Major Donor Retention – What’s Holding It Back?
Donor retention statistics continue to worsen, with 2022 showing the lowest overall rate ever recorded, at 42.6%, according to the…
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What They Don’t Teach in Fundraising School
Do you know what they don’t teach in fundraising school? The situational realities of fundraising, such as: You’re given a…
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Why You Don’t Want Short-Term Results — 4 Reasons (Plus 6 Reasons Why You Want Long-Term Relationships Instead)
Should you work on building and sustaining long-term donor relationships that lead to major giving, or should you prioritize winning…
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The Heavy Lifts of Fundraising
Seemingly random events earlier in our lives actually serve as omens for what we will encounter the rest of our…
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9 Powerful But Often Overlooked Ideas for More Effectively Thanking Major Donors
Are you falling behind on thanking your major donors? Are you neglecting it entirely? If so, unfortunately, you’re not alone.…
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A Positive Trend In Fundraising That’s Applicable to All We Do
“What trends are you seeing across your peer group or aspirant peers?” I asked a client team last week. “Campaigns…
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5 Advanced Fundraising Tactics You Can Automate
Identifying, qualifying, and cultivating major gifts prospects takes months, often years. And doing so requires a number of tactics to…
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Philanthropic Facilitation and the Art of Matchmaking
As Carlo Robustelli, V.P. of College Advancement at Dickinson College explains, “We’re not miracle workers, we’re matchmakers.” Carlo is trying…
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Finally! “The Effortless Ask” – Using the Donor’s Story to Make It Easy to Ask Big in 3 Easy Steps
The Ask. Fundraisers think about it. Conference speakers talk about it. Books get written about it. But is it worth…
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The Real Way to Raise Money
Do you want to know the real way to raise money? It’s not complicated. Provide donors with what money can’t…
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5 Tips to Being Persistent in Outreach to Major Donors
Far too many gift officers and other fundraisers give up too easily when they don’t get a positive response from…
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The Way You Fundraise Matters
There are lots of ways to fundraise. All of them can be said to work in some ways but the…
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Understanding Wealthy Donors – 3 Truths Every Gift Officer Needs to Know
There’s a chasm in major gifts fundraising. It lies between the wealthy donors who often make up over 80% of…
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Fundraising’s Worst Oversimplification
Fundraising’s worst oversimplification is: “People give because they’re asked.” That’s like saying those who agree to marry do so simply…
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What Gift Officers Should Put in Their LinkedIn Experience Section
If you’ve read our other posts about LinkedIn, you understand that the point of your LinkedIn profile is not to…
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The Most Important Fundraising Metric: The 20-Year Relationship
When we conduct our Vital Signs Assessment, looking for indicators of fundraising success or struggle ahead, one data point stands…
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Why Organizations That Institute the Greatest Demands for Accountability Perform So Poorly
For the most part, everyone agrees that metrics are good. Accountability is good – even for major gift officers. Generally…
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Don’t Just “Find” Donors; Build Relationships for Lasting Impact
“Where do we find donors?” I’m asked that question quite a bit. To begin, let’s make sure we check all…
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31 Donor Discovery Strategies That Sincerely Engage Wealthy Supporters
Prospect research, RFM, wealth screeners, and other hands-off/arm’s-length methods of donor discovery can only work so well. And more often…
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Revolutionize Fundraising: Let’s Stop Making it Uncomfortable
If something about fundraising makes you uncomfortable, it isn’t because there’s something wrong with you but because there’s something wrong…
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4 Ways Your Assumptions about Major Donors Are Hurting Your Fundraising
You know that feeling when you’re talking to someone, and you realize they’ve already made up their mind about you?…
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It’s About Lots of Meaningful Interactions, Not Major Moves
The most important goals in managing prospects or donors in our portfolios are: Establishing a rapport with donors Maintaining contact…
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Why Major Donors Give – How to Tap into Their Motives and Inspire Transformational Gifts
So many nonprofits seeking major gifts keep doing what they’ve been told by the so-called experts, consultants, and traditionalists. Ask,…
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How to generate referrals for major gifts
A well-placed referral can be the bridge to new partnerships, financial support, and resources. It can elevate your nonprofit from…
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