Almost every good business book over the past two decades has at least one chapter devoted to company culture and making sure you have staff buy-in to the overall vision of the company. But, it's been difficult for nonprofits. Here is how you get there.
Jeff Schreifels
Your donors probably each has at least five other organizations trying to capture their attention and another 10 to 15 organizations wanting to start relationships with them. So, what are you doing to stand out in your donors' minds, capture their heart and have them always take your call?
If you’ve never done this gut-check exercise, I urge you to do this immediately. Even if you have 150 donors in your portfolio right now — the maximum number of donors in a qualified portfolio — my guess is that over half of them would not pass the gut-check test.
Many times, in the nonprofit space, we hire mid-level, major and planned giving officers and never require or expect those front-line fundraisers to literally place themselves in the need that the nonprofit is addressing. This is a fatal mistake.
You and I have a desire to be connected to others and when that other person shows you that they know you, that connection strengthens. Even when you may not know the other person that well, a personal touch will immediately strengthen that relationship...
I’ve been reminded recently about how inspiring and refreshing it is to sit with someone who loves their life’s work. At the same, I know how painful it is to listen to someone who is working in a position that neither fits them nor brings them any joy...
It’s amazing to me the wild stories nonprofit leaders and fundraisers make up in their heads about why donors are not giving. It’s like you’re trying to develop excuses not to go out and fundraise — and you’re a fundraiser!...
We have a number of major donors in our database that, because of their age or illness have stopped giving, but over their lifetime have made significant gifts to our organization. I feel like we can’t just forget about these people, but what should I do?...
Typically, we see clogs in that pipeline in the mid-level range of giving. Donors get stuck at a mid-level point of giving because even though they are giving at higher levels, nonprofits are still cultivating them like a $20 donor. So, the major gift program suffers because you’re not feeding major gifts a healthy diet of qualified major donors...
You know how Richard and I are always talking to you about reporting back to your donor the impact their gifts are making, right? And the reason we do it is that the lack of reporting back is still the No. 1 reason why donors stop giving to you...
If you could do your work as a fundraiser from a mindset of abundance rather than scarcity, you would love your job. In our western, white male-dominated culture in North America, the view we grow up with is that there is not enough, and, therefore, we should get as much as we can for ourselves before someone else gets it...
These days, one of the top questions we are asked at Veritus is: “How should I talk to my major donors during this pandemic?”
One of the pushbacks we get from MGOs about “The Veritus Way” is the need to create at least one touchpoint per month per donor.
People love a good deal. This is also true for donors.
You will be able to find articles, blog posts, conference presentations and retreats centered on creating a culture of philanthropy.
