5 Steps to Take As You Prepare For Outreach to Major Giving Prospects
Winning major gifts is a complex process, but it can be broken down into a series of steps. You can…
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“Start with Heart” Leadership: Emotional Intelligence as the Foundation for Fundraising Success
When fundraising teams struggle, leaders often respond with new strategies: restructured portfolios, new databases, more metrics, more meetings. But often,…
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The Most Important Philanthropic Ratio
It’s a huge and costly mistake to seek support from the wealthiest. Some are philanthropic; most are not. Within the…
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8 Ways to Give to Supporters So They Become More Likely to Return the Favor and Give Assets
At MarketSmart, we believe you need to give to your supporters before asking them for money. It’s the law of…
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The Ripple Effect: Using Emotional Intelligence to Empower Others and Multiply Impact
One of the most overlooked outcomes of emotionally intelligent fundraising is this: it creates a ripple effect. When we lead…
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The Root of So Many Fundraising Miseries
An organization posts an open fundraising job. They’re looking for a miracle worker. The expectations are wildly unrealistic. The person…
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How to Determine Which Prospects Are Prioritized for Outreach
Your database is full of all kinds of supporters, donors, and prospects. Some of them are known to be major…
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Why Your Fundraising Appeals Fall Flat (and How Emotional Intelligence Can Fix Them)
If you’ve ever sent out a fundraising appeal that didn’t land—no clicks, no gifts, no response—you’re not alone. But the…
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Don’t Ask for Support, Allow Donors to Share Something of Themselves
Asking for support is a weak philanthropic proposition. Here’s what “support” means, right from the dictionary: bear all or part…
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What’s up with wealth screening? Everyone does it but few find the data trustworthy.
Many nonprofits depend on wealth ratings to supply new leads and prospects for their major gifts fundraising program. Gift officers…
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The Fundraiser’s Superpower: Mastering Empathy to Inspire Giving
Ask any seasoned fundraiser the one trait that separates good from great—and they’ll likely say the same word: empathy. But…
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The Pathway to Significant Giving Is Not Paved With Just “Visits”
A common Key Performance Indicator (KPI) used to evaluate fundraisers is the number of visits they pay to prospects in…
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Why Nonprofits Should Use Donor Surveys
Major gifts fundraising begins and ends with trusting relationships. No one gives large gifts if they don’t trust the organization.…
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From Transactional to Transformational: How Emotional Intelligence Builds Lasting Major Donor Loyalty
There’s a dangerous myth in fundraising: that success is measured by the number of calls made, visits completed, and dollars…
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Two Basic Schools of Fundraising: Hunters and Growers
Hunters believe, “The more we get out into the field or commit ourselves to being ‘road warriors,’ and the more…
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Why We Rebuilt the Fundraising Report Card — and Why It Matters Now More Than Ever
It started 10 years ago. Back in 2015, I stumbled onto something that changed my life — and, I believe,…
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Automate These 4 Fundraising Tasks and Keep Your Gift Officers from Quitting
Gift officer turnover continues to plague so many outstanding nonprofit organizations. We’ve been writing about this for several years, but…
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Fundraising Is Not Sales: It’s Emotional Intelligence in Action
Let’s clear something up: fundraising is not the same as sales. Yes, both involve persuasion. Both rely on conversations. And…
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Why Would A Donor Want To Build A Relationship With a Fundraiser?
If you are a donor, it sounds like a questionable proposition. The organizational representative who wants to build a relationship…
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The Secret to Major Donor Inspiration Lies in These 7 Challenges
Major donors give more when they’re inspired to give. Inspiration is emotional, not logical. It’s very difficult to inspire powerful…
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The Secret Power Behind Every Fundraising Success: Emotional Intelligence
You’ve probably heard it said that fundraising is both art and science. But too often, we obsess over the science—metrics,…
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The Downsides of Asking Boards to Help With Fundraising
I get it all the time. “Jim our board (pick which kind) isn’t raising enough money for us. Could you…
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3 Reasons Why Wealthy People Won’t Give to Your Nonprofit at a High Level
Let’s jump right into it. I believe there are three primary reasons for the major donor disconnect most gift officers…
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Key Performance Indicators That Ultimately Undermine Performance
Are your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) rational and sustainable? Do they appear to enhance productivity while actually raiding the cupboard…
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