Many nonprofits are stuck. They’re tethered to their early decisions—often made by others who came before them. But times change. Organizations evolve. Or they don’t...
Being disciplined to work out your plan is the absolute key to major gift success. Conversely, it’s the downfall of many major gift fundraisers. At Veritus, we know that introducing a disciplined approach to major gifts will lead to deeper relationships with donors, higher retention rates, lower value attrition rates and much more revenue...
If passed this week, the new Republican tax legislation will “simplify” the tax code and increase the standard deduction; thereby reducing the number of people who itemize their taxes...
Several years ago, I was asked to be part of a meeting between a nonprofit and a significant business in the community. At first glance, one would expect that the nonprofit did not have the total resources it needed for success. The business the nonprofit was soliciting had tremendous resources, plus community clout. I was just asked to attend and observe...
True story. Earlier in my fundraising career, I was working in Virginia and putting a trip to Boston together to visit some donors and prospects we had there. I still remember one particular telephone conversation like it was yesterday. I want you to read it and think of three things I did wrong...
Especially if you are looking at a chief development officer position, will the CEO, your peers and the board listen to you? Do they understand that fundraising is an established profession with educational programs, professional associations (that you should be connected with) and an established body of best practices?...
Whether you’re a one-person charity or a multinational nonprofit, the question of whether to go “big” or stay “small” is always there. Make the smart choice, and you’ll soar. Guess wrong, and you’ll be stuck in the doldrums—or worse...
Not too long ago, I got into a conversation with an executive director who brought up the survey that was published by Guidestar and Nonprofit HR. He recently graduated with a Master's in organizational development, and he genuinely wanted to see if he could recruit and retain top talent at his nonprofit organization with his newfound knowledge and expertise...
People volunteer for many different reasons, which mean they also have different motivations for lending a hand. Regardless of the reason, if someone is willing to lend their time and talents to your organization, you should take the time to get to know them as individuals…
In my experience, the most frequent types of planned gifts an organization should market are bequests, charitable gift annuities, stocks and charitable IRA rollovers. I also suggest that you investigate life insurance, as many individuals have existing insurance policies with cash value that you can immediately use...
