As a consultant, I try to stress the importance of having a planned giving program to all of my clients, regardless of the size or capacity of the nonprofit I’m working with. However, other priorities often get moved to the top of the list and planned giving gets moved to the back burner. But it doesn't have to... Looking at Planned Giving … [Read more...]
Creating a 60 Day Fundraising Plan: Days 1-15
A friend and colleague, who happens to be the new executive director of a nonprofit that's in financial trouble, called me and asked me to help him develop an "emergency" 60 day fundraising plan. The board hired him, in part, because the organization is in trouble and he’s going to try to turn things around. Hopefully you're not in as dire … [Read more...]
Look what YOU did! 5 Ways to Thank Your Donors
"Look what YOU did!" This was the subject line of an email I recently received. Was it good? Bad? Suddenly, I felt like a kid being called to the principal’s office. Was I in trouble? What had I done? Of course, it didn’t take long for curiosity to get the best of me and I immediately opened the email. In big, bold letters, the … [Read more...]
4 Simple Steps to Asking Individuals for Donations
Do you include face-to-face fundraising to ask individuals for donations as an integral part of your annual fund campaign? Now, I’m not talking about going door-to-door or sitting in front of a grocery store with a can. I'm talking about individual fundraising. If you don’t know how to do individual fundraising or if you are just getting … [Read more...]
How to Meet Donors with Big Wallets
Over and over I hear board and staff members complain that they don’t know any “rich” people and my reaction is always the same: it’s more important to meet people with big hearts than big wallets. Remember, the actual number of “rich” people in this country (or even in the world) is extremely small. Therefore the chances that one of them … [Read more...]
How to Organize Your Development Shop to be Donor-Focused
How organized is your development shop? More importantly, are you donor-focused? How Does Your Organization Compare? Last week I facilitated a process improvement meeting for development department directors at a local hospital foundation. Each department at the hospital foundation (annual fund, major gifts, stewardship, planned giving) … [Read more...]
Japan Reminds Us: Nonprofits Need Cash, So Just Ask
Yesterday I heard a report on the radio that made me frustrated and angry. The reporter had recently completed an in-depth survey of all the emergency response agencies to the crisis in Japan. What was their conclusion? If you really want to help, send cash! Is this rocket science? Did we really in need a study to tell us this? Maybe we … [Read more...]
How to Identify Potential Donors for Your Cause
Do you wish you raised more money from individuals? If so, what’s stopping you? I often hear from my clients that they don’t know where to start. If you’re stuck because you don’t know where to start, the first step is to identify potential donors or prospects. Some Simple Ways to Identify Potential Donors There are a handful of … [Read more...]
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