Major Gifts
Upgrade Your Campaign Executive Committee Meetings
Your campaign executive committee is the heart and soul of your capital campaign. Keeping these volunteers informed, inspired, motivated, and enthusiastic can make or break your campaign effort. Read on to learn how you can ensure that your campaign meetings are interesting, informative, productive, and positive. How to Improve Your Campaign Executive Committee Meetings At…
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 MoreFriends Soliciting Friends – Is Close Ever too Close?
When it comes to soliciting friends or family for gifts, is close ever too close? It is a regretful, but well established observation that we tend to underestimate those people to whom we are the closest. We are more keenly aware of their strengths (publicly exhibited) and their weakness (often hidden). We know more of…
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…
Read More7 Essentials for Fundraising Success
With all of the people, problems, and politics that clamor for our time and mental energy, each day can be hectic. In the midst of the hubbub of daily life in the fundraising world, it’s important to take an occasional step back. Remember to look at how you can be strategic in shaping your organization…
Read MoreFinding Major Gift Prospects
Everyone knows someone who is capable of making a major gift. I can’t tell you how often I’ve heard trustees and volunteers tell me they don’t know anyone capable of a gift of $25,000 or more. Images are conjured up of mansions, exotic sports cars, and lavish lifestyles. “I don’t run in those circles,” they…
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