The Spirituality of Major Gift Fundraising
July 18, 2016 at 11:47 am

My guess is that you or some of your colleagues in the field are thinking, "What the heck is Jeff talking about now? Spirituality and major gift fundraising? Whatโ€™s this all about? OK, I get it. Today, when you hear the word "spirituality," all kinds of stuff comes bubbling up. Some of what comes up is pretty negative. There is no doubt about that...

5 Options for Investing in Your Career Growth
July 14, 2016 at 10:37 am

This has been a crazy weekโ€”I co-presented a webinar for NonProfit PRO and am heading to Washington, D.C., for the annual Bridge Conference (as a learner, not a presenter). Why? Because I am absolutely passionate about continuing education, both for myself and what I share with others when I can. And I want to energize you about continuing education, too, which is why I write about investing in you about once a year...

Board Roles in Major Campaigns
July 13, 2016 at 10:42 am

When discussing a pending major campaign, it is not uncommon for boardsโ€”at organizations of all sizesโ€”to get nervous and to be uncertain. Many board members have not been through a campaign before. Some have been through successful campaigns. Some have had encountered campaign experiences...

That Donor Who Can Do Something Significant
July 11, 2016 at 10:57 am

Several times a year you need to revise your caseload. Two things happen when you do this. You remove donors who no longer meet your caseload criteria and you add new donors who do. This is important because, as a successful major gift officer (MGO), you need to be regularly renewing the donor mix on your caseload and bringing more and more valuable donors into relationship with you who want to relate in a more personal way...

10 Steps for a Midyear Professional Fundraising Checkup
July 6, 2016 at 11:43 am

It is midway through 2016. In a few short months we will enter the holiday season. Most of us are either halfway through a fiscal year or just beginning a new one. In either case, it is time to take professional stock of where you are and where you are going. Last week, we discussed steps for a midyear personal checkup. This time, let's talk about the 10 steps for a professional nonprofit fundraising checkup...

The Art of the (Social Media) Ask
July 6, 2016 at 9:05 am

Social media is one of the powerful tools that fundraisers have sitting in their back pockets. At no cost to the nonprofit or to the participant, powerful fundraising messages can be communicated to the participantโ€™s personal network. This includes many potential supporters that the fundraiser may not have been comfortable contacting directly. Additionally, this is an effective method for increasing the visibility of both the nonprofit and the participantโ€™s upcoming event...

Fundraising Lessons From Trader Joeโ€™s for the Small Nonprofit
July 5, 2016 at 9:59 am

If your job title falls under the category of โ€œone-person development department,โ€ itโ€™s very likely that, sometimes, you feel like a chicken running around with its head cut off. Ah, the pressure. How on earth is a smart development director to do it all? Brace yourself for the big news, folks: You shouldnโ€™t want to focus on all of that stuff, because you donโ€™t have to focus on all of that stuff. Just look at Trader Joe's...

The P2P Lever: Why We Support Social Groups Over Missions
June 29, 2016 at 11:11 am

Recently, my hubster Otis Fulton, Turnkeyโ€™s psychological expert, read Tom Ahernโ€™s book, โ€œSeeing Through a Donorโ€™s Eyes: How to Make a Persuasive Case for Everything From Your Annual Drive to Your Planned Giving Program to Your Capital Campaign.โ€ As promised, Otis said, the book covers a lot of ground. Ahern focuses on writing a โ€œcase for supportโ€ directed at various types of donors...

Innovation in Fundraising: Why? How? What? When? (Part 4)
June 29, 2016 at 9:00 am

Weโ€™ll dig deeper into when innovation makes sense. When does it really have value? Iโ€™ll be suggesting three additional questions for you to consider prior to adopting a new idea. And Iโ€™ll offer you a whole new set of tools to help you arrive at answers...

Why Do Your Donors Give? Knowing Is the Smart Fundraiserโ€™s Best Tool
June 28, 2016 at 11:18 am

I had a light bulb moment that made me do one of the smartest things Iโ€™ve ever done and something that I continue to do 16 years later. You see, I knew that the heart and soul of my fundraising plan would be to learn what our donorsโ€™ motivations were. So, after querying our database for 20 loyal donors who had given more than $250 a year during the past five years, I wrote a letter of introduction asking why they had supported the organization...