Smartideas

Straight talk about major, mid-level and legacy gift fundraising to help you be a better fundraiser

Why Traditional Major Donor Assignment Processes No Longer Work As Well As They Once Did — And What You Can Do Instead

It’s amazing how many so-called best practices get fixed and set in place, and then never questioned from that point on. Look up anything about… Read More


Fundraising’s False Proposition

It’s so common we don’t even see it any more. We keep putting forward a false proposition – that all we need is money. Money… Read More


Why Fundraiser Turnover Is So High

Fundraiser turnover is an epidemic. And that’s not just our opinion or an attempt to be dramatic. Actual researchers used that label to describe the… Read More


To Find Your Best Fundraising Opportunities, Remember This

A significant portion of donors are underwhelmed or dissatisfied with their giving experience, including yours. You may have assumed they are satisfied because they continued… Read More


Debunked Fundraising Myth: The #1 Reason People Don’t Give Is Because They Weren’t Asked

It gets posted all over social media. Featured in books. Heard at seminars. Repeated on webinars. It’s hard to work very long in fundraising without… Read More


Don’t Chase Prospects, Look for the Willing

When we think of people as prospects, we approach them, more often than not, with our lists of what we want them to do for… Read More


The 6 Core Elements of a Well-Told, Well-Executed Donor Fundraising Story

Before you think this is another post about how to tell great fundraising stories, read this: This article is not about the elements of how… Read More


The Ongoing Discouragement of Our Best Fundraisers When Their Talents are Most Needed

I hear from them almost every day. Smart, hardworking, principled, mission-driven fundraisers. They share examples of the mindless, myopic metrics visited on them by people… Read More


Do low-dollar donors even matter?

It’s a sensitive topic considering the fact that the vast majority of revenue for nonprofits comes from major donors. The answer, or course, is that… Read More


We Can’t Make People Philanthropic But We Can Deepen or Discourage Their Philanthropy

In a long career that led me to interact with thousands of donors, I can say with certainty that I never caused a single person… Read More


Are Nonprofits Driving Gift Officers to Do Fundraising Activities that Don’t Work?

As a gift officer, do you sometimes feel like your administrators and leaders are directing you to perform fundraising activities that don’t actually seem to… Read More


Fundraising is Not About “The Ask.”

Fundraising is not about “The Ask.” But it is about asking the questions below. When you do, “the ask” becomes a mere formality. However, fail… Read More


What Is Donor Qualification? Major Gifts Fundraising Fundamentals

Well done! You’ve identified some potential major donors! Maybe. You think. Well, you’re pretty sure. About some of them. But you don’t really know if… Read More


Donors Won’t Feel Like They Belong if Your Advancement Staff Doesn’t

How strong is your advancement team’s sense of belonging? I have condensed a great deal of donor research, both my own and that of others,… Read More


Are You Spending Too Much on Low-Dollar Donors?

Low-dollar donor acquisition typically occupies a large share of the fundraising budgets for nonprofits, and a similarly large share of their time and energy in… Read More


Here’s How To Really “Qualify” Your Top Prospects

Ask your CEO to commit to six 90-minute no-holds-barred dialogic sessions, real or virtual or some combination thereof, limited to 15 participants each, in which… Read More


Donor Levels – Why and How to Treat Your 3 Tiers of Donors Differently

When you look at your donor base, what do you see? Do you see a plain filled with stick figures who all look the same?… Read More


What We Can Learn From Giving to Higher Education

It’s the enduring appeal of the scholarship. It is a way for one person to help another person realize their potential. The volume of giving… Read More


The 7-Step Donor Journey from Stranger to Philanthropic Partner

All your donors are on a journey, whether they know it or not. Some of them are on a journey to get as far away… Read More


Putting the Right Idea in Front of The Right Donor in the Right Way at the Right Time

Put the right idea in front of the right door in the right way at the right time. The more consistently you do that, the… Read More


What Is Donor Identification? Major Gift Fundraising Fundamentals Series

As you begin scouring your donor and supporter databases for your next batch of major donors, where do you begin? How can you tell from… Read More


The Great Obstacle To Professional Growth, Fulfillment and Sound Decision Making

The Great Obstacle To Professional Growth, Fulfillment and Sound Decision Making It’s the need to be more honest with ourselves. It’s more than self-knowledge. It’s… Read More


Why Business Marketing Automation Platforms Don’t Work for Nonprofits

As a large or perhaps mid-size nonprofit organization, you probably know the general value of marketing automation platforms such as HubSpot and Salesforce. You may… Read More


What Is and Isn’t Philanthropic

To be philanthropic is to acknowledge that we are in this together; that: Your misfortune is mine because I have been lucky and you have… Read More


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