Smartideas

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

5 Simple Steps for Fundraising Success Thanks to Marc Pitman

A Welcome Discovery! I came across this terrific little book while I was home, nursing a really bad cold this past week. I bought it a… Read More


Exciting addition to the team!

On December 3rd, we shared an exciting announcement that nonprofit fundraising veteran, Dan Doyle is joining our Fundraising Report Card team! Coming on as Chief… Read More


A bunch of reasons why January is NOT necessarily the best time to ‘hit your donor’s mailbox’

Recently I saw a question posted on a discussion board that was inspired by a blog (NOT mine) titled: WHY YOU NEED TO HIT YOUR… Read More


4 simple concepts that can help you raise sophisticated transformational gifts

I like this blog post written by Greg Ring over at The Giving Crowd.  In it, he outlines his Four C’s of Successful Fundraising. Although,… Read More


How to stop over-thinking and start engaging

Confucius said, “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” Engagement fundraising is so darn simple too! You don’t need to over-think… Read More


How to think about major gifts

Ditto! That’s all I can say when I read Veritus Group’s blog articles. Ditto! These guys (Richard Perry and Jeff Schreifels) totally ‘get’ it! For… Read More


MajorGiftMotivator 171

Now you can hear me on the ‘Freakshow’!

My pal Brady Josephson (self-proclaimed charity nerd) had me on his relatively new podcast titled: The Generosity Freakshow. I encourage you to take a listen…. Read More


Free Download: Engagement Fundraising – Introduction and Chapter 1!

Today’s your chance to read the introduction and chapter 1 of Engagement Fundraising for free! We are offering a free PDF of the book up… Read More


How success and happiness relate to the raising of money

Everyone wants success and happiness in their lives. Sadly, too many people are misled or misdirected by the media and teachers about what success and …


Top 8 reasons why you might want to read my new book: Engagement Fundraising

Here are 8 reasons why you might want to read my new book: Engagement Fundraising …


Focus on your donors’ lives, not their wallets

I came across this very interesting article a couple of weeks ago and thought I’d share it since it led me to a terrific new… Read More


Is it time to dump donor ‘scores’?

Are scores really worth the trouble? It seems like every service provider has a scoring system for your donors. They've got capacity scores, likelihood scores,… Read More


The number one thing to avoid saying when you call a planned giving prospect

So somebody was interested in learning more about how to update their will.  You know because they sent in a reply form from one of… Read More


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