Professional Skill Building
Major Gift Fundraising with Fraternity Alumni
What really motivates donors? The Omega chapter of Alpha Beta Theta is clearly worthy of support, but brothers won’t give simply because the Fraternity is worthy, they will give because of their own needs. For every donor, there are personal rewards associated with making a gift. Your job is to help the potential donor explore…
Read MoreA New Age for Grant Writing
In recent years, the feverish pitch in the search for funds has created a dangerous behavior called “grant getting.” Finding monies through grants has led many a fund seeker to shortcut the proposal process by “cutting and pasting” words and phrases on a grant application without regard to where the information came from. The focus…
Read More“Giving Them What They Want”—from Broadway to Social Media
In the musical “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” two con-artists, Lawrence and Andre, sing this ironic song about how they can get what they want simply by giving the people they want it from, exactly what THEY want (check out a clip from this song at http://goo.gl/pe908F ). We’re not trying to encourage you to steal from…
Read MoreEffective Fundraising Techniques
1. Be Kind. 2. Be Courteous and Compassionate. 3. Listen to the Donor! When asking people for large amounts of money, it’s crucial to follow proper fundraising etiquette. As development professionals, we must have a great deal of poise, polish, and tact. We have very personal discussions with prospects about very significant investments in our…
Read MoreMajor Gift Calls: Get What You Came For
What should you do when someone gives you $250,000? Well, that depends on who it is, how much was asked of them, and why they gave it to you! The answer to this question varies with the circumstances surrounding this major gift call. Obviously, no matter what the circumstances, you want to thank this person…
Read MoreGarnering Major Gifts
It’s very common to find that more than 75% of all funds raised in a capital campaign come from major gifts, or contributions of $25,000 and above. A steadfast focus on major gifts is the hallmark of a successful capital campaign, and a strategy that yields rich dividends far beyond the campaign’s life. The Pareto…
Read MoreThe Difference Between Non Profit Development Officers and Outside Fundraising Counsel?
Each one of us has a story to tell, especially when it comes to why we become development professionals. I had hired an incredible campaign director who wrote an interesting story of how he first got into the fundraising business, and the impact it made on his career as a development officer, and later as a…
Read MoreThe Forensics of Fundraising: Study, Research, and Analysis
My youngest daughter is a big fan of crime scene investigation shows. She tries to solve the mystery before the solution is revealed at the end of the show. While watching television with her one night, it occurred to me that fundraising was a lot like crime scene investigations, except, of course, for the corpses…
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