Sex and French Fries
January 27, 2016 at 11:31 am

I am writing this blog in an airport, at the end of a six-day trip that included one crazy cabbie, one blizzard and two hotels that cancelled room service since its staff was snowbound. I opened a bottle of wine with a pair of tweezers and an ink pen. If you run a national peer-to-peerโ€ฆ

The Cult of Donor-Centricity: Are You a Member?
January 26, 2016 at 9:39 am

Youโ€™ve probably known someone in your life with the special gift of making you feel like you matter. Like youโ€™re his or her โ€œfavorite.โ€ Thatโ€™s what donor-centered fundraising is all about. Your donors know that you couldnโ€™t do it without them, that their support matters. Because you speak to them in that way that reminds them, each and every time, that they count...

Pioneering Peer-to-Peer Fundraising
January 25, 2016 at 10:31 am

As nonprofit fundraisers, we use many of the same channels as corporate brands and political candidates to reach our intended audiences, including direct mail, telemarketing, social media, emails, and offline and online advertising. Yet, there is one, relatively new fundraising approach that is experiencing great success: peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms....

The Three Legs of a Nonprofit Stool
January 25, 2016 at 10:11 am

I was talking to a very talented major gifts officer who had a long track record of success prior to his current assignment. I could tell he was very frustrated. And he felt misunderstood. To put it plainly, he could not get management to understand that without program information he would not be successful....

The Great Generation Divide in Fundraising
January 21, 2016 at 11:20 am

โ€œMy name is Pamela Barden, and I am a Baby Boomer.โ€ There. I admitted it publicly. I am one of the 75.4 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964. I used to be part of the largest generation in the United States, but, in 2015, we let our guards down, and those pesky Millennials surpassed us, according to the U.S. Census Bureau....

9 Guaranteed Ways to Get the Major Donor Visit
January 20, 2016 at 12:21 pm

โ€œIf you want to milk a cow, sit by its side,โ€ said veteran major gifts fundraiser Jerold Panas in his iconic book, "Asking." Did you know, according to Panas, youโ€™re 85 percent on your way to securing a gift if you can get your prospect to agree to a visit? But how do you getโ€ฆ

Staying Focused: The Key to Major-Gift Success
January 18, 2016 at 10:42 am

Over the last couple weeks, I've listened to major gift officers on why they havenโ€™t done what they said they were going to do with their caseloads. All of their reasons have to do with losing focus on what their primary jobs are: creating and building meaningful relationships with donors...

Itโ€™s Time to Relearn Again: 3 Fundraising Fundamentals to Remember
January 14, 2016 at 11:24 am

Planned giving needs to be intentional. According to Giving USA, 8 percent of contributions in 2014 were in the form of bequests. That means nonprofit organizations received $10.75 billion as a result of people making gifts through their estates. We love the news reports of the organization that receives millions of dollars from someone it has never before heard of. But every day, unreported by any news agency in America, are the people who set aside a portion of their estates for charities they are supporting, have supported, have some affiliation with, or have benefitted from at some time.

What Are You Expecting From Your Fundraising?
January 14, 2016 at 11:17 am

With the new year, fundraisers are off and running. Feverish activity working to reach high goals is the order of the day. Almost daily, another shortcut to success drops into our mailbox. The question is, do we go for it?...

Sending Sunshine: 4 Easy Ways to Communicate Donor Impact
January 13, 2016 at 12:31 pm

Itโ€™s January. For many of us, it is getting colder. The holidays have passed. There isnโ€™t as much sunshine as there was a few months back, though we are getting more. While weโ€™ve encountered the college football championship, and the Super Bowl is on the horizon, this can be a more subdued time of year. It still gets dark pretty early, and if you are like me, your energy level often sinks a bit as the sun sets. ...