7 Major Gift Fundraising Benchmarks You Really Need To Know
Before we begin. The 2020 Major Gift Benchmark Study asked people working in nonprofit organizations (n=580) what they consider to…
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WEBINAR: Dr. Russell James
The Way Forward Webinar Series Science-based recommendations for dealing with the aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis The doctor is in!…
MoreTHE WAY FORWARD: PART 3 OF 3 FOR MARKETING MAJOR AND LEGACY GIFTS IN THE CORONAVIRUS ERA
This is part 3 of 3 in a series. For the first post, go here and for the second post, go…
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THE WAY FORWARD: PART 2 OF 3 FOR MARKETING MAJOR AND LEGACY GIFTS IN THE CORONAVIRUS ERA
This is part 2 of 3 in a series. For the previous post, go here. 3. Kill self-doubt Some in…
MoreThe Way Forward: Part 1 of 3 for Marketing Major and Legacy Gifts in the Coronavirus Era
1. Don’t Panic It’s the first rule of crisis management. When we panic we make bad decisions. Many of us…
MoreA pep talk for fundraisers like you!
We are going to get through this, and history proves it. For many of us, this is not the first…
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FACING FUNDRAISING CHALLENGES RESULTING FROM THE COVID-19 CRISIS
Facing Fundraising Challenges Resulting From the Covid-19 Crisis A Fireside Chat with MarketSmart’s CEO Video, Slides & White Paper Now…
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Here’s what I learned about leadership in 2019. I hope it helps you!
In the age of Fundraising Climate Change, leadership at nonprofits is needed more than ever. However, what I learned last…
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5 Ways You Can Get Meetings with Major Donors (Even When They Won’t Answer their Phone)
I hear the following all the time when I ask fundraisers about their efforts to land meetings with major and…
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The 80-20 Rule is DEAD!
It’s no longer 80-20 but, rather, 70/.7 According to our research, tons of nonprofits spend most of their fundraising budget…
MoreIntroducing, Louis Diez— The Checklist Guy for Fundraising Excellence
Some people really know how to be givers. You know what I mean don’t you? From time to time all…
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The power of convenience: A follow-up to my post about online will-writing tools
The power of convenience as an influencer and motivator of outcomes is enormous and should never be underestimated. Ours is…
MoreOnline will-making tools: My pros and cons.
Brace yourself. This is a long post because there’s a lot to be said. I wrote it because digital will-writing…
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Are your letters to major donors and donor prospects any good?
Direct mail is NOT dead! However, ‘spray and pray‘ direct mail should be! Long live one-to-one, highly relevant, personalized communications—…
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GUEST POST: A Great Idea… Connecting With Donors Through Photo Books
This is a first! I’ve never had anyone write a guest post for my blog. But when I saw what…
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If you like VERITUS GROUP and you like me… now you can get both together!
Alignment. Have you ever met someone for the first time but felt like you had known them forever? Like you…
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At last, the Fundraising Report Card is now 100% free for nonprofits
In case you’ve never heard of it… The Fundraising Report Card is a little application I had my staff build…
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A perfect example of ‘spray and pray fundraising’
This email wasted my time and annoyed me because… I don’t know this person I don’t know this organization I…
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Why You Need Tech-Enabled Donor Discovery
For decades, fundraisers have sought a ‘magic box’ to identify the most ideal donor prospects for outreach, relationship-building, and solicitation.…
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Why your capital campaign feasibility study could be leaving a lot of money on the table.
I think most campaign feasibility studies leave a ton of money on the table. Here’s a hyper-simplified description of how…
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A digest of last year’s best blog posts (titled ‘The Best Of SmartIdeas’) is now available… for FREE.
If you’ve ever hoped for a digest of my best posts, today is your lucky day! Each year, my staff…
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Here’s what’s missing from moves management.
Something about the term moves management has always made me feel uneasy. When I first heard the phrase I figured…
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Giving increased .7% but you won’t hear many people celebrating and that’s really too bad
They were wrong. Remember when the Lilly School predicted at least a $13 billion drop in giving due to the…
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Now Available: Executive Summary (PDF) of My Webinar On ‘Fundraising Climate Change’
A few weeks ago I hosted a webinar about Fundraising Climate Change (a term I developed some time ago and…
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