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...]
5 Simple Ways to Thank Donors AND Raise More Money
Donors are far more likely to make a subsequent gift to an organization when they feel appreciated. Which begs the question: What are you doing to make absolute sure your donors feel appreciated? Acquiring New Donors Costs More Money It costs significantly more money to acquire new donors than to keep your old ones. And donors who have … [Read more...]
4 Ways to Stay Motivated (and Avoid Frustration) When Raising Major Gifts
Fundraising for any nonprofit organization can be challenging work, especially when it comes to raising major gifts. That’s because raising major gifts requires a healthy mix of effort, patience, and dedication to connect with donors and their passions. Unfortunately, when progress isn’t quick or obvious, raising those big gifts can be … [Read more...]
Just Say No to ‘Thank-a-Thons’ and Other Harmful Gratitude Practices
Imagine you donate to a charity for the first time. You receive a generic tax receipt and then, eight months later out of the blue, you receive a thank you call for a donation you barely remember making. Do you feel warm and fuzzy or in any way endeared toward that organization? I know a lot of nonprofit leaders are hard at work right now … [Read more...]
How to Earn an A+ on Your Donor Report Cards
If your donors were grading your fundraising efforts and their experience with your nonprofit, what sort of grade would they give you? (Hint: It’s not all about getting straight A’s, but it’s about doing the best you can. For more on this, see the end of this post.) 6 Areas to Earn an A+ on Your Donor Report Cards Simply pushing … [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...]
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