Posts Tagged ‘donor relationships’
Connecting with People
In the fundraising consulting business, we deal with people every day. If we are to work with them effectively and successfully, we have to be able to make personal connections. Connecting with people allows us to create the conditions for our own success and the success of the organizations we strive to represent. Connecting with…
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 MoreBe Kind, Even When They Say No
If the first rule of fundraising is to ask, the second is to be kind about it. An organization should develop a true conviction of its worth and the services provided to others. Fundraisers should never solicit “hat in hand.” However, they should also never presume that a prospective donor has any obligation to give.…
Read MoreCapital Campaign Essentials: Major Gift Prospects
There are four essential elements to every successful capital campaign. In our Capital Campaign Essentials series, we provide a quick overview of each of these four elements so that you can successfully grow your organization’s fundraising influence. This article focuses on the process for identifying and soliciting individual major gift prospects in a capital campaign.…
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 MoreGo with Your Gut
Follow your instincts, your ‘Gut Instincts’ as you go about your duties as a development professional. Use your own personal talent and skills that you’ve honed over the years. Be creative but stay within yourself utilizing your own personal skills and insights.
Read MoreFind a Friend, Make a Friend, Be a Friend
One of the nice things about this business is that our success is oriented around
making friends and being a friend.