Claire Axelrad writes on Clairification about how the most donor-centric thing you can do is ask people for a philanthropic gift. Of course, not all the time. And not without being diligent about matching what you ask for to who you ask and what they care about. And not without tempering your “ask” approaches with “gift” approaches; you do have to do a fair amount of wooing...
It’s August—that means thunderstorms; perhaps even a hurricane. Weather issues mean flight delays. Waiting. And waiting some more! You may not get to your destination today. Or if you’re on your way home, you may not get there until much later. You can get upset about it, but ultimately, it’s all about being safe. But what does a flight delay mean for your monthly sustainers and for you as an organization?...
Without research, any fundraising project becomes shoot-from-the-hip and cookie-cutter. With research, you are able to really achieve your potential—and ensure fundraising campaign success. It comes as no surprise that we are huge advocates for conducting campaign feasibility and planning studies.
We live in the era of high performance tech. Everyone is getting on board—even nonprofits. Or, should I say, especially nonprofits. Your fundraising training never prepared you for all the nonprofit tech tools...
In applying for funding or recruiting executive leadership, nonprofits are acutely aware of the competitive landscape before them and the impacts of these processes’ outcomes. However, when navigating a critical moment in nonprofit real estate, a mission-aligned approach may not seem plausible...
As you know, capital campaigns rely on very big gifts for their success. In most campaigns, 10 big gifts account for more than 50 percent of the campaign goal. So to have a successful capital campaign, you’ve got to be able get some very big gifts from a few wealthy donors...
I just got back from a tremendous few days in the Washington D.C. area, and I learned a lot about monthly sustainer programs. First, I was privileged to attend the Professional Face to Face Fundraisers Association meeting, where some 75 people listened to speakers on the latest trends in face-to-face sustainer fundraising...
People often ask me, “Richard, what three main things do I need to make my major gift program successful?” I’m sure many people want to know because they feel real frustration about how their major gift program is currently performing. My answer: the major gift value triad...
When you begin your nonprofit career, you basically have a clean sheet a paper at your disposal. You are hungry and want to learn as much as possible about the business. You hopefully listen to others and gather tons of information...
We spent several days last month at Susan G. Komen’s national peer-to-peer meeting in Dallas. Komen was started by Nancy Brinker in 1982. Like many nonprofits (and people) who are entering middle age, it’s a good time to take stock of one’s successes and shortcomings to better chart a course for the future. If I had to sum up the focus of the three days of meetings in one word, it would be “volunteerism.” To recapture the power of volunteerism that was responsible for the organization’s best days...
