Fundraising
Debt-Elimination Fund-Raising Campaigns
How can your organization raise the money it needs to pay off: Money borrowed from a lending institution? Unpaid invoices from vendors, suppliers, and contractors for the purchase of a capital asset? Money allocated from other of the organization’s resources/assets?...
Solicitation of Vendors
A non-profit organization's intention to solicit its vendors for cash contributions in support of its general operating campaign or a capital building or renovation project has a number of unique twists and turns which must be considered in detail before asking for...
Donor Surveys
What Do You Know About Your Donors and What Do They Know About Your Organization? If we're going to ask people for money, it sure helps if they think highly of both our organization and its mission. Do they see our mission as vital and valid? Are we perceived as being...
Wearing Those Development and Marketing “Hats” at the Same Time: A Bad Fit and a Headache
Wearing Those Development and Marketing "Hats" at the Same Time: A Bad Fit and a Headache Introduction For decades, I have heard about, observed, and have had personal relationships with scores of individuals who attempted to wear the Development and...
Challenge/Matching Gift Programs for Your Fund-Raising Campaigns
Challenge Grants Can Multiply Your Success Challenge grants are indeed challenging to fulfill, and once secured, they are unusually rewarding opportunities for non-profit organizations to greatly energize and enhance their fund-raising campaigns. They can...
Corporate Matching of Employees’ Gifts to Your Organization
A number of resources provide listings of companies having gift programs that match contributions made by their employees to non-profit organizations. According to the grantor's guidelines, such matching funds could be general in nature for support of almost any type...
Greetings from America: How U.S.-Style Fund-Raising Can Work in Your Country
Introduction I have presented fund-raising workshops in many countries outside North America during a professional career of more than 35 years. I have also presented fund-raising workshops to numerous foreign visitors in the United States who were representing...
A Campaign Deferred Is a Campaign Defeated
Disasters and crises can occur anywhere, at any time. Hopefully they won't have the impact of mega-disasters such as the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks or of 2005's hurricane Katrina. However, even disasters of considerably less magnitude can impede the...
Making The Development Office a Fund-Raising “Clearinghouse”
(It Makes for a More Perfect Fund-raising World) Introduction The fund-raising "left hand" not knowing what the "right hand" is doing when it comes to who is asking whom for how much, for which purpose, and when, has always been a common dilemma for non-profit...
When the Development Officer Is Obliged to Raise Her or His Own Salary
Paying For Your Own Keep Too often, especially in smaller non-profit organizations, staff development officers are forced into a deplorable position that belittles them and damages the organization. They are charged with personally raising their own salaries. These...