Stress Management Tips & Techniques For Development Officers
Raising money is a rewarding and fulfilling profession if you ask many of the successful men and women who ask for funds on a daily basis. Nonprofits, whether they are in business to help one individual, one child, one animal, or to transform society, give development officers reasons to be proud and feel purposeful inRead More Stress Management Tips & Techniques For Development Officers
Six Degrees of Fundraising
It happened to me again yesterday in a meeting. I had traveled to another city conduct a Campaign Strategy Study with a young couple. Before even sitting down in their living room, I was quizzing the couple about their professional backgrounds, their connection to the organization – warm up questions – when I happened to mentionRead More Six Degrees of Fundraising
Communication is Key – Just Ask What you Want to Know!
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 hearRead More Communication is Key – Just Ask What you Want to Know!
A Tale of Two Gifts and Taxes
Gifts and taxes. Around this time last year, two of our clients were working with donors planning to make $1 million+ gifts, as the news media were ballyhooing the ‘fiscal cliff’ fast approaching and many proposals were flying around to adjust the charitable deduction. One donor chose to make his first pledge payment in December,Read More A Tale of Two Gifts and Taxes
Year-End Gifts: It’s Better to Give than to Receive!
“It’s better to give than to receive.” As we prepare to move into the holiday season, we’re going to hear this quote from the Christian scriptures (Acts 20:35) over and over again. My great-nieces and great-nephews simply hate when they hear me say that as we’re opening our gifts around the Christmas tree! And IRead More Year-End Gifts: It’s Better to Give than to Receive!
Vigilance in Uncertain Times
Vigilance . . . An appropriate word to describe how those of us who work to strengthen nonprofit organizations should view the future. Why vigilance? Well, bear with me.
How to Make Philanthropy Count
A frequent dilemma faced by Presidents and Chancellors in American higher education is how they can use the role of philanthropy to meet financial challenges. We were recently asked by some board members for suggestions for how to make philanthropy count. The easiest way, of course, is to increase the budget support for advancement, butRead More How to Make Philanthropy Count
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
