Like most people, I’m not the best at keeping resolutions -- and yet, I always make them. Why do we torture ourselves if we fail at keeping resolutions year after year? It’s because we believe we can do better, holding out hope. And with the right formula, we can succeed. From Fundraising Resolutions to Goals You might do better to … [Read more...]
Major Gift Fundraising: Reflections, Observations, and Predictions for 2023
While trying to decide what to write for my final post of the year, I looked back over some of my older posts for inspiration. I cherry-picked a collection of nuggets that I hope will be inspirational and motivational. Everyone Should Have a BHAG, Including You! I began the year with a post about creating a BHAG, a Big Hairy Audacious Goal … [Read more...]
How to Deal with Disappointment When Raising Major Gifts
Fundraising can be full of frustration and disappointment. This is especially true when a donor doesn’t respond the way you'd hoped they would. There is a Bright Side to "No" However, there is a bright side to no. When you get a string of no’s, it could be a sign that you're being brave. And if you’re not getting any no’s, it’s definitely … [Read more...]
How to Tame the Scariest Part of Fundraising – The Ask
Asking for gifts can be scary. Especially if you’ve never done it before. There are many reasons fundraising is frightening. I can think of five right off the top of my head: Fear of rejection Fear of the unknown Fear of messing up the ask Fear of offending the donor Fear of saying something stupid If you’ve never asked for a … [Read more...]
5 Times I Was Wrong About My Approach to Fundraising
The first decade of my fundraising career, I made many mistakes. Of course, mistakes aren’t necessarily bad if you take the opportunity to learn from them. Fortunately, I’m older and wiser now, and I hope you can learn from my own missteps. After 25 years of fundraising, I’ve learned a lot and am happy to pass along these tidbits to you. … [Read more...]
6 Ways to Thank Donors Virtually and Really Stand Out
Recently I was leading a training on raising major gifts and one of the participants asked how she could steward donors virtually. It got me thinking about why stewardship is important and why you should think outside the box when following up with donors after they make a gift. The Importance of Stewardship Stewardship is the fourth and … [Read more...]
DON’T Do These 12 Things When Asking for a Major Gift
There are many things you “should” do when asking for major gifts. But because there are so many DO's, it might be easier to remember what NOT to do -- i.e., the DON'Ts. Many of the things on this list are things you're likely to already know. But you might forget to implement them in the hustle and bustle of your everyday work. Hopefully, … [Read more...]
State of Fundraising: Giving USA 2022 – 8 Key Highlights
Every year, the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University produces an annual “state of giving” report called Giving USA. The findings are eagerly anticipated by fundraisers near and far -- and for good reason. It’s critically important to understand who is giving and giving trends for fundraisers to do their work … [Read more...]
The Secret Formula for Raising Major Gifts: 5 Key Components
Let's cut to the chase -- if you want to raise major gifts successfully, you need the right combination of five components: knowledge strategy persistence optimism courage That's it. I've just let you in on the "secret formula" -- and it probably seems pretty straightforward, right? 5 Key Components to Raising Major Gifts … [Read more...]
Year-End Giving is a Sham: A Better Way to Raise Money
Okay, maybe calling year-end giving a sham is a bit extreme. But there *IS* a better way... Most nonprofit leaders rely heavily on year-end fundraising because the holiday appeal letter and/or email brings in 30%, 40%, or 50% or more of the annual fundraising revenue. That’s a whole lot of eggs in one basket, metaphorically speaking. It … [Read more...]
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