I have written numerous times that fundraising is about relationships. And those relationships are usually built on trust. But are charities truly being transparent? Or, are they worried about sharing “too much information”? It fascinates me that so many organizations do not practice transparency — with the outside world or even internally with their...
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What Does it Take to Be a Great Fundraiser?
The topic this week is a bit of a bone of contention for me. These are my beliefs as to what it takes to be a great fundraiser. Boards and bosses may have a completely different set of qualities. At the end of the day, I have seen many great managers and many great...
Continue reading...UPDATE: Make Life Complicated with a Policy
Four years ago, I wrote about making life difficult for donors, especially through a needless policy. I spoke of all the superfluous data sometimes you have to enter when all you want to do is support a charity. You may have to answer a myriad of seemingly irrelevant questions so that the charity can...
Continue reading...UPDATE: Go Find A Great Board Member
Three years ago, I wrote about recruitment for a new board member (here). In the article, I focussed on managing expectations, as Joan Garry so eloquently lays out. Fast forward to Spring 2021 and, while still accurate, the focus on new board recruitment has become so much more. It is so essential to look...
Continue reading...After 27 Years, I had an “A-ha moment”
Have you ever had that feeling that something just “clicked” for you? Even after decades of working in the same profession? (This goes to reinforce my theory that you should be open to constant learning and improving). Well, this a-ha moment happened to me the other day. As many of you know, I am...
Continue reading...What to Track in Fundraising
By now, all organizations should have closed off their 2020 (calendar) year. And what a year it was! I can confidently say that for every organization, there was some degree of uncertainty. There were probably some disappointments but, hopefully, there were also some pleasant surprises. But what should charities start examining when looking back...
Continue reading...Issues Raising Funds — Part II
Last week, I wrote about golf and fundraising — the advent of the graphite shaft amplifies your golf swing (good or bad), just as COVID has amplified fundraising (good or bad). In last week’s posting, I shared three issues in raising funds that you may encounter, namely staff turnover, the rainmaker, and the organization’s...
Continue reading...Signals that you will soon have Issues Raising Funds
Fundraising during COVID is like using a graphite golf club. Those things that go well go really well, and the things that go poorly go really poorly. Just as a graphite shaft will amplify your shot (good or bad), so too will fundraising in a pandemic. The donors seen as the 1-percenters have seen...
Continue reading...Putting the donor in the center
COVID-19 has really taken a toll on good stewardship. Donor receptions, tours, and in-person briefings have been put on pause out of an abundance of caution. But, how do fundraisers relate to donors effectively with these restrictions? The key is putting the donor at the center of the virtual experience. It is still quite...
Continue reading...Tales from the Trenches is now Available
It’s hard to believe that after many months, Tales from the Trenches: What I Learned from 25 years in Fundraising is now available for sale. It has been quite the journey, and I am pretty proud of my first book. The feedback I have received thus far is quite overwhelming. I certainly wasn’t expecting...
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