Major Gifts
How to effectively Communicate and Persuade in a Nonprofit Environment?
You have seen it written many place before: fundraising is, at its core, a profession based on communication. We work hard everyday to help people understand our values, our mission, and our task. More than just communicating, though, we seek to persuade. Not just to help people understand our mission but to convince them to…
Read MoreBuilding a Strong Solicitation Team
Whoever said, “God is in the details,” must have spent some time as a fundraiser. It never ceases to amaze me how minutely this business is analyzed. Every conceivable aspect of how to raise money has been placed in the balance and weighed against the alternatives. This is most evident in the manner in which…
Read MoreBuilding a Campaign Leadership Team
They are known by lots of names, but every successful capital campaign requires an effective, committed leadership team. For purposes of this article, I will refer to this ‘core group’ of leaders as the Campaign Executive Committee (CEC). Building this team is one of the very first priorities of a campaign. The team is responsible…
Read MoreChoosing a Stellar Campaign Leader
Dedicated volunteers are worth their weight in gold to the regular fundraising operations of your charitable organization. These high-level volunteers provide credibility and undertake the essential relationship-building that helps attract friends, supporters and financial resources to your organization.
Read MoreBuild Capacity with Your Capital Campaign
Whether you are considering a capital campaign or are already in one, you can take advantage of momentum, excitement and growth to advance the quality of the governance, effectiveness, program development and fundraising capability of your organization. Making a plan at the beginning of the process will help you to maximize the outcomes from your…
Read MoreA Good Rule about Rules
The fundraising industry has a lot of ‘rules of thumb’ that we, as development professionals, apply to the situations we encounter. There are “the Six Steps of an Effective Solicitation,” and “the Five P’s of Leadership,” and, of course, “the Rule of Thirds.” There is probably a societal influence toward creating these rules, as we…
Read MoreBoard Development in a Campaign Setting
A successful capital campaign often leaves a big footprint in areas other than just the financial position of the group, such as public relations that can grow as a result of a successful campaign and board development, which can undergo a significant transition throughout a capital campaign.
Read MoreCampaign Success or Failure: A Function of the Number of Calls Made
During my thirty-six years in the fundraising profession, I have had the privilege of planning and directing capital campaigns for hospitals, schools, colleges, libraries, museums, symphony orchestras, various arts and cultural organizations, retirement communities, social service organizations, churches, synods, dioceses, denominations and other church related organizations. In each case, I was fortunate. We worked hard…
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