Fundraiser Education

5 Clues Your Fundraising Is Headed Downhill
July 29, 2013

As I travel around the country and work with so many boards, fundraising staff and executive directors, I frequently see frustration, worry and disappointment about fundraising. Here are five clues that your fundraising program is going to disappoint you: 1. Revolving door in the development department. 2. Laying all the fundraising on one person. 3. Changing fundraising strategy too often. 4. Lacking an internal culture of philanthropy. 5. Not investing in fundraising infrastructure.

Be a Generalist First!
July 26, 2013

I am convinced that with experience, a "jack of all trades" can be a master of all. There is nothing wrong with being a generalist. Try it, and you may like it!  

Thanks for Asking
July 9, 2013

Our commercial counterparts have largely embraced the concept of asking customers about their experience: Rent a car, fly on a plane, go to your bank, and you are likely to get a feedback survey. But what about the nonprofit space? Many of us appreciate how insight into our constituents’ interests and behaviors improves our ability to engage and build relationships that deliver superior results to our fundraising and related activities. But how well and how often do we simply ask our constituents how we are doing, or what we could be doing better?

5 Opportunities to Increase Your Fundraising Impact
July 3, 2013

Consider these five opportunities to enhance the impact you make over the next six months. A little reflection, evaluation and fine-tuning of your plans now can be a powerful tool in focusing (or refocusing) you and increasing your professional impact for the rest of 2013 and beyond!

Conference Roundup: AFP New Orleans
July 1, 2013

Last month I had the pleasure of joining the New Orleans chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals for its annual conference, a tight and terrific two-day gathering on the beautiful campus of Holy Cross School. Organizers jammed as much education time as possible into what actually amounted to a day and a half. I couldn’t make all of the sessions, of course, but here are some nuggets of information gleaned from some of the ones I did attend.

Reflections on 10 Years (October 2006)
July 1, 2013

FundRaising Success published its first issue in November 2003, which makes this our 10-year anniversary year. To celebrate, we’ll be taking a look back at past issues throughout the year. Following are some words of wisdom culled from the October 2006 issue.

Learning From Other People's Words
July 1, 2013

I’ve always enjoyed clever, insightful quotes and turns of phrase because they can help us remember and apply principles that are important for success in our field and in our lives. Here are some of my favorites. I hope that a moment’s reflection on one or more of these will be valuable to you.