Professional Fundraising
An Ounce of Prevention Is Worth a Pound of Cure
I work with many of non-profit organizations, and one thing I cannot help but fret is the lack of proper training and understanding in how to use computers and technology. Since so many non-profit organizations are terribly small, they usually have very tightly limited budgets. Unfortunately, this causes them to be “penny wise and pound…
Read MoreBuying Locally Doesn’t Always Pay
Development directors for non-profit organizations are often laden with the responsibility to determine how to raise greater and greater amounts of money to help balance their organizations’ ever-growing budget. The most popular and traditional means employed is to increase the goal of the annual appeal. For a number of reasons—the economy, reduced governmental funding, weak…
Read MoreBuilding on Common Ground
There are an infinite variety of not-for-profit organizations in the world. Every cause imaginable has seen a charity or foundation created by its advocates. As I talk to representatives from a wide slice of these groups, I am struck by the fact that their needs and goals are far more similar than dissimilar. Successful fund…
Read MoreBuilding External Constituencies and Departmental Fundraising
University departmental isolationism is a thing of the past. The watchword of twenty-first century academe is engagement. University Deans have seen the terms advancement, development, and fund raising added to their job description. Now department heads are being presented with the same challenge.
Read MoreBuilding an Annual Campaign
This is the second article in a two-part series on starting and building annual giving programs. Many of the methods used for annual giving are the same as those used for major gift solicitations, just on a different scale. Development is all about building friendships.
Read MoreDo 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…
Read MoreDirecting a Fundraising Capital Campaign: Ways to Lead the Staff and Volunteers
It seems as though “leadership” is one of the first topics to come up whenever a discussion turns to fundraising. Who is going to lead the campaign, who is going to lead the givers, who is going to lead the meetings, who is going to lead the volunteers, and who is going to lead, lead,…
Read MoreCapital Campaign and Fundraising Leadership: Developing A Personal Vision
IntroductionAre you a visionary? Or do you prefer to spend your time in the here and now, solving problems and getting on with things? Achieving a balance between ‘dreaming’ about a desired future state and living in the current state is difficult. Many of us have a strong inclination towards one or the other…very few…
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