Smartideas

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

Philanthropic Partnership Building Begins With Setting the Right Tone

Gone are the days – or so they should be: Of imagining in splendid isolation what donors should do for us then foisting our brain… Read More


How Fundraising Overcomplicated Philanthropic Facilitation

Philanthropic facilitation is as old as human history. It began when two or more people saw a common need or opportunity and resolved to work… Read More


What Gift Officers Should Write in Their LinkedIn ‘About’ Section

I think too many major gifts fundraisers – and people in most other industries as well – are not using their LinkedIn profiles to their… Read More


How Many Major Donors Are You Overlooking Right Under Your Nose?

The usual methods for identifying and qualifying major donors are costing your organization huge amounts of money if you are relying too much on them…. Read More


Most Senior Fundraisers Don’t Need Training; They Need Treatment

You’re always outnumbered. No matter how much fundraising experience and philanthropic wisdom you acquire, you’re always surrounded by completely inexperienced people who assume they know… Read More


What’s Your Reason for Requesting The First Meeting With a Prospective Donor?

What’s your reason for requesting the first meeting with a prospective donor? The ones I hear most often, including the ones used on me, include:… Read More


Planting Seeds: The Step Before Cultivation

Funny how we use the word “cultivation” so often but rarely address the preceding step, “planting.” Philanthropic potential is like fertile ground. Figuring out which… Read More


Secrets for Turning Small Donors into Major Donors

You know they’re in there, somewhere in your donor database. You just need to find them – those small donors who could turn into major… Read More


Dazzle Your Donor Prospects with an Upgraded LinkedIn Headline

Many major gift officers don’t realize that one of the things some wealthy donor prospects do after receiving a first communication from you is to… Read More


Why You Need to Revolutionize Your Fundraising

A giving revolution has already occurred. So, the longer you wait to adapt to it, the farther behind you will fall. Even the healthiest, highest… Read More


How to Help Your Wealthiest Supporters Solicit Themselves

What results in a bigger gift? A) Being convinced to give B)Deciding to give on your own? Your job as a fundraising gift officer isn’t… Read More


What Unrestricted Funds and Phone Booths Have In Common

People aren’t interested in them anymore. If you fancy yourself clever, persuasive, charismatic, or irresistible, I challenge you to see how many people you can… Read More


Fundraising Metrics Vs. The Natural Rhythms of Philanthropy

“If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” It’s been cited as one of the two most important quotes about business. The author is… Read More


How to Retain Your Best Fundraisers and Donors – Listen

When we poll fundraisers in advance of team practices (I don’t like the word “training” because people aren’t pets), we see very similar responses across… Read More


The Power of Building Relationships: Why Donors Need Good Fundraisers

Why, of all people, would a donor want to build a relationship with a fundraiser? If you are a donor, it sounds like a questionable… Read More


Why I Don’t Like Recommended Ask Amounts

For the record, I don’t like the idea of using SUGGESTED ASK AMOUNTS. Do you? I don’t believe in presupposing what amount someone might give… Read More


Yes, you have to spend money to raise money, but…

A lot of money spent on fundraising has little or no effect on fundraising results. And when you spend money on the wrong things, you… Read More


How to Hire the Right People for Raising Major Gifts

Are the people working as major gift officers at your organization in the right role? Do they have the best skill set and mindset for… Read More


How Balanced or Imbalanced is Your Fundraising?

Fundraising should be as comfortable as two people exploring possibilities. If done wisely and well, fundraising is nothing more than two people exploring possibilities. That… Read More


10 Confidence Boosting Tips for Scheduling More Visits

I used to be TERRIFIED of scheduling visits. Here are 10 things I did to build confidence in a system that allowed me to schedule… Read More


Why Propensity Fails at Helping You Pre-Qualify Major Donors for Outreach

Here’s the situation: You’ve been tasked with finding a fresh batch of potential major donors to engage. You’ve been given an arbitrary and unreasonably short… Read More


FOR FUNDRAISERS ONLY: Read this whenever you feel beaten down by people who don’t understand what you do for humanity

If you are a fundraiser…. You are not a beggar or manipulator who twists arms. Rather, you are a caring, helpful, generous, joyful facilitator who… 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


7 Ways Bad Leadership in Fundraising Drives Away Your Best Gift Officers

“It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do. We hire smart people so they can tell us what… Read More


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