Professional Fundraising
The Fundraising Rule of Thirds
The fundraising industry has a lot of rules of thumb that development professionals apply to the situations we encounter. What we have to avoid is leaning too heavily on these rules in an effort to make a difficult job easy. The Oxford English Dictionary defines “rule of thumb” as a “roughly practical method.” That is…
Read MoreBranding Helps Reach Your Target Market
In a previous article on branding, I concluded with the comment that for branding to be effective, it has to include – even feature – the concept of “What’s In It For Me?” (WIFM) for the people you are trying to reach. This is even more important now with competing interests creating “noise” that interferes…
Read MoreA Few Words about Nonprofit Web Site Design
Below are a few thoughts one should consider when designing or revamping a nonprofit Web site: The home page is critical to a Web site’s success.Home pages that I find most attractive introduce me to what their Web sites have to offer, but they do not overwhelm me. They allow me to drill down through…
Read MoreBoard Development in a Campaign Setting
A successful capital campaign often affects not just the financial position of the group, but also other areas. Your organization’s relationships with others can grow as a result of a successful campaign due to its board development, which can undergo a significant transition throughout a capital campaign. The Board’s Responsibilities There are a number of…
Read MoreFundraising Campaign Success: Making the Calls
Everyone starts their campaigns with high hopes for success; no one designs their campaign with failure in mind. So why do as many as 40% of capital campaigns fail? The number one reason why campaigns fail to reach their goals and their potential is that they simply did not make enough calls. They did not…
Read MoreA Couple of Heartwarming Fundraising Stories
Fundraising can become such a mechanical process, in which we focus on rating prospects, writing proposals and scheduling logistics. This is never truer than in the midst of a capital campaign, when the pace of activity must be very high and everyone is focused on the bottom line of the campaign’s financial goal. In these…
Read MoreCampaign Progress Reports: The Basics
Reporting on the progress of a capital campaign is a vital function of an efficient and effective fundraising initiative. Capital campaigns are often large endeavors that can appear overwhelming and unaccountable. They are actually precise initiatives with a specific schedule of activities that must be accomplished in a particular order. Therefore, it’s important that your…
Read More5 Steps to Board Chair Success
Not all board chairs are made equal. Being a conscientious board member is one thing: in itself a challenging, time-consuming job. But becoming the chair of the board means a lot more responsibility. As the top volunteer at a nonprofit, the chair must have a commitment to the success of an organization and a vision…
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