Get Your (Data) House In Order
By: Katie MacKenzie, Project Coordinator Why is good data management important? Because it can tell you a wealth of information about both the past and the present! Instead of being reactive in knowledge about your donors, you can be proactive. You can determine those who might be good prospects for moving up to a majorRead More Get Your (Data) House In Order
A Peek Behind The Donor Class Curtain
By: Mark D. Belcher, Partner As Development Professionals, our job is to generate resources to assist our organizations in moving the needle on some cause and usually for a specific purpose. Pretty vague, right? It’s not easy to capture the scope and impact of what each of you does every day, in some cases, justRead More A Peek Behind The Donor Class Curtain
Capital Campaign Impact On Annual Giving
By: Jerry W. Henry, Partner “How will our proposed capital campaign impact our annual giving?” The question came up in a Board meeting just the other day. (I knew it would!) The organization has been around for a number of years; but, until two years ago, it had seen quite a bit of staff turnover,Read More Capital Campaign Impact On Annual Giving
Mozart In The Money
By: Katie MacKenzie, Project Coordinator Recently, I’ve finished watching the second season of Amazon’s Original Series, “Mozart in the Jungle.” I’m a classical music buff, so this television show is right up my alley. The storyline follows a very eccentric young conductor who takes over the fictional “New York Symphony.” And, I must say, theRead More Mozart In The Money
Liberal Arts Lessons From Sweet Briar
By: Meggan Arp, Ph.D., MBA, Marketing Coordinator Over a year after the alumnae of Sweet Briar College stymied a plan to close their institution, the College’s resilience is manifest with positive results: Sweet Briar has exceeded its fundraising goals for the 2016 fiscal year, raised $10.25 million in 10 months, balanced the budget without touching itsRead More Liberal Arts Lessons From Sweet Briar
Doing Right By Donors
By: David T. Shufflebarger, Senior Partner Two stewardship incidents stick vividly in my mind even though they were 25 and 35 years ago. Both times I was mad as hell. The first involved a large program endowment and an aggressive Dean. We had a very good investment year and wound up in the top 10Read More Doing Right By Donors
Can We Require A Minimum Gift To A Campaign?
By: Nancy E. Peterman, Partner “Can we require a minimum gift to a campaign?” The question I was asked was unusual. The caller, co-chair of a local organization, wanted to know if we had ever recommended requiring a minimum gift level for a capital campaign. This organization had initiated a capital campaign several years ago,Read More Can We Require A Minimum Gift To A Campaign?
Fostering Little Philanthropists
By: Heather Thornton, Project Manager I was rushing into WalMart last weekend, attempting to cram a week’s worth of sopping needs into a twenty minute mad dash around the store. List in hand, I grabbed a cart, ready to set the World Record for the fastest shopping trip known to man, when I heard aRead More Fostering Little Philanthropists
Meaningful Metrics
By: David T. Shufflebarger, Senior Partner You may have heard the phrase, “What gets measured gets done.” It’s variously attributed to Peter Drucker, Lord Kelvin, and the Renaissance astronomer Rheticus (the sole pupil of Nicolaus Copernicus). Its original version was, “If you can measure it, you can manage it.” Measuring it, of course, doesn’t meanRead More Meaningful Metrics
Giving on Mobile Devices up 80% Since 2013, Study Finds
By: Heather Thornton, Project Manager I resisted getting a smartphone or tablet for some time, probably longer than most people, simply because I thought it was unnecessary. “I have my computer and old school cell phone,” I thought, “so, why would I need a smartphone? How smart can a phone really be?” Fast-forward a coupleRead More Giving on Mobile Devices up 80% Since 2013, Study Finds
