Blog
New Article on Single Women as Donors
and How To Reach Them
Check out the article I just posted on why single women are an extremely important segment of a nonprofit's donor base and why social media should be an important part of your strategy to reach and nurture relationship with them. The infographic below only tells part...
Get Out of the Way & Let
the Donor Make the Gift
A friend of mine who owns a business recently told me he had contacted an educational organization about making a $50,000 gift. It was to be his first gift to the organization. Now, this was my friend making the contact, not the educational organization making a...
Do You Really “Know” Your
Corporate Donors And Prospects?
We should--and usually do--work hard to make our best possible case for support to corporations. We of course want them to know as much as possible about us. But what we know about them is just as likely to determine the outcome of a request. I was recently thinking...
Fund-Raiser Wanted But First
You Have To Be an Expert in..
I once was not even remotely considered as a candidate for a fund-raising position with a hospital. Even though my fund-raising credentials were strong, and I came well recommended, I lacked one crucial aspect the hospital wanted. I did not even get an interview...
An Example of Bad Email Damaging Relationship
I recently received an email request purporting to come from the president of the alumni association of a large private university. It asked me to call the vendor who was preparing a new alumni directory so that I could verify my information. What a scam! The email...
Sharing the Good News of a
Campaign on the Road to Success
Recently, I was asked again what a non-profit organization should do about announcing that a fund-raising campaign is racing toward its goal at a record-setting pace. It’s a question asked more often than one might think. If you’ve got a positive story to...
Say No to Contingent Pay
"Why not work on a percentage, bonus or commission for funds raised?" I am often asked. To increasing numbers, that seems to be the new "wave" of things. They suggest that maybe the old practice of working for a salary--one that should be fair and...
When I Forgot the Meaning of Philanthropy
Recently, during a meeting at our Church, I talked to Alice, our pastoral associate, about my wife Joyce and I offering to give a special major contribution for a program she heads. Alice is in charge of a group who regularly review the cases of fellow parishioners in...
Are You Responding to Inquiries Quickly Enough?
Nonprofit organizations are not entities with the principal mission to sell their goods and services in a way that maximizes the profit that reaches the bottom line. After all they are called nonprofits. However many nonprofits do have an earned income component. And...
Say Thanks even if You Don’t Get the Grant
I was greatly saddened recently to learn of the death of a key foundation official in our area whose generous and caring philanthropy was instrumental in giving me a running start as the new and first development director of a major non-profit organization. In my...