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…

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“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…

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Friends 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…

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An Ounce of Prevention Is Worth a Pound of Cure

I work with many of non-profit organizations, and one thing I cannot help but fret is the lack of proper training and understanding in how to use computers and technology. Since so many non-profit organizations are terribly small, they usually have very tightly limited budgets. Unfortunately, this causes them to be “penny wise and pound…

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Buying Locally Doesn’t Always Pay

Development directors for non-profit organizations are often laden with the responsibility to determine how to raise greater and greater amounts of money to help balance their organizations’ ever-growing budget. The most popular and traditional means employed is to increase the goal of the annual appeal. For a number of reasons—the economy, reduced governmental funding, weak…

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