form, my...
Lautman Thoughts
#Bridge15 Take-aways
With over half our staffers attending the 2015 DMAW and AFP Bridge to Integrated Marketing Conference this past week, Lautman Maska Neill & Company came away with an assortment of...
Lautman Thoughts
Lady Gaga and the Importance of Relationships
What I Learned at Fundraising Day in New York If you were at the AFP’s Fundraising Day in New York last week, you heard the incomparable Emily Rafferty (president of...
Lautman Thoughts
Back to the (Digital) Drawing Board
Why Mobile Optimization Matters We hear a lot these days about the importance of subject lines, and other techniques to get your fundraising emails to work harder. We’ve also been...
Lautman Thoughts
Understanding Donors — The Old Fashioned Way
As direct response fundraisers, we spend a great deal of time trying to understand our donors and potential donors. We study retention rates and website abandonment stats. We do donor...
Lautman Thoughts
My Four Fundraising Resolutions for 2015
New Year’s Resolutions – we’ve all made them. Exercise more. Eat better. Complain less. The goal is always the same: to live a better life. But what about fundraising? What...
Lautman Thoughts
The Importance of Being Earnest
Be Authentic: Don’t Trip Yourself Up Worrying About Being “Original” As fundraisers, we often groan when we approach our umpteenth year-end appeal or annual renewal mailing. We feel we have...
Lautman Thoughts
AMMC Conference Teaches This Old Dog New Tricks
Five Take-aways to Raise More Money and Get More Members 250 museum membership professionals gathered in St. Louis the week of October 20th with one goal: to give us some...