“It is more difficult to give away money intelligently than to earn it in the first place.”  Thus said Andrew Carnegie in his 1889 essay, The Gospel of Wealth. I was reminded of this quote by some students whom I had the good fortune to encounter on a cold January day in a warm classroom. […]

All of us in Atlanta mourn the passing of one of the kindest and gentlest philanthropists, J. Mack Robinson, who died of complications of Alzheimer’s on February 7.  Known for his magnanimous generosity, he left a legacy of thoughtful and strategic philanthropy.  I had the privilege of working with him at Georgia State.  I was […]

The most important thing a nonprofit can do to increase its annual fund donors is simple: reach out and touch them. To ensure a healthy and prosperous year end, your development plan should include sending out an annual solicitation letter as early as November. Much emphasis is placed on making an annual ask, and while […]

We have spent a lot of time over the last several years helping organizations establish metrics to measure the development office and staff performance against a set of standards. Often these standards are based on what peers are doing and on some “best practices” in development. But often, what these metrics lack are 1) and […]

In conversation with development professionals and from the many development assessments my colleagues and I at Alexander Haas have done, I am constantly reminded that no office has sufficient field officers to secure major, planned and leadership annual gifts.  It’s just a fact of life.  That only serves to amplify our need to make sure […]

Last month The Washington Post reported that 50 leading Roman Catholics in higher education signed a letter protesting a $1-million gift that will enable the Catholic University of America’s School of Business and Economics to hire four visiting scholars to do research on “principled entrepreneurship.” They argued that the gift sends “a confusing message” because […]

Our friends at Blackbaud put together a nice, insightful e-newsletter last year to get us thinking about what we need to focus on in the New Year. It’s called Utilize Your Year-end Momentum: Kickstart 2013 Fundraising. This year, the guide still rings true for your 2014 fundraising, so take a look and see where you […]

As fundraising consultants, we get the privilege of interviewing top donors all over the country.  One of the issues that pops up constantly is the poor communication between non-profits and donors.  Often, I will hear from donors that the staff of the non-profit had never talked to them about a specific issue, or I hear […]