Professional Fundraising
Designing a Communications Plan to Enhance Your Fundraising
A well-conceived communications plan will be essential to the success of your campaign, especially in the case of a broad-based effort that is directed to the general public. As components of this plan, the case for support, campaign brochure, and publicity plan will create an awareness of your organization’s value to the community and the…
Read MoreFundraising Solicitation: Dealing with Call Reluctance
Editor’s Note: This article was prepared for in-house training of our CDS Campaign Directors, but the subject matter (anxiety about making phone calls is prevalent in so many areas of sales, fundraising and life) is universal and so is the helpful advice contained herein. Thus, we present this for your consumption as fundraising professionals, as one of…
Read MoreDay of Giving to be Nationally Recognized
Originally launched in 2012 by the YMCA and United Nations Foundation, Giving Tuesday or #GivingTuesday as it is more commonly known, will be celebrating its sixth annual day of giving on Tuesday November 27. 2018 The concept is taken from well known marketing and retail pseudo-holidays Black Friday and Cyber Monday. #GivingTuessday celebrates the power…
Read MoreCreating a Culture of Fundraising in Your Organization
In my work with organizations around the country, I find that one of the biggest obstacles to fundraising success is groups’ inability to mobilize diverse people in the organization to participate in fundraising activities. Staff and board members come to trainings to learn the skills and strategies, but only a handful of people end up…
Read MoreHow long should an Endowment Campaign Run?
There comes a time in an endowment campaign when the initial urgency of the need inherent in the campaign’s case for support begins to fade. The excitement of the kickoff, anticipation of success as the personal solicitations begin, the first promising results — can go for naught if the campaign goes on too long. As…
Read MoreCreate a Successful Employee Giving Campaign
Staff giving makes a huge difference to outside funders. Consider this comment from a local banker we solicited for a capital campaign gift to Hospice of Southwest Oklahoma: “One of the most important things you said during the presentation was that 100 percent of the employees of the organization have contributed to the campaign. That…
Read MoreCrafting a Compelling Presentation
One of the keys to a successful capital campaign is to treat every major gift solicitation as a mini-campaign unto itself. Each prospect must receive an individualized approach. Adequate preparation must be invested in each request to create the greatest chance for success. A big part of that work is putting together a case for…
Read MoreThe Tablecloth
The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry, to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn, arrived in early October excited about their opportunities. When they saw their church, it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their…
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