Being small is not an excuse for not having a major gift program. In fact, in many ways, Richard and I find that it’s an advantage. Being small means you know your programs deeply and, because you are working with just a small number of donors, you can really get to know them...
Jeff Schreifels
Do you know the one question to ask your major donor that, when answered, will unlock everything you want to know about that donor?...
Are you a major gift manager? Do you love managing major gift officers? Do you love developing others and getting results through the efforts of others? When one of your major gift officers secures a large gift from a donor they have been cultivating, do you have a rush of joy for them?...
Recently, I took part in a LIVE call in which is part of our nonprofit leaders and managers course for major gifts. It gave me such hope because the leaders that are taking this course are doing it because they want to learn about major gifts and, even more importantly, lead their nonprofit to be supportive of the major gift team...
There is a school of thought in the circles of some major gift fundraisers that if you do a really good job of telling your donors you love them by sending them thank-you cards, updates about your programs and small gifts every once in a while, the donor will just give out of the kindness of their heart...
You know as an avid reader of this blog that Richard and I are always talking about being donor-centered, having a donor-centered approach for your major gift program and being donor-centered in your communications as you build a trusted relationship with your donor...
Our team at Veritus gets this question all the time because, not only do we help build and manage major gift programs, we also do the same with mid-level programs. Before I get into how do make this transition, let me talk about why a good mid-level donor program is so helpful to major gifts...
If you want to be a great major gift officer, you need to be curious. Curiosity will lead you and your donors on an incredible journey where you really get to be that bridge by taking the donor in one hand and in your other, taking the need your organization addresses and bringing them together. How will you practice major gift curiosity today?...
History books and our current culture like to tell stories of success of the “self-made man.” We all grow up thinking that if we become the lone wolf and just do something on our own it is more noble than having someone help you. I think that is a pile of garbage...
A few years ago, I was meeting with a major gift officer I was helping to manage and work on her strategic plan for all of her donors. We started talking about touchpoints for her donors...
Let's talk about ineffective nonprofit leadership, shall we? Some time ago, I passed along a VP of development job opportunity that came across my desk to a former colleague who was looking for a new position...
I’m going to describe for you the state of one organization’s major gift program that we worked on a few years ago that will highlight what’s going on with thousands of other organizations' major gift programs... and quite possibly yours...
Over the course of a year, I would guess that Richard and I speak with over a hundred different leaders and managers of nonprofits. Every one of them desperately wants to grow their major gift revenue, but they, in turn, race to nonprofit mediocrity...
I think I’m going to lose it. In the past couple of weeks, I’ve talked to the leadership of three different organizations that have created a belief in their heads that “their” major donors will not give big nonprofit gifts...
Building trust in any relationship is essential if that relationship is going to be real and authentic. And creating mutual trust in your nonprofit donor relationships is really your ultimate goal. Why? Because if you have mutual trust, then you and your donor will feel comfortable to be real with one another...
