Maintaining Your Development Plan: There’s No Time Like the Present
By Jerry Henry An organization we are working with is seeking to raise funds for “deferred maintenance.” For a while now, the Board has delayed installing a new roof and updating its heating and air systems, as well as taking care of other physical plant needs. Instead, they have taken a “Band-Aid” approach of justRead More Maintaining Your Development Plan: There’s No Time Like the Present
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
Fundraising is Making a Comeback!
By David King, President & CEO With the release of Giving USA we get confirmation the philanthropic recovery from the recent recession is continuing, and outpacing the overall economic recovery. The figures released today show giving increased 3.5 percent in 2012 over 2011, just slightly ahead of the inflation rate, but far ahead of theRead More Fundraising is Making a Comeback!
Nonprofit Financial Planning: Dealing with Major Expenditures
By Jerry Henry, Partner Nonprofit financial planning typically includes where you’ll raise money, which grants you’ll apply for, whether you’ll do events, and how you’ll spend that money. You think about the things that affect the organization’s mission: Programs, personnel, and direct services. What you don’t plan for are the major expenditures no one wantsRead More Nonprofit Financial Planning: Dealing with Major Expenditures
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
Experience Counts
by Sandra K. Kidd,Senior Partner Younger patrons seem permanently attached to their smartphones, they are tech-savvy, they follow the interests of their friends (both real life ones and of the Facebook variety), and you have a lot of competition out there for their attention and their attendance. But whether they find their way toRead More Experience Counts
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
