Fundraiser Education

Fundraising has changed significantly since I started in this field. It’s a challenge to keep up and keep learning, but that’s what makes fundraising such an exciting career. Vow today to commit to developing a new habit or two in terms of learning, and your organization will benefit — and you will, as well.

How do you choose your fundraising strategies? First, of course, you start with the body of knowledge. You choose your fundraising strategies based on all those books by the industry experts. Next, you look at the results of all of your organization’s fundraising. You analyze response rates and examine your return on investment (ROI). You compare current results to the last several years. You explore trends and their implications. And now … try using a special set of nine criteria that I’ve developed for my clients.

Here's an August 2006 column written by Tim Burgess, who was  one of the founders of The Domain Group (and is now a City Councilman in his hometown of Seattle). In "Calling All Agents of Change," he discusses leadership issues that arose at the DMA Nonprofit Federation's Leadership Summit earlier that year.

Go out and have those conversations, share and collaborate with your fundraising colleagues and peers. It is an invaluable resource that the fundraising industry is truly special to have and embrace.

To begin 2013, I asked four of my colleagues, all seasoned professionals with years of hands-on fundraising experience, to contribute one piece of advice for fundraising in this new year. Here’s what they told me.

To help you make 2013 the best year possible for fundraising, here are some of the shortest — and most practical — job descriptions you'll find for many of the things and people that matter in fundraising.

As you take time to reflect during this holiday season, it is a perfect time to create or update your plan for self-improvement next year. Opportunities for professional development are expanding exponentially online and in person.

In the spirit of self-congratulating, here are some reasons to give yourself a positive annual review for the work you've done in 2012.

University of Pennsylvania students taking a course about philanthropy and nonprofits are learning more than just theory. The urban studies students actually gave away $100,000 at the end of the semester last week. The money came from the Texas-based Once Upon A Time Foundation.

Ted Hart speaks with college-aged siblings Megan and Justin Churchman. Megan is founder of Global Hands, a youth-led foundation that seeks to better the lives of children worldwide, and Justin is founder of Build Better Lives, a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating homelessness in Juarez, Mexico, on his Nonprofit Coach Radio Show.