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So many nonprofits seeking major gifts keep doing what they’ve been told by the so-called experts, consultants, and traditionalists. Ask, ask, ask. Keep your metrics… Read More
One of the most effective strategies for major gifts fundraising is to help your donors advance their personal hero story. This isn’t just our claim…. Read More
Major gifts fundraising is a job that requires an advanced set of skills. In other words, you must know some basics to simply do this… Read More
Effective fundraising starts with identity. Compelling fundraising story connects the donation story with the donor’s story. When does a story become the donor’s story? When… Read More
Effective fundraising can deliver real value to donors. For example, it can enhance public reputation. This external identity has tangible economic value.[1] But fundraising can… Read More
Verba docent, exempla trahunt. “Words teach people, examples compel them.” – Latin proverb[1] It’s simple. We want the donor to say, “Yes.” But how? How… Read More
Giving vs. sharing Are we asking people to give? Or are we asking them to share? This might feel like a trivial choice of synonyms…. Read More
The noble dream Small nonprofits have needs. Often, it’s obvious. The furnishings are a bit ragged. The space is cramped. The conditions are spartan. But… Read More
Biologists model sustainable giving in nature with a simple game.[1] The heroic donation comes from an extreme version of this game. The numbers game In… Read More
Something’s missing. You might have noticed. The last few posts played the primal-giving game.[1] But they didn’t focus on heroes. Now, it’s time to get… Read More
It gets posted all over social media. Featured in books. Heard at seminars. Repeated on webinars. It’s hard to work very long in fundraising without… Read More
The “one big thing” in fundraising is this: Advance the donor’s hero story. The previous article set in this series explored this in detail. The… Read More
In nature, giving to unrelated others can be sustainable. But it requires some form of reciprocity. This need not be immediate. It need not be… Read More
It starts with a question In nature, sustainable giving to unrelated others does occur. But it happens only with reciprocal alliances. These alliances start by… Read More
Sure, asking for money is hard. But asking for an estate gift? Even experienced fundraisers can get squeamish. As Anne Melvin puts it, “For many… Read More
Disaster! We put in the work. We put in the planning. We carefully execute each step in the cultivation process. We thoughtfully craft and stage… Read More
Making the ask can be the scariest part of fundraising. Setting up social events is great fun. Being friendly with others is enjoyable. Talking about… Read More
Before the ask, one step remains. Asking for permission to ask. The request is to present a challenge. This is the proposal for support.[1] Getting… Read More
Major gifts fundraising faces many challenges. That’s not news, and those challenges come in many forms, from many directions. But donor related fundraising challenges often… Read More
Donors give because giving enhances some aspect of their identity. They give for many other reasons too, but their final critical decisions regarding which organizations… Read More
The “one big thing” in fundraising is always the same: Advance the donor’s hero story. That’s the right story. But for major gifts, we need… Read More
A compelling fundraising challenge will connect with the donor’s identity. This begins with backstory. Backstory connects the cause, charity, or project with the donor’s history,… Read More
The missing piece in the story A novel can have a perfect story. But it will still fail without one thing. The reader must turn… Read More
Socratic fundraising Socratic inquiry uses questions. But just asking questions isn’t enough. To be Socratic, the questions must guide toward a goal. In fundraising, the… Read More
Feeling like your job is getting harder because donor expectations have changed and competition for the charitable dollar is growing?
Finding that the old orthodoxies and conventions espoused by so-called experts in online echo-chambers and at conferences don’t work anymore?
Want to help more people make impact by facilitating their acts of philanthropy but feel like too many obstacles keep getting in your way?
Then this book is for you.
Engagement Fundraising was developed from the perspective of a donor who discovered firsthand that the impersonal, spray-and-pray approaches of his beloved charity were not only offensive but also wasteful and ineffective. So he took action. And now, you can too.
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