Posts Tagged ‘capital campaigns’
Spotlight on Success – Making Your Campaign the Priority
Capital campaigns are extraordinary endeavors. According to Webster’s, extraordinary means “going beyond what is usual, regular, or customary.” That is certainly the sort of approach a not-for-profit organization needs to take when conducting a capital campaign. Your objective is not just to achieve a goal but also to maximize your potential, to know that the…
Read MoreSpecial Events — Good Times, Great Fundraisers
Special Events: those two words are like a physician’s reflex mallet with Development professionals and non-profit executives. And I’ve just struck the collective knee. As soon as you read ‘special events’ your brain reached deep down into its ancient mammalian part where instinct rules. Did it instantly send you an image of a cheesy low-rent…
Read MoreSpecial Events — A Recipe For Success
Bring up the idea of staging a new special event at your next staff or board meeting, and chances are you will be met with shrieks of horror, glazed expressions and incoherent mumbling. Rare indeed is the nonprofit organization that approaches a sit-down dinner or a Las Vegas night with glee.
Read MoreWhy People Give
Of all the critical elements to a major gift solicitation, perhaps none is greater than the idea of preparation. The ideal goal is to learn enough about your prospect so that you can predict their response and have a ready answer for all of their questions and concerns. If you can eliminate all, or most,…
Read MoreWho Asks Whom and for How Much?
In the beginning of any campaign, there are many important decisions to make, but none is more important than who is asked first, and for how much money. Those of you involved in classic major gifts fundraising know that it is crucial to start with the largest gifts first, before moving gradually through medium sized…
Read MoreWhat to Do about “Billy Big Bucks”
As a national consulting firm, our team of professionals conducts business in a wide variety of communities across the country. As we compare notes among ourselves, we discover there are a few opinions often voiced by the clients we serve and the non-profit executives we meet. One that seems to come up in most communities…
Read MoreTransparency as a Fundraising Tool
At GuideStar, we believe that transparency is vital to the health of the nonprofit sector. What do we mean by transparency? Borrowing from Webster’s, we mean the state of being “free from pretense or deceit.” For charities, that means being open about programs and finances and readily sharing that information with donors, funders, regulators, and the general…
Read MoreReturn on Investment in Philanthropy
Many Boards and non-profits spend unprofitable time agonizing about return on investment in fundraising. The cost per dollar raised can range on average from 10 cents to 90 cents. Yet, the IRS is disturbed that 25% of all non-profits filing 990s, and reporting contributions of $500,000 or more annually, report $0 (Yes, that’s “Zero!”) on…
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