The Ask Amount
By Nancy Peterman, Partner Best practices dictate that a solicitation includes an ask for a specific amount. How do organizations determine the correct amount? This is a question that is raised repeatedly in every campaign and frequently in annual giving programs with personal, face-to face solicitations. It is also one that confounds leadership and volunteers,Read More The Ask Amount
Donor Retention – Still A Work In Progress
By Jerry Henry, Partner “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” to quote Charles Dickens about the plight of life during the emerging industrial age in Great Britain during the early to mid- 19th Century. But the same quote could be used for what continues to occur in the fundraisingRead More Donor Retention – Still A Work In Progress
Alumni Engagement Vs Alumni Participation Rates
By John Taylor, Partner How To Track Alumni Engagement? In a previous article, I argued that relying exclusively on alumni participation to gauge alumni affinity to an organization was no longer a viable metric. Simple math, as discussed in that article, is causing participation rates to decline no matter how actively we pursue alumni donations. Read More Alumni Engagement Vs Alumni Participation Rates
A Modest Proposal
By David Shufflebarger, Senior Partner ‘If you don’t like change, you are going to like irrelevance even less’ – Eric Shinseki, military leader The pace of change seems to be increasing dramatically, possibly because of remarkable advances in technology. How to keep up and adapt are challenges we all face, and this is especially soRead More A Modest Proposal
Bill Doerr, Associate Vice President for University Advancement & Director of Transformational Initiatives at Georgia College
As of the posting of this episode, Bill is now the Chair for Case District III. Congratulations, Bill! Online tools/resources: Smartsheet OneDrive Amazon Prime Music Book recommendations: Good to Great and the Social Sectors: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great by Jim Collins BONUS: Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! Personal habit that contributes to success: 1.) Passion for knowingRead More Bill Doerr, Associate Vice President for University Advancement & Director of Transformational Initiatives at Georgia College
A Non-Response Isn’t A Rejection
By Nancy Peterman, Partner In the world of development much has been written about how many attempts one must make to land a meeting with a donor before throwing in the towel. Some organizations have specified protocol such as the following: If there is no answer leave voice mail on the first attempt; Call threeRead More A Non-Response Isn’t A Rejection
Alumni (or any other constituent group) Participation – What’s All the Fuss?
By John Taylor, Partner This article will focus on alumni participation as there are national collectors of this information that enter into college rankings. But the information shared here can just as easily apply to parents, grandparents, friends, members, etc. Alumni participation was originally seen (some 40 years ago by US News and World Reports) as aRead More Alumni (or any other constituent group) Participation – What’s All the Fuss?
David Elrod, Director of Institutional Advancement for the Dalton State Foundation
Online tools/resources: Google Book recommendations: The Path to Power (The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Volume 1) by Robert A. Caro Personal habit that contributes to success: Excitement and enthusiasm for the work helps to promote the institution and persuade donors to invest in the institution. Ice breaker for new donor prospect: Start the conversation with, “WhatRead More David Elrod, Director of Institutional Advancement for the Dalton State Foundation
Fostering Young Alumni Donors
By Heather Thornton, Project Coordinator The other day, I received a holiday email from my alma mater which promoted me to put “make year-end gift to Sewanee” on my to-do list. Being in the fundraising field and working with higher education institutions on a daily basis, it also got me thinking about my relationship withRead More Fostering Young Alumni Donors
Impact of Elections on Charitable Giving
By John H. Taylor, Partner Perhaps because whenever I deliver a session on IRS rules and regulations I include commentary on the state of the charitable deduction, I have been asked many times since November 8th, “What do you think now?” Well, it is a good question to ask, but I am probably not theRead More Impact of Elections on Charitable Giving
