After nearly three decades in fundraising, I want to let you in on a secret: There is a faster path to transformational fundraising. It’s not new. I didn’t invent it. But it works. And most development directors still aren’t doing it. Shift Your Mindset → Transform Your Fundraising Truly impactful fundraising isn’t quick or easy. But … [Read more...]
Rethinking Donor Relationships: From Superheroes to True Partners
For decades, many fundraisers were taught to view donors as superheroes. In other words, as saviors swooping in to rescue our organizations. Others fell into treating donors like cash machines, expected to produce funding on command. Today, we know better. At least, in theory. Across the sector, we talk about donors as partners in our … [Read more...]
A Modern Look at Raising Major Gifts: From Cycle to Timeline
For many years, I wrote and spoke about the fundraising cycle. You know, identify donors, cultivate, solicit, and steward them. Start again, and round and round you go. But that’s not how real relationships work. Relationships evolve over time. So to be honest, a cycle doesn’t exactly make sense. Consider Donor Relationships on a … [Read more...]
Talking About the Uncomfortable Subject of Money with Donors
In many cultures -- ours included -- talking about money is taboo. It’s considered impolite to talk about how much you make, how much your home costs, etc. Of course, you can find out some of this information online, but it’s more likely you’d look it up than ask your friend how much they make. Consider the Uncomfortable Subject of … [Read more...]
Learn to Raise Major Gifts: A Better Way (That Actually Works)
You’ve probably attended conferences and webinars, and maybe you’ve even read some books on how to raise major gifts. You understand the concepts but implementing them is hard. You’re still nervous about meeting with donors and asking for advice -- and for gifts. And you’re not having much luck getting meetings anyway. If that sounds … [Read more...]
How To Cultivate Prospects and Build Lasting Donor Relationships
Cultivation is the process of building relationships, which is what fundraising is all about. But how well you cultivate your prospective donors will determine just how likely they are to give to your cause. What Cultivation *IS NOT* Many fundraisers have some misconceptions about cultivation. Cultivation is NOT: A monologue about how … [Read more...]
The Most Genuine Way to Ask Nonprofit Donors for Advice
You’ve probably heard the common expression in fundraising: Ask for money, you’ll get advice. Ask for advice, you’ll get money. In other words, if you simply ask for money, you won’t get much more than advice. But if you ask for advice (and engage your donors in the process) you can raise a lot of money. Unfortunately, most … [Read more...]
12 Ways to Become a Better Listener and Raise Larger Gifts
Becoming a better listener and knowing when to stop talking are essential skills for effective communication and fundraising. It’s always a good idea to work on self-improvement. I’ve been surprised recently in meetings where senior level colleagues couldn’t seem to stop talking. In other words, they didn’t listen well. Yet, I’m sure they … [Read more...]
Improve Board Meeting Attendance and Fundraising with Two Key Changes
Board members, like all people, want to feel appreciated. They want to feel that their time is valued. If any board member sits passively during a meeting and doesn’t contribute -- for any reason -- that meeting was a waste of their time. To put it another way, you know you're wasting their time if your board meetings are jam-packed with … [Read more...]
Exercise at Work? Walking Your Way to Raising Major Gifts
Last week, my partner at Capital Campaign Pro, Andrea Kihlstedt, and I went to Maine on a planning retreat. We walked, thought, and talked our way to a breakthrough. The change of scenery and change of pace got us out of our “heads” and out of our routine, and therefore allowed the ideas to flow. Sometimes sitting at your desk can be … [Read more...]
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