5 Fundraising Stats on Major Gifts of Assets: 2.3%, 60%, 77%, 6X, and 50X
2.3% of household wealth is held in cash and checkable accounts; stop ignoring the other 97.7%. 60% of the largest…
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Why Your Board and Wealthy Donors Don’t Send You Any Referrals
We all know the value of networking. We also all know that some of your best and most valuable donors…
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The Key to Improving Fundraising Results: Improve Your Posture
So many ill-conceived ideas about metrics and other means of evaluating fundraising performance are rooted in the terribly false notion…
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What Is Preliminary Qualification for Major Donors and Prospects?
For decades, major gifts fundraising has revolved around a process for working with wealthy donors to raise money. It involved…
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A Fundraising Process That Builds Donor Trust
The “ambush ask”—luring donors to meetings under false or veiled pretenses, then asking for “a gift”—has done significant damage to…
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What’s Your Strategy?
If you’ve ever cracked open a book on how to play chess, you know the feeling: A swirl of foreign…
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Why A Gift Officer’s Actual Job Is NOT to Raise Money
From the nonprofit’s perspective, the job of the gift officer often seems to be to convey wealth from supporters. But…
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Who’s Your Customer?
In 2010, Procter & Gamble had a dilemma. The massive consumer products company based in Cincinnati, Ohio had just signed…
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The Best Long Term Fundraising Strategy: Recruiting Volunteers
If you recruit the right volunteers (those with giving histories) and give them tasks worthy of their talents almost 80…
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Introducing the Staff Position You Never Knew You Needed That Can Boost Major Gifts Efficiency and Reduce Turnover
There’s too much to do and not enough time to do it. While this may be a common feeling in…
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Why The Affluent Give
The most common and persistent reasons for giving, as documented in the top two bars of the chart below, underscore…
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The Leadership Attribute We Need Most: Master Weaver
We will not build better advancement operations… – or sustain fundraising success – or build stronger cultures of philanthropy –…
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6 Reasons Why Major Donor Prospects Ignore Your Outreach Efforts
Major donor outreach isn’t easy. When you have success, it feels great. But more often, your efforts to make contact…
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Fundraisers Need to Be Passionate About More Than Mission
Many job descriptions claim to be looking for a fundraiser who will be “passionate about our mission.” That’s a good…
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Stewardship with Soul: Emotional Intelligence Beyond the Gift
Too many fundraisers treat stewardship like the closing chapter. The thank-you note. The impact report. The ribbon-cutting ceremony. But in…
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Fundraising Boss vs. Advancement Leader
Fundraising bosses want you to get gifts; advancement leaders want you to build partnerships. Fundraising bosses want you to solicit…
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Activity vs. Strategic Activity: Which Works Better for Major and Legacy Gift Fundraising Operations?
I worry when fundraising leaders confuse activity with advancement. Too often I hear that staff are celebrated for how many…
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One Size Doesn’t Fit All: How Emotionally Intelligent Fundraisers Adapt to Donor Styles
Ever had a donor go quiet on you after a meeting that felt great? Or sat across from someone who…
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The First Commandment of Advancement: Show Don’t Tell
A donor once shared with me why he had given so generously to an oceanographic institute on the far coast…
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Navigating Internal Tensions: Emotional Intelligence Inside the Fundraising Office
Most people think of emotional intelligence as a tool for managing donor relationships. But some of the most critical applications…
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How To Irritate Good Donors
Want to know how to get under your donors’ skin? Ask them to do something small after they’ve made a big…
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A Good Problem – What to Do If You Have Too Many Pre-qualified Major Donor Prospects
This is a classic good news / bad news scenario. The good news is, we have way more pre-qualified major…
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Donor Visits That Matter: Designing Emotionally Intelligent Conversations
A donor visit isn’t just a meeting. Done well, it’s a moment of transformation—for the donor and the mission. But…
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Moves Management: Misunderstood and Misapplied
In his recent article in APRA’s Connections, Tim DeCelle reveals, “In a 2019 interview, the now-retired David Dunlop reflects on…
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