Like it or not, the majority of our major-gifts prospects simply are not impressed with our technical knowledge. Instead, they want a birthday card, a phone call or a heartfelt thank-you. Below are 45 ways to nurture your higher-value donors.
A few years ago, I jumped into the virtual world known as Second Life. I created an avatar that was much thinner, much prettier and decidedly more exotic than I am (she looked a lot more like Angelina Jolie than she did me), and I gave her a cool name. The fact that I don’t remember what it was should tell you where this is heading. When I finished the creation stage — voila! — there was Margelina (we’ll call her, in retrospect), tall and beautiful, and standing completely naked in this weird, other-wordly place that was rather dark and just a little menacing.
Last month, FundRaising Success named the winners of our 2008 Fundraising Professionals of the Year Awards. Take some time now to learn a little more about them and their perspectives on fundraising. Fundraising Professional of the Year Michelle Speas Vice president of development and external relations Old Salem Museums & Gardens (Winston-Salem, N.C.) www.oldsalem.org Organization’s mission: To preserve, interpret and operate the restored town of Salem, from its founding in 1766 to the mid-1850s, as one of America’s largest living history museums. Annual operating budget: $5.8 million How much raised annually: $6.9 million Role models: My staff. They’re my source of inspiration, and they
Since day one, I’ve held that those of us who are responsible for putting out FundRaising Success learn more from our readers than our readers learn from us. And this year’s Fundraising Professionals of the Year Awards have served to punctuate that belief. Each year, we send out nominating forms that are nice and neat, with perfectly balanced categories that cover what we think are all the bases. And each year, we name winners in those respective categories. But this year, the nominations weren’t so cut and dry, and we were reminded that there are thousands of fundraising pros out there who toil in
