Why you need to know the difference between your donor’s implicit vs. explicit needs
Too often fundraisers make assumptions about what donors want. Usually, this is driven by top leaders or board members. They…
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It’s NOT a dirty job but someone DOES have to do it.
Recently a friend of mine was promoted. Now she is in a leader position at her organization’s headquarters. Yippee! I…
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Are fundraising tricks and gimmicks worth doing?
An old book filled with timeless lessons. I was cleaning out a cabinet last weekend and I came across an…
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The 8 Components of Engagement Fundraising
There are eight components of my innovative fundraising methodology: 1. Accepting the Pareto principle We’ve called it the 80/20 rule,…
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The 4 Core Values of First-Generation Wealthy Donors You Need to Understand
Wealth is becoming more concentrated among fewer people. You probably know that already. But what you may not understand is…
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Introducing the Most Effective Legacy Gift Fundraising Strategy You’ve Never Heard Before
Imagine the following two scenarios. Scenario 1: You have 100 donors who have capacity to give a five-figure legacy gift,…
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How to ask for a gift: Do you really have to ask?
When it comes to ‘how to ask for a gift,’ you’ll see there’s a parallel between how we conduct sales…
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3 Simple Ways to Start Major Donor Conversations Off on the Right Foot
“I’m interested in your story” Beginning a donor conversation by showing interest in their story works very well because people…
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How to Respond When a Major Gifts Prospect Says ‘No’ to Making a Gift
No matter how well your major gifts conversation goes, sometimes the prospect still turns down the opportunity to make a…
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13 Reasons Why Donor Prospects Say ‘No’ to Major Gifts Proposals
Why Do Major Gifts Prospects Decide Not To Give? In the vast majority of situations where this happens, the reason…
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Restricted vs Unrestricted Gifts: Why Donors Love Restricted Gifts and (Some) Nonprofits Hate Them
A debate has been growing in recent years regarding the practice of offering major donors the option of giving restricted…
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At last, the Not-So-Secret Formula for Raising Major Gifts
If you’re in the business of raising money for a cause, some on your staff (or your board) may have…
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What’s wrong with fundraising job titles?
Your job title as a fundraiser is part of the first impression you make with a donor. Of course, you…
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The 12 Donor Archetypes – How to Tap into Donor Identities and Generate Bigger Gifts
You Might Be Wondering Why a Fundraiser Needs to Care About Archetypes. Fundraising is all about storytelling (and story listening).…
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The 4 Types of Legacy Gift Asks (Solicitations)
Death isn’t a fun topic of conversation. Asking for a legacy gift can feel like you’re curious about when the…
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10 Follow-Up Questions You’ll Need to Deepen Your Conversation with Major Donors (and One to Avoid)
Fundraising is not an operation. It’s a conversation. It’s a conversation that can either build or diminish trust. Trust is…
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7 ‘Hire Me Now’ Traits of Highly Effective Major Gifts Officers
Hiring major gifts officers is hard. First, it’s just not an easy position to fill because there is a lot…
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The 6 Core Elements of a Well-Told, Well-Executed Donor Fundraising Story
Before you think this is another post about how to tell great fundraising stories, read this: This article is not…
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The Next-Gen Major Gifts Fundraising Metrics Your Nonprofit Should Be Measuring
If you looked up suggestions for which major gifts metrics and KPIs your organization should be measuring, most of what…
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6 Things Your Donors Don’t Care About (That You Assumed They Did)
This news can be shocking to hear and might even make some fundraisers and nonprofit administrators fall out of their…
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3 Ways You Can Alter Your Perspective and Approach Toward Wealthy Donors So You Raise More Money
In my previous article, which you can read here, I outlined three challenges wealthy people face when they start exploring…
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5 Strategies for Turning Smaller Major Gifts into Larger Ones
What’s the only thing better in fundraising than a major gift? A bigger major gift. If you’ve been reading this…
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How the Most Successful Fundraisers Use Stories to Inspire and Motivate Donors to Give
This is the fifth and final post that summarizes a series that tackles why storytelling doesn’t work on its own…
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Why Listening and Investigating Matter So Much for Funding Your Mission
You might want to check out the first post in this series before reading this one. In that post, I…
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