Something very rare is happening. It’s one of those once-in-a-century occurrences. You know—like the appearance of Halley’s Comet. What is it? Right now—and perhaps not for very much longer—the very same tools for fundraising that the very best, well-funded organizations use are at the disposal of someone with $500 to spend. Think about it. For…
Last week, I served my mandatory "American privilege," aka jury duty. I know all the arguments for why it’s a wonderful right we have in this country and how it allows us to experience in grassroots democracy in action. But it was a miserable day...
One of our team-guiding principles is to approach each opportunity and project with a sense of urgency. Early in my career, I interviewed for a few positions. After each interview, I waited for the call. Well, to be honest I waited on the call the next day. After all, who would not want to hire me? It was my major focus...
Collecting—whether business cards, followers on Twitter, "likes" on Facebook or first-time donors—is meaningless without a strategy to turn those relatively blank connections into meaningful, lasting relationships. If your marketing and/or fundraising strategy is based on collecting and counting, it’s time to rethink this strategy...
People new to fundraising are hesitant to ask for the money. It doesn’t seem to make sense that people would give. Why? "How will this donation benefit the giver?" youngsters ask. But give they do...
Why do your donors give? It’s not because of your awesome mission or the 1,723 kids you served last year. It is, in all simplicity, because of what they are doing through you. Your donors are changing the world! But so many nonprofit organizations miss the mark...
I believe there is a crisis amongst major gift officers (MGOs) all over the world. It’s a crisis that is causing good people, like you, to struggle and lose faith in their skills, and causing donors to question the mission of organizations they either support or want to support. This crisis is about a lack of confidence MGOs exhibit in their work...
Today, one of the greatest skills a fundraiser needs, in my opinion, is the ability to be nimble. Rapid changes in the online space, donor ages spanning six (or more) decades, the still-relevant role of offline fundraising tools, the growth of donor-advised funds, changing foundation priorities and many more things that I won’t list all make the job of fundraising require the flexibility and balance of a gymnast...
I came home. I was frustrated and discouraged. I had been to an outing with well-to-do people who seemed removed from the reality that my nonprofit clients face—disease, poverty, social injustice. These people sipped their morning mimosas, oblivious to the pain and suffering statistically likely to be only miles away, lamenting immigrants, welfare queens and other ne’er do wells...
It’s a fact: Other industries have received far worse hits than fundraising ever will and yet they’ve learned how to grow, change and adapt. In the face of rising challenges in fundraising, what steps can the smart fundraiser take to rise above it all and succeed despite the odds?
