Prospects

The National Park Foundation is commemorating the National Park Service’s 100th anniversary with its $350 million Centennial Campaign for America’s National Parks...

We are big on not attending the same professional conferences year after year. Take a break from your routine and attend a new conference—maybe one outside of your nonprofit sector. This year, I’m taking a break from AFP to attend a different conference and I plan to be back at AFP next year...

The day after Thanksgiving, the holidays hit full-force. And it’s not just the radio stations blasting “Here Comes Santa Claus” every half hour—it’s the shopping frenzies of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Thankfully, (no pun intended) for the past four years, we’ve had a day to shift the focus away from materialism and back to the true spirit of the holidays: Giving Tuesday...

My mother was known for having impeccable manners. At her memorial service, it seemed as if every other person who shared a memory talked about her manners. They did so not in a nitpicking way, but in a loving way. It seemed she always knew just the right thing to do to show her appreciation...

Boston Medical Center has received a $25 million gift—the largest in its history—and plans to use the money to fight what it calls the “heartbreaking” public-health crisis caused by drug addiction and the opioid epidemic. The donation to BMC, which serves more low-income patients than any other medical facility in New England, will create the…

You see, philanthropists are people just like us. They have their own set of dreams and aspirations. They, too, have core values they seek to realize in their lives. And it’s on these that philanthropists have their focus...

What is the most important thing a donor can give you? If I were to ask that question at an Association of Fundraising Professionals conference, I suspect most members of the audience would respond by saying, “A big check!” If I were to pose the same question at a National Association of Charitable Gift Planners…

As I have for four consecutive years, I’m starting 2017 off with a report on last year’s charitable giving volume. The analysis is based on 17 million individual direct mail contributions received in 2016 by more than 60 national nonprofit organizations. It encompasses six primary charitable sectors served by Merkle’s Response Management Group...

Last week, we discussed segmenting and being prepared to revise your strategy in part two of this fundraising and football series. This week, we’re covering two more things fundraisers can learn from the game: Football games and campaigns provide a rallying call for the faithful, and everyone has a best role.

As you attend holiday parties, you may have the opportunity to lay the groundwork for meeting with some of your largest donors.