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…
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Why what you do is called ADVANCEMENT
Ever wonder why what you do is called ‘advancement’? Here’s the answer: Your primary role is to help donors move…
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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…
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Two Powerful Types of Questions You Should NOT Ask Major Gift Donors Until Trust Is Established
At some point in your engagement with donors and supporters there comes a magical moment when you realize a person…
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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…
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5 Essential Tips and Strategies for Improving How You Make Outreach to Major Donor Prospects
Making outreach to major donor prospects requires a set of skills that too often get shoved to the back burner.…
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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,…
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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…
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What Happens When We Don’t Understand the Why of Giving
Not as many people give according to our “strategic pillars” as we would like to believe or as our fundraising…
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5 Data-Driven Strategies to Increase Donor Survey Response Rates
The more you can learn about major donors before you meet them, the more effective you will be at that…
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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…
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6 Reasons Why Donor Surveys Work at Engaging Wealthy Supporters and Prospects
Getting that initial engagement from a major donor prospect is a big hurdle. Yes, we all want to meet with…
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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…
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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…
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Dr. James explains why identifying with others is so powerful in a donor’s hero story
Effective fundraising starts with identity. Compelling fundraising story connects the donation story with the donor’s story. When does a story…
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How Enhancing a Donor’s Moral Identity Can Advance their Donor Hero Story
Effective fundraising can deliver real value to donors. For example, it can enhance public reputation. This external identity has tangible…
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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…
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Dr. James explains why the feeling “People like me make gifts like this” is so powerful in major gifts fundraising
Verba docent, exempla trahunt. “Words teach people, examples compel them.” – Latin proverb[1] It’s simple. We want the donor to…
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Fundraising Requires A Great Deal of Courage – Not Just the Courage to Ask
I hear it often. I ask an advancement leader how a particular fundraiser is doing or ask a president how…
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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…
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How Predictive Analytics in Fundraising Fails to Deliver Accurate Caseloads
Every industry loves to predict the future. We predict stock markets, sports outcomes, educational outcomes, climate change, weather, and performance…
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Giving vs. Sharing: The Power of Community in Major Gifts Fundraising
Giving vs. sharing Are we asking people to give? Or are we asking them to share? This might feel like…
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Transforming Average Major Gift Officers into Great Major Gift Officers
❌ Average MGO: Shares lots of great information. ✅ Great MGO: Asks important questions and listens. ❌ Average MGO:…
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The Unmeasurable Impact of Human Connection in Advancement
The most important part of advancement is something we can’t measure. It’s the problem with all fundraising systems and process…
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