Amy Eisenstein's Blog | Fundraising Tips for Nonprofits

Raising Major Gifts Post-COVID – Part 2: Cultivation

This is part two of my “back to basics” series on how to raise major gifts during Covid and beyond. Part one looked at donor identification (step 1 in the fundraising cycle). Remember, there are four steps in the fundraising cycle: Identification – Who you will raise money from Cultivation – Building relationships with potential … [Read more...]

Raising Major Gifts Post-COVID – Part 1: Donor Identification

By Amy Eisenstein 1 Comment

Over the years, I’ve written a lot about how to raise major gifts, but it's been a long time since I’ve gotten back to basics. As the pandemic is winds down, it's helpful to consider how things have changed as we review the basics. With that in mind, here’s part one of a 4-part series on how to raise major gifts in a post-pandemic … [Read more...]

4 Steps to Raising Major Gifts: Tried-and-True for Over a Decade

By Amy Eisenstein 1 Comment

Recently, I went back and revisited this old post from a decade ago to see if my thoughts had changed. This 2011 post about how to raise money from individual donors is something I’ve been teaching, writing, and speaking about for more than 10 years since its original publication date. The original post began with a statistic from Giving … [Read more...]

Christmas in July: The Best Time to Prepare for Year-End Fundraising

By Amy Eisenstein 2 Comments

If your fiscal year ended on June 30th, as is the case with many nonprofits, you may be taking a well-deserved week off after closing out your “year-end” last week. And after some much-needed rest and relaxation, it’s time to start planning for the calendar year-end (regardless of when your fiscal year-end is). 3 Steps to Prepare for … [Read more...]

AFP ICON: Fundraising Trends, Data, Interactive Meetings, and More!

By Amy Eisenstein 6 Comments

This week is the Association of Fundraising Professionals' International Conference (aka AFP-ICON). I’ve attended this conference every year for over a decade, in addition to speaking nearly every year. While many of us (loyal attendees) had hoped this year’s conference would be in-person, it is fully virtual for a second year due to the … [Read more...]

7 Capital Campaign Basics to Consider as a Nonprofit Leader

By Amy Eisenstein 1 Comment

Leading a capital campaign can be overwhelming -- even for the most experienced nonprofit CEO or Development Director. After all, it’s not as if you sit around twiddling your thumbs on a regular basis. How can you possibly find the time for a capital campaign on top of your already-hectic schedule and massive responsibilities? How Do … [Read more...]

3 Ways to Achieve Work-Life Balance While Working for a Nonprofit

By Amy Eisenstein 5 Comments

This year has taught many of us that we can work from anywhere (including our homes). But that doesn’t mean -- and shouldn’t mean -- we always have to work. COVID Changed Everything Pre-pandemic, many development directors felt they were always working. But since they didn’t “work from home” (as much) there was likely more of a separation … [Read more...]

Managing Up, Down, and Sideways: 3 Ways to Lead a Fundraising Team

By Amy Eisenstein 1 Comment

As a development director, you may be in the uncomfortable position of managing up, down, and sideways. It takes a lot of effort to get everyone rowing in the same direction when it comes to fundraising. After all, fundraising is a team sport -- or, at least, it should be. Unfortunately, many people on nonprofit leadership teams try to … [Read more...]

Boring Development Meetings? 6 Ways to Energize Your Team

By Amy Eisenstein 2 Comments

Recently, I received an email from Janet, who asked: We have been having weekly major gifts meetings for quite some time. Our meetings seem to be getting very stale and everyone dreads them every Monday. I would love to hear if other development teams have weekly meetings, and what they actually discuss each week. Thanks! Great question, … [Read more...]

Are You Growing or Dying? Continuing Education Can Save Your Life

By Amy Eisenstein 5 Comments

You’ve likely heard the popular expression, if you’re not growing, you’re dying. That being said, it has been a hard year. It can be tempting to veg out in front of the TV for hours on end. (I’ve done it myself.) In fact, I’ve watched so much TV over the past year, I often feel there’s nothing left to watch. I’m sure you don’t need … [Read more...]