3 tips for your fundraising career
1. Always add value. The best way to ensure that you have a job all the time is to make it a point to consistently… Read More
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Helping you qualify, cultivate and prioritize major donors and legacy supporters so you can have fun closing more gifts more efficiently.
Mar
31
2019
Dec
03
2018
Imagine: One extra call each day.
I simply love inspirational quotes. Here’s one I recently came across from Thomas Edison. He once said, “The successful person has a habit of doing… Read More
Sep
12
2018
Why you should worry less about reducing overhead and more about delivering value.
Fundraisers and donors are in a pickle. They have been unfairly subjected to a broken system for decades. It isn’t their fault, but it is… Read More
Jun
04
2018
Why you should never get a job and go to work.
I taught my kids to avoid using the words job, work and can’t. To me a job is what some people get so they can work to get money; and if they fail to find one, they might say it’s… Read More
Jun
01
2018
Top 2 cringeworthy things some fundraisers say to major donor prospects (and what they might want to say instead)
1. “I’d like to meet you to update you / tell you what we do / tell you what we’ve been doing, etc.” I’ve had… Read More
Apr
11
2018
Do you aim your messages at supporters or targets?
Unfortunately just about all of us are capable of conceiving of people as just functions rather than human beings. I think this realization was first… Read More
Feb
16
2018
Think your donors are stupid?
High-capacity donors aren’t altruistic. They want something from you just as much as you want something from them. At a high level, most simply want… Read More
Feb
12
2018
Why your job is to get donors to talk to themselves.
Your job is not to come up with words and images that will persuade or convince people to give. No! Instead, your job is to… Read More
Feb
09
2018
Does fundraising training focus too much on the ask?
Often I find that major gift (and legacy gift) fundraising education, training, and advice places too much emphasis on ‘the ask’. Yet, in many ways, the ask… Read More
Jan
29
2018
And another thing about donor-advised funds…
I know, I disagree with many others on this issue. But the value proposition offered to donors by donor-advised funds is fair and good. It… Read More
Jan
26
2018
Why fundraisers shouldn’t be making friends with donors
A true story. I was talking to one of our customers two weeks ago. She had been working for an organization for almost two and a… Read More
Dec
13
2017
Donors give when THEY want to give, not when YOU want them to give
It ain’t about you. Unsuccessful fundraisers want donors to give on their timeline, not the donor’s. They think they can make the donor ‘move’ when they want them… Read More
Oct
27
2017
3 questions every major donor asks themselves after they give
“What did they do with my money?” “Would my money yield more impact if I gave it to another organization?” “Do they make me feel good or… Read More
Oct
25
2017
Is shaming an effective fundraising strategy?
I was intrigued. A few weeks ago one of my employees (Nicole) forwarded the following email to me from her beloved alma mater. It was… Read More
Oct
09
2017
When it comes to "moves management," are you concerned too?
First, what are we really talking about when we say moves management? Wikipedia says, “moves are the actions an organization takes to bring in donors, establish relationships,… Read More
Aug
14
2017
7 great old quotes about philanthropy
1. Abraham Lincoln famously said, “When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad; and that’s my religion.” 2. Booker… Read More
Jul
24
2017
Why Oprah Winfrey gives money to build schools in Africa (the 8 components of impactful giving)
You might have known that Oprah was a philanthropist; but did you know why? Most people think they know Oprah Winfrey, one of the richest self-made… Read More
Jun
26
2017
Find your dream job with these 3 simple steps
If you don’t know where you are going, you will never get there. Here’s how to start with the end in mind so you can be… Read More
Jun
16
2017
You don't necessarily need more low-dollar donors
You don’t necessarily need more low-dollar donors. You need better ways to determine who has the capacity. You don’t necessarily need more low-dollar donors. You need… Read More
Jun
05
2017
Can raising money be like building furniture?
Did you know you can make furniture without screws, nails or fasteners? Great artisans make furniture using glue, miters, and specialized wood joints. It takes longer to… Read More
May
24
2017
Some people find me abrasive. Here's why.
Recently I was told, “Greg, you are one strong cup of coffee.” I like that. Here’s why I am the way I am: 1. I… Read More
May
19
2017
The most powerful motivators of major gifts and legacy gifts.
RemembranceHonor Memorialize Pay tribute Fairness Right wrongs Give back HormonesOxytocin “the love hormone” Cortisol for focus Brain Neurons transmitting information Mirror neurons support empathy… Read More
May
17
2017
What's missing from most nonprofit mission statements?
Last week I wrote a post that ruffled some feathers. I do that from time to time. It’s probably because everything I think, write and… Read More
Apr
03
2017
Do you know the names of your donor's influencers?
Life stories are like fingerprints. No two are alike and everyone has them. All of our life stories are filled with challenges that must be… Read More
Get the book!
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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