If you're working in major gifts and you've never heard this, you might need to alter your approach. Many of…
Like any other donors, wealthy donors want to give. But when wealthy donors give, it’s usually a major gift, meaning…
Universal challenge Let’s go to the movies! And when we go, what will we see? If it’s a blockbuster, we’ll…
You’ve had a least one bad boss or worked in at least one depleting advancement operation. Now you’re interviewing for…
A basic marketing precept is to “know your audience.” As a major gifts officer or fundraiser, your audience is wealthy…
Story conflict Advance the donor’s hero story. In major gifts fundraising, this works. It works for the donor. The donor…
It took me 16 contacts over a 12-month period to get a visit scheduled with one couple. They then went…
Newly Wealthy Donors Aren’t Anything Like Donors Who Come from Families with Generational Wealth They have different world views, different…
Hero story In the universal hero story, a guiding sage helps the hero. The sage Challenges the hero to begin…
The list below was an attempt by Forbes Magazine to capture the “faces of philanthropy” way back in 1994. It’s…
First, it's important to recognize that there are two reasons to conduct a donor survey: To conduct research To raise money…
It doesn't really matter if you go on a visit TODAY. It also doesn't really matter if you DON'T go…
Generally here's how I leave messages that get returned: APPRECIATION: I say 'thank you' (and I get sort of 'emotional…
The guiding sage The hero’s journey is a universal story. In that universal story, the guiding sage plays a powerful…
I recently had the pleasure of orienting a new chief advancement officer who is coming to the position from another…
What the heck am I talking about? Major gift fundraising communications (especially legacy gift marketing) tend to focus too much…
The universal hero story is attractive. This “monomyth” is “hard-wired into our psyches.”[1] In the donor’s hero story, the donor’s…
“Let’s hire Johnny… He knows everybody!” Here’s the problem: Johnny is an idiot. Let me explain. So many times, organizations…
Too often fundraisers make assumptions about what donors want. Usually, this is driven by top leaders or board members. They…
You don’t have to poke too far into most nonprofits' fundraising results to see significant donor erosion, usually masked by…
Recently a friend of mine was promoted. Now she is in a leader position at her organization's headquarters. Yippee! I…
Things look bleak. Fundraisers don’t stay. They don’t stay at the nonprofit. They don’t stay in the industry. They are…
“I don’t want to waste your time.” Here is another common objection you will hear when trying to schedule visits.…
An old book filled with timeless lessons. I was cleaning out a cabinet last weekend and I came across an…