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...profession
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...
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