Major Gift Fundraising: How to Match the Right Donor with the Right Idea
Putting the Right Idea in Front of The Right Donor in the Right Way at the Right Time The more…
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Abraham Lincoln On Fundraising
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe,” said…
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Is Your Fundraising Guilty of TMI?
It is impossible to develop a single formula for guiding the fundraising process. We humans are too varied in the…
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Fundraising Is an Act of Love: Emotional Intelligence at Its Best
We often talk about fundraising as strategy. As science. As systems and models and analytics. But strip away the jargon,…
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The 10 Most Common Assumptions That Lead to Fundraising Struggles
Here is a list of the 10 most common assumptions that fundraisers make: We should go into another campaign shortly…
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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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Donors Want a Peer-Based Relationship Not a Parental One
Read or listen to institutional fundraising appeals. What are many organizations really asking of their donors? The subtext is rich…
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6 Costly Ways Turnover Cripples Major Gift Fundraising Operations — and 5 Ways You Can Reduce It
The investment of time, money, training, and expertise required to run a successful major gift fundraising program is immense. You…
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The Power of Emotional Intelligence in Fundraising: A Lesson from Bill Crouch
Over the last decade, I’ve had the privilege of learning from Bill Crouch, the founder of BrightDot and a fundraising…
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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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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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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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The Secret to Raise Money More Cost-Effectively: Stop Fundraising
The longer I work with nonprofits, the more convinced I become that one of my core beliefs is true: If…
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Planting Seeds: The Step Before Cultivation
Funny how we use the word “cultivation” so often but rarely address the preceding step, “planting.” Philanthropic potential is like…
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Comfort Zones: The Places That Foster the Fullest Expressions of Philanthropy
My concern with so much of traditional fundraising is that it puts one or more parties in an uncomfortable position.…
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Why You Need to Revolutionize Your Fundraising
A giving revolution has already occurred. So, the longer you wait to adapt to it, the farther behind you will…
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How to Help Your Wealthiest Supporters Solicit Themselves
What results in a bigger gift? A) Being convinced to give B)Deciding to give on your own? Your job as…
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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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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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The importance of expressing impact and gratitude in fundraising
The “one big thing” in fundraising is this: Advance the donor’s hero story. The previous article set in this series…
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10 Reasons Why Major Gift Officers Quit to Look for New Jobs
Why do gift officers quit their jobs so frequently? Gift officer turnover is holding so many nonprofit organizations back. And…
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Why reciprocity must be an essential tool in your fundraising toolbox
Every single human being in every single society on earth subscribes to an unspoken rule when it comes to reciprocation…
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