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...
Jeff Schreifels
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.
We get asked all the time whether or not a major donor should get fund appeal letters, email solicitations, etc.
Most nonprofits do not value major gifts and the work it takes to develop one-on-one relationships with donors. If they did, you would see everyone focusing on it.
At Veritus, we believe that creating strategic plans for every donor in your portfolio is critical. All 240 major gift officers who we directly work with all have a plan that will guide them toward achieving their revenue goals.
A gala is not major gift fundraising, nor does it really have anything to do with philanthropy. A gala is a way that nonprofits bring in cash—and in rare cases, enough net revenue to justify having one.
Several months ago, I was sitting around a conference table with a prospective client talking about the process we needed to take to create our donor impact portfolio. When complete, the donor impact portfolio is a list of all the nonprofit organization’s programs and projects...
When we talk to leaders, managers and major gift officers on why they believe they are not seeing growth, it’s apparent by their answers, which leads us to one major conclusion: There is no real relationship with the donor...
First, don’t put an unqualified donor into your portfolio. Put them in another category called a “To Be Qualified” list. This way, you and your manager will not put revenue goals or expectations on you or the donor...
How are you acquiring major donors? If you are concerned about your major gift pipeline, start reviewing how you are currently bringing in new donors and spend the time and energy it takes to start filling that pipeline. Years from now, you will reap that investment...
A couple of years ago, I was helping to manage a major gift officer at a mid-sized nonprofit. Mary (not her real name) was a veteran fundraiser who was struggling with making her revenue goals when I met her. Her manager was concerned...
