Fundraising Principles Archives - Professional Fundraising and Capital Campaign Consultants

Major Gift Solicitation – Proper Preparation Leads to Gratification

All fundraising professionals, whether internal development officers or outside fundraising counsel, are concerned about getting the biggest gifts for our client organizations. We want a major gift from every potential donor. We want to hit a home run every time we come up to bat! The only way to accomplish this is by working daily…

Hands on Means Hands Down (Victory, That Is!)

It has become increasingly clear to me with each capital campaign I am involved with, that the single most important determining factor in the magnitude of success is the level and intensity of involvement by principals of the organization—both professional staff and volunteers. That is, I find a direct correlation between the level of success…

Fundraising Trends for 2018 and Beyond

Everyone wants to have an advantage in pursuing the strategic goals of his or her organization. Fundraising is no different; so let us take a look at what appear to be the strongest trends that will affect what we do in the next six to twelve months. In a nutshell, things are looking up, but…

The Need to Be Clear

by: David Phillips Top 10 Effective Fundraising Rules Rule #1: Always approach prospective donors with two carefully trained people, at least one of whom should be a social and/or business peer of the prospective donor. Rule #2: When you solicit a gift, you need to be crystal clear—especially as it relates to the amount of…

Secrets to Cultivating Stronger Relationships

It has been said that there are three questions each of us must ask ourselves: Who are you? Why are you here? Why will it matter? These are good questions for any nonprofit or NGO to answer as well. You know who you are, you know what you are here to do, and you know…

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…