Ellen Degeneres

Sarah Durham is president of Big Duck, a New York City-based branding, marketing and fundraising firm for nonprofits. She serves on the boards of the National Brain Tumor Society and the New York Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP).

For fundraisers, the first quarter of the year is as much a time to look back as ahead. It’s a time to find out how year-end appeals tallied up, to assess how winter events performed and perhaps to report back to the board on what it all means.

“Say it! Say the word!” In a church basement in Philadelphia, a Women’s Ministry group is meeting to discuss an upcoming fundraiser. After a few minutes of conversation, the group’s leader points her finger at one of the attendees and yells, “Come on, say it!” “Say what?” the suddenly shy woman asks with a smirk. “Say the word!” “OK, fine … ” she finally concedes. “V … a … g … i … n … a!” With that, the other women raise a prolonged note like a heavenly choir that trails off into a fit of laughter. And the church’s male pastor, who really

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