Capital Campaigns Archives Page 2 of 25 - Professional Fundraising and Capital Campaign Consultants

Making a Good Solicitation Better

I have worked with thousands and maybe even tens of thousands of volunteers, teaching them and trying to put them ‘at ease’ with asking someone for money to help their cause. There is, as it says in Ecclesiastes, nothing new under the sun. Yet, the things that work more effectively are seldom intuitive or natural,…

Guide to Creating a Major Donor Rating Chart, Part 2

Last month, we advocated in the Fundraising Free Press that organizations cull their databases and speak with board members about people who could be major donors. To get very practical, we offer in this article a sample spreadsheet with commentary to – hopefully – make clear how to do the science of rating and then how…

Surefire Ways to Identify Your Major Gift Prospects, Part 1

Going from an innocuous list of people in your database to a select list of top prospects is not difficult, but it does require discipline in an orderly process to distinguish who can be a leader, who has the interest in your cause and who has the wealth to make a difference. In the fundraising…

12 Ways to Grow Major Donors

“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 1:9 NIV Every nonprofit executive would love to have a free flowing stream of major gifts. Why then, do they not look, learn and do as others have done to build that stream…

3 Necessities to Consider When Soliciting a Gift

In everyday life, asking for financial support is something many of us struggle with. When confronting someone with requests so delicate in nature, we ask ourselves questions like: Am I being clear about what I’m asking for? Am I successfully conveying my genuine intentions? Am I asking for too much or too little? What’s…

Advocacy 101: Where to start

This week, I’ll be attending Habitat for Humanity’s Habitat on the Hill event in Washington, DC. I started attending years ago, when I worked for a local affiliate in Tennessee, and it remains one of my favorite events of the year. We’ll be celebrating the successes of Habitat affiliates around the country who have enhanced…

Do It The Easy Way—and Go Straight to Success!

Have you ever heard a police officer, a school teacher (any kind of teacher) or a ball coach say to a person, “You can do it the easy way, or you can do it the hard way: Which do you choose? We have all heard it, and unfortunately, we have not always heeded the call…

Professional Fees

There are not many barriers to entry to the fundraising consulting profession. New people hang out a shingle every day. Some have considerable experience, yet many do not. All you need is a phone, and/or a website, a laptop and voila, you are and expert—perhaps working in the neighborhood Starbucks as your office. That is…