Encouraging the Global Growth of Philanthropy
By Jerry Henry Who said this?: “To give away money is an easy matter, and in any person’s power. But to decide to whom to give it, and how large and when, and for what purpose and how, is neither in everyone’s power, nor an easy matter. Hence it is that such excellence is rare,Read More Encouraging the Global Growth of Philanthropy
Build Relationships: The Foundation of Fundraising
By David King Last week, I spoke with a development officer who had been tasked by his board to find a consulting firm that would do their fundraising for them. He wanted to hire our firm (or several firms) to solicit major gifts from donors, particularly from those whom we already have relationships they mayRead More Build Relationships: The Foundation of Fundraising
Leadership Giving: A Key Element For Development Success
By Arthur Criscillis In most organizations, a tremendous amount of time and attention is devoted to principal, major and planned giving programs. Why? Because they tend to generate gifts with the greatest impact on colleges and universities – in addition to fueling high campaign goals. However, because of the focus on major and planned givingRead More Leadership Giving: A Key Element For Development Success
Advancement Services – Reach Your Fundraising Goals Faster
By John Taylor Quite often, I am hired to go in and “fix” an Advancement Services department. Usually, the fundraising office brings me in, with the suggestion the Advancement Services unit is broken. What I find is it is not the department that is broken, but how the organization has (or has not!) allocated resources,Read More Advancement Services – Reach Your Fundraising Goals Faster
Closing Major Gifts: How To Seal The Deal?
By Nancy Peterman Closing major gifts can be a challenge. We’ve all worked with donors who, for various reasons, just don’t take that final step and put their signature to paper. After a lot of hard work and activities designed specifically to yield well-received solicitations, the frustration of not being able to include a majorRead More Closing Major Gifts: How To Seal The Deal?
How to Make the Case for Donations
By Arthur Criscillis Cash is king – without it you wouldn’t be able to provide the programs and services your nonprofit offers. But why should people give you their hard-earned money? Effective fundraisers are able to answer this question every time they ask for a gift and make the case for donations. I often hearRead More How to Make the Case for Donations
Think Big and Ask Big to Harness Major Philanthropic Dollars
By Jim Hackney, Managing Partner The philanthropy field is beginning to bounce back. Back in March, the stock market indices reached a record high, which means for many major donors, the reason to NOT make a gift (such as a depressed investment portfolio) has all but disappeared, or at least diminished, as an obstacle. SomeRead More Think Big and Ask Big to Harness Major Philanthropic Dollars
Best Practices In Prospecting
by Nancy E. Peterman, Partner Some of us remember when our only option for prioritizing and understanding our prospects was a peer review session-a long, tedious meeting with a small, select group of our most loyal and successful donors staring at lists of names. Such feedback was invaluable then and now, as it helped usRead More Best Practices In Prospecting
Get the Most From an Advisory Group
By Jerry Henry, Partner Anyone involved in development has heard it said, “Ask for money and you will get advice; ask for advice and you will get money.” The meaning is simple: if you ask for the dollars before you’ve engaged the prospects fully, listened to them, and heard what is meaningful to them, theyRead More Get the Most From an Advisory Group
What We Can Learn from Greece: It’s All About the Basics
By Jim Hackney,Managing Partner I had the tremendous honor of being invited by the U.S. State Department to travel to Greece on their behalf as an Arts Envoy. My mission, this past November, was to meet with and train staff members at several museums and science centers. The subject of my work was seemingly simple:Read More What We Can Learn from Greece: It’s All About the Basics