FREE "Ask Without Fear!" Teleclass

Since this month marks the 1 year anniversary of the publication of "Ask Without Fear!", I'm deciding to have a party!

On April 28 at 12 noon Eastern Time, I'll be offering a free teleclass on fundraising in today's economy.

To join the call, you just need to go to the registration page.

The call costs $37 but you can get in free if you know the "password": the fourth word of the second paragraph on page 50 of "Ask Without Fear!" (In the ebook, page 50 is "52 of 98.) If you have the Kindle version, it's the fourth word at location 1047.)

This call will be part class, part roundtable. I'll be sharing some strategies that are working but there will be plenty of time for group coaching as well!

We'd love to have you join us! Just go to the registration page.

This call will be recorded and available for purchase afterwards.

Fundraising Coach in Indiana

I'm pleased to announce I'll be at the Indiana Grantmakers Alliance annual conference in Indianapolis next week. I love this year's theme: "Building Through Change: Inspiring Leadership."

I'll be teaching community foundations how to help their donors become "donor evangelists." There are lots of other terrific sessions. I'm particularly interested in hearing the sessions on nonprofit storytelling!

Call the folks at the Indiana Grantmakers Alliance if you're interested in registering for the conference. My session is first thing on Friday morning.

If you're in the area, I'm having a tweetup at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, April 24, in the lobby of the Renaissance, Indianapolis North in Carmel with @drthomasho and @AmyStarks. Would love to have you join us!

Free Twitter Success seminar podcast

Last week, I had the privilege of being a panelist on a Twitter seminar.

What a spirited conversation! We had people from all over the United States and one coach from the UK.

The link for this free recording is available at:
http://helpinghandsforcoaches.com/2009/03/31/twitter-success/

Great fundraising advice from Ted Hart of People to People Fundraising

Yesterday, I was honored to interview Ted Hart, creator of People to People Fundraising, p2pfundraising.org.

In this hour long interview, Ted covers a variety of topics, including:

• the importance of the CFRE
  
• why he says 21st fundraising is going back to its orgins
  
• why it's often the staff's fault that our board members aren't good at fundraising
  
• some common website mistakes he sees nonprofits around the world making
  
• and why social media is a great nonprofit tool, but a lousy place for nonprofits to start
  

This is one interview you have to hear. You'll learn things that can help your nonprofit work today, including the one thing Ted recommends you do now!

To hear the full conversation, go to the "Ask Without Fear!" Radio Show at http://fundraisingcoach.com/radio-show/

Blackbaud Delivers

I'm thrilled to be one of the speakers lined up for Blackbaud Delivers! I'm pretty sure I'm the only non-Blackbaud employee on the roster!

Here's what their site says:

Blackbaud Delivers

If you’re worried about the key challenges your organization faces daily…you aren’t alone. Everyone has unique worries, and nonprofits are working harder than ever to bring in and stretch every dollar. But there are specific steps you can take right now to protect your organization’s future — and we’re here to show you exactly how.

What is Blackbaud Delivers™?
At Blackbaud, along with our corporate and nonprofit partners, we speak with hundreds of nonprofit executives every day about the issues that worry you most. And we have knowledge experts, varied by field of expertise, who can help you overcome just about anything you throw their way. In 2008, Blackbaud Delivers began its mission to offer practical nonprofit management seminars presented by some of our best experts in a variety of major cities and via the Internet. View the 2008 Blackbaud Delivers archive of events and content.

The theme of the 2009 Blackbaud Delivers program is “Worry Less,” and all seminars will be geared toward helping you reduce your worries and put the practical steps you need in place to keep your fundraising on the upswing this year.

How do the seminars work?
Each regional seminar lasts a half-day, so you’re only away from your desk a few hours. And each web seminar lasts 90 minutes. Plus, the best part is that Blackbaud Delivers events are absolutely free for you to attend! Simply sign up to attend any of our events.

All Blackbaud Delivers events are absolutely free for you to attend. Simply sign up to attend any of our events.

Seminar Locations & Dates: (Check the website for the dates of the webinars.)
Houston, TX | 02/11/09
Starting a Planned Giving Program
Katherine Swank J.D., Consultant, Target Analytics

Atlanta, GA | 02/11/09
Building an Action Plan to Out-Hustle the Economy
Samantha Cohen, Consultant, Blackbaud

Vancouver, BC | 02/17/09
The Changing Nature of Online Fundraising
Steve MacLaughlin, Director of Internet Solutions, Blackbaud

New York, NY | 03/11/09
The Right Message, The Right People, The Right Time: Making the Most of Email Marketing
Allison Van Diest, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Blackbaud

Boston, MA | 04/22/09
Vote & Register

Ottawa, ON | 05/12/09
Vote & Register

Denver, CO | 05/13/09
Vote & Register

Chicago, IL | 06/09/09
Vote & Register

Arlington, VA | 07/23/09
Vote & Register

2 New Fundraising Seminars for 2009

2009 looks like it'll probably be a challenging year. Since many are having their education budgets cut, I've put several tools up on the web. These are packed with incredible content and are conveniently available for you to learn without leaving your office!

1. Who's Telling Your Story? Storytelling is the best way to non-threateningly market your nonprofit, prospect for new donors, and reinfoce your culture with your staff. Some of the things you'll learn about nonprofit storytelling include:
   
   
   
   • a 2500 year old method to structure an effective story that still works today
   
   
   • 5 categories of stories to use to reinforce your organizational culture
   
   
   • Why stories of times you've failed are as important as stories of times you've succeeded
   
   
   • A 3-step tool to help you tell stories in ways that board members, volunteers, and staff will find themselves repeating them - singing from the same sheet
   
   The MP3 is $97. The flash video with the PowerPoint slides is $127. Or you can have both for the same price: $127! To see the full list, check out Who's Telling Your Story? at http://fundraisingcoach.com/storytelling/
   
   
2. Ask Without Fear! EXPANDED! I kept the book intentionally slim so others would feel motivated to get out and ask people for money. But people keep asking me to expand on the book. Now, in 4 1/2 hours of teaching spread out over three webinars, I have the luxury to go into much more detail.
   
   So much is covered, it's impractical to list it all here. So go to Ask Without Fear! EXPANDED fundraising seminar to see the more than 90 items listed!
   
   Each webinar is available for $197 individually. Or you can get all three and a free copy of a workbook to help you put this strategies into practice for only $497. Much cheaper than going to a conference!
   

Be sure to check out all the fundraising seminars and webinars at the Fundraising Coach Store! You can still get great ideas for fundraising, even if your organization doesn't want you traveling to conferences!

"Ask Without Fear!" featured in The Rotarian

 

Marc and his fundraising book are both featured in the January issue of The Rotarian, a magazine that goes to 500,000 Rotarians in North America.

Part of the article includes:

People intimidated by the idea of fundraising, Pitman says, should keep in mind that the exciting part is what the fundraising leads to. “There are two dangers for nonprofits,” he says. “One is that they go down the road of not funding their mission, and then they can’t accomplish anything and they fall apart. The other is that they become this fundraising machine and get so good at fundraising that they forget their mission.”

Read the entire article at The Rotarian's website.

Double listing for "Fundraising Seminar" on first page of Google

Last week, I watched a video improving traffic to your site from StomperNet. They gave ideas on how to optimize your site to help people more easily find you in web searches.

Wednesday night, I put these tips in place for my fundraising seminar website. By this morning (Friday), it was on the first page on Google for the the search term "fundraising seminar"!

If you're new to SEO, I'd suggest checking out the many free webinars at Stomper Universe.

As for me, I'm going to be seeing out to get my fundraising seminar page to be one of those two listings! :)

Hear great tips on recruiting volunteers from VolunteerMatch's Greg Baldwin

Today's Ask Without Fear! Radio Show conversation with Greg Baldwin, President of VolunteerMatch.org was amazing!

In our hour together, he shared thoughts on:

• corporate philanthropy
  
• making experiences meaningful for volunteers on their terms
  
• how different age groups approach volunteering
  
• and his conversations last week with President Barak Obama's transition team.
  

Greg has a terrific ability to shape ideas and help people re-imagine the possibilities of their mission.

You can listen to the show by going to:

• the Ask Without Fear! Radio Show page at FundraisingCoach.com or
  
• the Ask Without Fear! Radio Show page on BlogTalk.com
  

This is a show you do not want to miss!

FundraisingCoach.com listed in Top 10

Roger Carr listed the Fundraising Coach blog as one of the Top 10 Fundraising Blogs on Blogs.com!

Quite an honor. And be sure to check out Roger's blog Every Day Giving.

Greg Baldwin, founder of VolunteerMatch.org, on the Ask Without Fear! Radio Show

I am pleased to announce that Greg Baldwin, founder of VolunteerMatch.org will be my guest Tuesday on the Ask Without Fear Radio Show!

Join us as we talk about volunteering, something that will become increasingly important as donors feel the economic slow down, and creative ideas on how to fundraise for a nonprofit that wants to do for volunteering what eBay did for yardsales. Click on BlogTalkRadio.com at 11 a.m. Tuesday, November 25 to join in the fun. This is a LIVE show so be prompt!

You can listen be either:

1. going to: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/marcapitman or


2. calling the calling (347) 996-5931.

The show is free but if you choose to call, your telephone company will charge the same long distance charges that you'd pay to call your Aunt Ethel in NYC. I hope you can listen in!

Feel free to send me any questions you have for Greg by simply replying to this email.

The show will be recorded so you can listen to it anytime you want. The link will also be available at:
http://fundraisingcoach.com/radio-show/

AWF on the shelf at Borders

Wednesday, I signed more copies of Ask Without Fear! at the Border's in Bangor, ME. That's why they've got those nifty "autographed copy" stickers in the corner!

Here are some pictures of them right smack in the middle of the management section! As you can see, it's in very good company!