legacy

Passover — a Fundraiser’s Perspective

March 26, 2021 0 jack silverstein Leadership Philanthropy

Tomorrow evening (at sunset) will mark the beginning of the Jewish holy day(s) of Passover. I thought that I would change things up a bit and write my blog from a philosophical perspective. The story of Passover is the story of the Jews’ exodus from slavery in Egypt after centuries of slavery and oppression....

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...

Discussions Around the Dinner Table

November 6, 2020 0 jack silverstein Philanthropy Prospects and Donors

I am positive that today’s dinner table discussions are more animated than they have been for the past while. Whether it is a discussion about the US election, the pandemic, thanksgiving, or even year-end philanthropy, these conversations are bound to be thought-provoking, to say the least. I was fortunate enough to attend a training...

Fundraising Metrics Part 1

October 16, 2020 0 jack silverstein Leadership Philanthropy

Peter Drucker, the famous management consultant, would often proclaim, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” Fundraising is chock-full of metrics, and in this article (and the next), I will explore the two major different types of fundraising metrics — financial and non-financial. Both are something that boards and bosses should be...

A quick Primer on Legacy Giving Prospects

October 18, 2019 0 jack silverstein Prospects and Donors

Legacy Giving is likely the single largest donation that an individual will donate in their lifetime. I purposely do not use the term “Planned Giving” because every meaningful gift is planned (even the $2/month)! But how do we identify those folks that have the propensity to leave a bequest to our organization? Believe it...

The Top 10 Myths About Fundraising Part 1c

March 3, 2017 0 jack silverstein Myths

Last article, I spoke of Special Events. Here is the next revenue stream that I am going to mention — Planned Giving. Before we start here, can we not come up with a better term — maybe Legacy Giving? ALL meaningful gifts are planned, so what does this title truly mean? Legacy Giving is seen as...