Fundraising 101:
the good stuff, just for you.
Rachel believes every fundraiser deserves access to good training. Check out her own guides – plus the resources she personally recommends.
Free, practical, and ready to use.
Downloadable Guides
Fundraising 101 from your Fundraising BFF!
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23 Ways to Shower Your Donors with Love
Want to keep your donors loyal for life? Here's your guide!
This handy tip sheet is loaded with 23 easy and convenient ways to make your donors feel loved and appreciated.
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The Do's and Don'ts of Getting Boards to Fundraise
When it comes to getting board members engaged in fundraising there are some very clear Do’s and equally important – the Don’ts! Use this cheat sheet and the bonus sample board member engagement form to set your board up for fundraising success!
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Discovery Guide
Every moment with your donors is a precious commodity. Learn how to make the most of your time with them with this helpful discovery guide.
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Get the Visit, Nail the Ask!
People worry the most about asking for the gift but the hardest part is just getting the visit. The good news? If you can get a visit with a donor you’ve got an 85% chance they’ll make the gift. Get 10 tips to get your foot in the door plus bonus scripts to make the ask!
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Makeover my Board!
Recruiting and managing a leadership team made of just volunteers is a lot of hard work! “Makeover My Board” is loaded with tips for recruitment, onboarding, managing up and even how to create graceful exits for board members who need to go.
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Stewardship Plan
Donors have come to expect a level of personal connection with every interaction they have with your organization. How will you meet their needs? Discover how to create business rules that retain and upgrade donors.
Get emails that make you a better fundraiser
(and might make you snort-laugh coffee through your nose)
The newsletter delivers practical fundraising ideas you can actually use! But here’s the unexpected part: it’s also ridiculously entertaining.
Thousands of fundraisers read it to get better at their jobs.
They stay because it’s comic relief.
The good word about town is...
“Rachel has the magic touch: she turns relatable life stories into fundraising gold.🥇 Her emails are the perfect mix of ‘I feel seen’ and ‘Here is exactly how to fix this.’ It’s the most entertaining (and useful!) resource in my inbox.”
“Rachel Muir’s e-news is an “always open.” Even if it didn’t teach me useful things, it’s LOL funny.
To quote: “I tried cleaning in roller skates once. I landed flat on my ass in minutes.”
Try it. It’s free. Rated ND: Not Dull.”
Become a better fundraiser and laugh while doing it:
Meet Rachel
Your fundraising BFF
Rachel founded Girlstart at 26 with $500 and a credit card – and spent years figuring out nonprofit fundraising with real stakes and no safety net.
By the time she left, she'd raised over $10 million, been featured on Oprah, CNN, and the Today Show, and won Oprah Winfrey's Use Your Life Award. AFP named her Outstanding Fundraising Executive of the Year. Fast Company named her one of their "Fast 50 Champions of Innovation."
Since then, she's led an online fundraising consultant practice for a major software company, managed major gift portfolios for some of the country's largest nonprofits, and trained scores of fundraising professionals across the country.
Everything she offers is built from that experience – because Rachel knows exactly what a strategic nonprofit fundraising plan requires, and what it costs when you don't have one.
Fundraising 101
The Click List
Short on time but ready for inspiration? Scroll through my must-have-resources to inspire any fundraiser: