Do you ever wish your organization had an endowment? Do your board members believe an endowment campaign is the answer to all of your fundraising woes? If you said “Yes,” you’re not alone. It would be fantastic if you had a huge reserve, generating interest for your organization. You could kick back, put your feet up, and watch the money … [Read more...]
When to Hire a Major Gift Officer (and More) with Ann Hale
I had the privilege to interview Ann Hale, Chair Elect of AFP International and Chief Development Officer of Anchorage Museum. Listen to Ann’s words of wisdom as she initially discusses the process she's leading for AFP’s new strategic plan, as well as how she successfully convinced her CEO it was time to hire their first major gift … [Read more...]
5 Red Flags to Look Out for When Raising Major Gifts
Video Transcript Red flags are often used as a sign of warning or danger. Unfortunately, most red flags are not literal, but figurative, and are often missed by the people who need them most. Once you know the red flags of major gift fundraising, they might be easier to identify and tackle. 5 Red Flags when Raising Major … [Read more...]
Fundraising Lessons Learned from a Near Drowning
Earlier this summer, a 7 year-old girl (we’ll call her Susan) nearly drowned in my town pool. The really frightening part is that Susan knew how to swim. What's more, she was in the shallow end of the pool at the time of the incident. As a parent, this is one of my worst nightmares -- having a fun day in the summer only to turn into a … [Read more...]
Beyond Storytelling: StoryLIVING with Tammy Zonker
Storytelling is all the rage right now in the nonprofit sector. Stories help donors connect with our missions and ignite their passion for important causes. Stories have been used for thousands of years to connect people to one another. Today in our virtual worlds with virtual reality, we aim to bring donors into our stories, our missions, … [Read more...]
Wish You Had New Donors? Ask the Ones You Have Instead!
Whenever someone signs up to receive my emails, they're encouraged to share their biggest fundraising challenge. Here’s one such challenge recently shared with me that many organizations face: The biggest challenge we are facing at the moment is with landing larger donations ($1,000-$5,000+), both in terms of attracting new, higher level … [Read more...]
Giving USA: Giving is Up! 4 Ways to Ride the Wave
Good news for fundraisers everywhere. Giving is up! According to Giving USA’s 2016 report, which was released last week, giving is up across the board. Americans gave over $373 billion dollars in 2015, breaking the record set in 2014. This might be hard to hear, but if your organization didn’t meet its goal, it might be you. If your … [Read more...]
Dr. Adrian Sargeant on Donor Retention, Sustainability and Training
I had the honor of interviewing Dr. Adrian Sargeant of the Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy at the recent AFP Conference in Boston. We spoke about a variety of topics that relate to donors and training. Interview Highlights (Transcript) Here are some highlights from our interview. Watch the complete interview above. The … [Read more...]
6 Real-World Questions and Answers about Raising Major Gifts
Before we dive into these real-world questions and answers about raising major gifts, I have something to say about the recent massacre in Orlando. A Message to my Readers One of the reasons I got into the nonprofit sector is because I care about people. I care about human rights and social justice. We have lived with mass shootings … [Read more...]
What’s Your Ask-to-Thank Ratio? Lynne Wester talks Donor Relations
At an AFP Conference in Boston, I had the privilege of sitting down with Lynne Wester, Donor Relations Guru, to discuss the importance of thanking donors without asking. Interview Highlights (Transcript) Here are some highlights from our interview, but definitely take a few minutes to watch it this video in its entirety -- there's … [Read more...]
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