Major Gifts
July 23, 2015 at 1:25 pm
Paul Smith's College in upstate New York has announced that the State Board of Regents has approved its request to add Joan Weill's name alongside that of the school's founding family in recognition of her longtime support. Pending approval of the name change by a New York State court, Joan and Sanford Weill have pledged…
July 22, 2015 at 12:56 pm
A Russian billionaire announced Monday he has committed $100 million to a 10-year international effort led by UC Berkeley astronomers to seek messages from advanced civilizations on planets throughout the Milky Way and galaxies far beyond. The project is by far the most ambitious and costly endeavor in what is known as SETI, the Search…
July 21, 2015 at 5:00 am
Everyone wants to develop a major gifts program, or to strengthen their existing major gifts program. Why? Because they want to raise more money. If you approach major gifts development solely from this perspective, you’ll ultimately fail...
July 20, 2015 at 12:38 pm
Are you looking for a quick fix to increase revenue? I don’t blame you. It’s never easy as a major gift fundraiser, and many nonprofits are holding on by a thread because they didn’t do the proper planning they should have. Today, many nonprofits are hoping for the magic bullet or quick fix to turn their fundraising, and in particular, major gift program around...
July 16, 2015 at 12:36 pm
At last week’s Bridge conference, I was struck (again) by the many choices facing today’s fundraiser. Having a robust direct mail program and major gifts program, with a little planned giving and maybe an event tossed in, is no longer enough. Now, we need a website that is informative and optimized for mobile, and that has a user-friendly donation page. We have to frequently update our Facebook page and post a steady flow of videos on YouTube...
July 16, 2015 at 6:00 am
An anonymous person has donated millions of dollars to the Oakland Unified School District and dozens of nonprofit organizations to help children and low-income entrepreneurs. The people receiving a $34 million gift would like to say thanks, but it remains a mystery who the donor is. Regina Jackson from the East Oakland Youth and Development…
July 13, 2015 at 1:08 pm
The job of the program person in a nonprofit is, in my opinion, one of the most critical functions in the organization. It is also one of the most thankless jobs a professional can have. I think program people are often the most misunderstood people in a nonprofit. It is no easy job to craft a solution to a need either right in your hometown or thousands of miles away. Yet, often, major gift officers think these folks can just turn on a dime and churn out a meaningful offer for a donor...
July 8, 2015 at 6:00 am
Warren Buffett on Monday donated about $2.84 billion of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. stock to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and four family charities, as part of the billionaire's plan to give away nearly all of his wealth. The 10th annual donation, Buffett's largest, comprised 20.64 million Class "B" shares of Berkshire, and increased Buffett's…
July 3, 2015 at 6:00 am
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, doesn’t trust artificial intelligence, which he once likened to “summoning the demon.” In fact, Musk distrusts it so much that, in January, he donated $10 million to the Future of Life Institute (FLI) to fund a program with the goal of making sure AI doesn’t completely overrun our…
July 3, 2015 at 6:00 am
Have I made mistakes in my past and present? You bet, but I have always cared deeply about each institution and the people I served during my tenure on staff. I constantly try to learn from others, both young and old, to perfect my craft. Nonprofit service is like golf, in the sense that you must constantly practice to become a better player. The dynamics of the nonprofit world are constantly changing and you must adapt and change to be successful...
