We register for them. We speak at them. We go to their education sessions and receptions. But, are those industry conferences really worth it?...
Chances are good that most of your board members have only a vague notion of what will be expected of them in your capital campaign. Board members who know they can’t make big gifts to the campaign may be especially concerned, since they may not even know many people who could. They may even be quietly wondering if they should resign from the board...
"All you care about are the numbers! Relationships really don’t matter to you!" or "All you care about are relationships. We do need to secure our budgeted revenue, you know? The numbers do matter!" These two statements—these two positions—came into sharp focus for me when a good friend and colleague told me he had been part of a discussion about how some folks just care about the numbers and others just care about relationships. Hmm. Interesting, I thought. At least there’s a discussion about this important subject...
It’s been nine years since Leslie Crutchfield and Heather McLeod first published "Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits." You may remember this groundbreaking book was the result of four years of research, studying thousands of high-impact nonprofit organizations with the goal of unpacking their successes...
You have a donor offer you a gift before you are in a pending major campaign. What do you do? The ideal result of ongoing cultivation and engagement is for a donor to say, "How can I help you?" It is important that you have an answer where the donor can be a hero and make an impact. And this opportunity needs to be in the near future to keep his or her interest, create momentum and honor the offer...
Recently I asked one of those bright young minds in our production department to write a blog. Really, I was looking to get a little sympathy for that unforgiving weekly deadline, hoping I’d get a whiny, “But that’s really hard.” Color me wrong. Kate Bullard, who identifies as the love child of Zooey Deschanel and Sheldon Cooper from "The Big Bang Theory," helped me to understand the connection between biology and fundraising...
A mega-grant from a mega-foundation always seems like the answer to your prayers, right? Not quite. The truth is, foundation giving plays a smaller role than you probably think. In fact, in terms of the entire philanthropic pie, foundation funding accounts for a mere 16 percent...
As major campaigns near their ends, often there is a tendency to lessen the focus on best practices and the campaign discipline that has been key to your success. I believe that campaign goals should be met with major gifts. This strategy always should include plans to maintain and increase your ongoing annual support...
What are the nonprofit fundraising and communications books you turn to, time and time again? What are those books that may have brought about a shift in thinking or a new way of doing your work? These are the books that line my bookcase. What’s your favorite? And which books are missing from my shelf?...
The frequency of giving from a pair of donors, two elderly sisters living together near Seattle, surprised me. The donor relationship had started as a one-time gift in response to a television show we had produced. It then segued into a monthly pledge, which increased over time. In the midst of all that regular giving, there were other one-time gifts, some $100, others $500...
