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…
More
The 3 Key Elements of a Good Fundraising Story
What’s it about? Many stories can be good stories. But a good fundraising story must do something specific. It must…
More
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…
More
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…
More
How Restricted Gifts Can Actually Be a GOOD Thing — And Why You Should Embrace Them
Fundraising is story world Lab experiments, field experiments, and academic theory agree: Fundraising lives in “story world,” not “commerce world.”…
More
The Great Resignation: An Advancement Perspective
Okay, so maybe all that talk about millions of people shucking their jobs and living off the grid was overstated.…
More
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…
More
Why people who say your non-profit should operate like a for-profit are wrong
Giving is different from buying Charitable giving comes from “story world.” Effective fundraising story triggers visualization producing social emotion. This…
More
“We don’t have the right people in our database.”
“We don’t have the right people in our database.” A Director of Development told me this a few months into…
More
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).…
More
Why Simple Words Work When Telling a Fundraising Story
Use your words Story starts with words. Word choice matters. It matters for fundraising story. For example, Simple, conversational, family…
More
Fundraising Success: Leveraging Your Value Propositions
Donors make more personal and practical calculations in their giving decisions than most organizational and advancement leaders recognize. Alumni most likely…
More
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…
More
5 Reasons Why You Should Focus Your Fundraising On Foundations, Funds, Trusts, and Endowments
Many fundraisers don’t understand the world of big philanthropy. Why not? Because they don’t understand wealth. They don’t understand charitable…
More
6 Simple Reasons Some Fundraisers are More Effective than Others
One of my clients raised over $1 Million in the last 30 days in major gifts. Here are some of…
More
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…
More
How to make sure the experience you deliver to donors makes their giving feel worthwhile
Charity managers’ perspective How should a gift be structured? For charity managers, the answer is easy. The donor should just…
More
12 Keys to Conducting Effective Donor Interviews
Curiosity is a fundraisers greatest asset. Yet even the most curious must learn to ask questions that yield the most…
More
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…
More
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…
More
How to Reduce the ‘Cost’ of Philanthropy So Major Donors Give More
Teen Talk Barbie famously stated, “Math is hard.”[1] This may be particularly true in fundraising. Giving is motivated by social emotion. Triggering math,…
More
Don’t Give Up!
“I’ve already made all of my giving decisions for this year, so there’s no reason for us to meet.” Here…
More
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…
More
Why You Should Focus Your Fundraising Efforts on Generating Gifts of Wealth (from Assets) Not on Disposable Income (from Credit Cards, Checks, or Cash)
Gifts of wealth A donation comes from the intersection of motivation and cost. Most of this series focuses on the…
More