Smartideas

Straight talk about major, mid-level and legacy gift fundraising to help you be a better fundraiser

Dr. James explains why identifying with others is so powerful in a donor’s hero story

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


How Enhancing a Donor’s Moral Identity Can Advance their Donor Hero Story

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


Dr. James explains why the feeling “People like me make gifts like this” is so powerful in major gifts fundraising

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: The Power of Community in Major Gifts Fundraising

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


Why you must deliver value in fundraising, not just take the money and run

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


Top 10 Reasons to Enroll in the Donor Story: Epic Fundraising Ecourse with Dr. Russell James

Need help convincing the ‘powers that be’ to pony up the cash for the best and most valuable online fundraising eCourse on the planet? Even… Read More


Dr. James explains how to harness friendship reciprocity to unlock heroic donations

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


How to Quickly Learn What Used to Take Experienced Fundraisers Decades to Understand and Apply

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


The Power of Heroic Philanthropy: Understanding Donor Motivations

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


The importance of expressing impact and gratitude in fundraising

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


Dr. James explains the power of giving: why leading with a gift always wins

Lead with a gift: The primal-giving game Biologists model sustainable giving in nature with a game.[1] This primal-giving game models reciprocal altruism.[2] What’s the best… Read More


How transactional donor relationships kill generosity

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


Dr. James explains why sustainable giving starts by answering, “Do we have a shared future?”

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


How fundraisers can help their cause resonate with donors

Story works In fundraising, story is powerful. Story works better than formal descriptions. Story works better than facts and figures. Simply, story works better than… Read More


How to build deeper connections with your donors using surveys

Socratic fundraising asks questions. It’s easy to think of this as face-to-face, one-on-one conversations. But sometimes that isn’t feasible. The right personnel aren’t available. Or… Read More


Planned Giving Language – Words to Use and Avoid in Your Legacy Fundraising

There are two languages in fundraising – donorese, and organizationish. And, as often happens when people speak two different languages, miscommunication happens, and it obstructs… Read More


How to Make the Ask of a Gift in a Will Less Scary

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


Why Fundraiser Turnover Is So High

Fundraiser turnover is an epidemic. And that’s not just our opinion or an attempt to be dramatic. Actual researchers used that label to describe the… Read More


Dr. James explains why “No” often leads to “Yes”

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


Dr. James’ 3-step formula for making a compelling major gifts ask

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


Dr. James Explains How Asking Permission Sets the Stage for “The Ask”

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


Finally, the questions you should ask that have been proven to lead to gifts from wealth

Let’s talk about wealth We want the donor to talk about assets. Why? Because 1. It creates a setting of wealth sharing. 2. It uncovers… Read More


Donor Identity Questions – Teasing Out Values, Beliefs, and Motivations

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


How to establish “the land of wealth sharing” for major gifts donors

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


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