You have most certainly experienced the fear of a board member whose term is coming up, and they are one of your best donors. You’re thinking, “How do I get them to continue their giving?” Richard and I would say that is the wrong way to think about this...
I was not into cars growing up, except for one beautiful late 1950’s Dodge that had the greatest speedometer ever. That speedometer showed green, yellow or red colors as perfect indicators of the speed of the car as it went faster. I have always remembered that color indicator tool that I use for dashboards today. Besides cars, should dashboards be used in business to denote performance?...
In the dead rush to raise much-needed funds for our charitable passions, we sometimes forget that the words we choose in reaching out to our supporters need to be chosen with them in mind. There’s a unique fundraising idea...
Does your organization have a volunteer engagement strategy? Engaging volunteers takes an investment of time and also yields incredible benefits. It’s the time, treasure and talents: Research shows that people who volunteer donate five times more than those who do not volunteer. People give greater gifts to where they volunteer...
If I gave you $1 million, but told you I needed to control the investment and after one full year, the investment became $520,000—then at the end of the second year, the investment became $330,000—you would think I was either the worst financial advisor or just plain crazy...
Why do organizations mount major gift or capital campaigns? Hopefully the answer is to reach strategic objectives that expand their mission, that add new and improved programs or services, or that uniquely address significant needs of those they serve. In other words, campaigns are about change...
You’ve heard of the term, “solo player.” It refers most often in a sales environment to someone who does everything alone and won’t include others in the work. In most cases they are not very successful. In fact, we see a tremendous amount of burnout from this type of MGO...
There’s never a bad time to convert your constituents to give monthly, but there are two months a year that typically fit better in your overall communication plan: January and September. “Why September?” you may ask. Because, it’s typically slower with events. Donors are back home, back to school, back to work and in their “routine.” It’s not yet busy with Thanksgiving and holiday preparations…
Lest we assign blame to organizational leaders, we must understand that fundraisers are often quick to sign on with new employers who reveal all the signs of unreasonable expectations. Most fundraising professionals I know want to be admired for their abilities to turn things around and make things happen...
We all like to do it. It’s enjoyable, it’s free and, except for our time, it involves no commitment. When the clerk asks us if they can help us, how often do we answer, “Just looking?” I dare say we’ve often given that answer when we are actually looking for something specific, but aren’t yet ready to commit. Then again, there are many times when we’re merely “killing time...
