Four years ago, I wrote an article about charities hiring fundraisers for their attitude rather than their aptitude (here). I surmised that you could learn the skills required, but having the right people skills is not transferrable. Either you have it, or you don’t. The last 18 months of this pandemic have really made...
Continue reading...profession
UPDATE: Why Fundraising is Like a Work Out
A little over three years ago, I wrote an article pointing out the similarities between fundraising and working out (here). The premise was that you could work out using full effort for a short while and then take a break. In the end, it will make you much more efficient. Judging by the work-from-home...
Continue reading...Calling out Bad Fundraising
Perhaps it has been the fact that we are into year two of this crazy pandemic. Maybe it is because I have seen many charitable organizations totally botch their fundraising lately. Or, it could even be that I am a fifty-year-old curmudgeon. The fact remains that after decades of being a professional fundraiser, I...
Continue reading...Thanks to the Women out there!
March 8 is International Women’s Day, and it’s a big thing. The statistics tell us that seventy to eighty percent of fundraisers are women. In my own career as a fundraiser, I have only hired a handful of men — the rest were all women! Moreover, the statistics tell us that women only represent...
Continue reading...New Year’s Resolutions
This past year has …… sucked. I vividly remember picking up friends from the airport over the holidays last year when China was on lockdown and proclaiming that North Americans would never allow such a shutdown. Boy, was I wrong! I miss the comradery of working with colleagues, visiting with donors, and being able...
Continue reading...Top Articles to Date
Everybody loves summer. It is a time to relax, spending time with the family, and decompress. Wait…. Haven’t I just been spending the last 3 full months with the family!?!?! In any event, I will be taking some downtime over the summer, so if you’re missing my weekly blog, I encourage you to look...
Continue reading...Do you need a Professional? Anybody can Fundraise — NOT!!
I have often written about the fact that fundraising isn’t rocket science. I would like to take the opportunity to use this article to clarify that thought a bit more. While anyone can ask for funds, it takes a seasoned professional to ensure the overall fundraising program is successful. Planning from concept to reality...
Continue reading...Feb. & March are Tough
I have noticed over the past while that the Winter Blahs seem to pervade the fundraising industry. Many charities see a huge upswing in pledge payments/donations at the end of the calendar year. That is quickly followed by a general lull in donations in Q1 — the January/February/March timeframe. The reason is pretty logical...
Continue reading...Job vs Vocation
As many of you who have been reading my blog, I have been writing lately about Lynne Wester‘s book, T-Rexes and Kangaroos and the lessons contained in the book. I think it is one of the better books out there for fundraisers. Wester’s musings about life through the Donor Relations lens is a breath...
Continue reading...A Thankful Fundraiser’s Perspective
I am fully bloated and cannot look at another morsel of food (from yesterday’s festivities). But here I am sitting in front of my computer realizing just how lucky a guy I am. There is so much to be thankful for — and not just the Thanksgiving meal my wife put on yesterday. Perhaps...
Continue reading...