Feb
08
2019
Using program Staff as Expert Witnesses
I have maintained that fundraising is a team sport — it involves many different people (if done correctly). Your program delivery staff are integral to a...
HR / Leadership
staff
Jan
18
2019
Pick up the Phone and MAKE THE CALL
So much has changed in the almost 25-years since I entered this profession. My first campaign had pledge forms filed on index cards and we were...
Sep
21
2018
How long a fundraiser is expected to stay
Something tells me that our profession, the fundraiser, will never be getting the gold watch after 50 years of service. There are varying statistics, but the...
Sep
14
2018
Do Underpaid Employees Perform Better Due to Dedication?
Paying a non-profit employee is always fraught with issues — there is never a right number. Somebody is always disappointed. It could be the employee or...
May
18
2018
Results are the only thing that matters.
Fundraising is very much an A-type personality profession. When I was consulting for various capital campaigns in the 90’s, nothing was more rewarding for me personally...
Feb
23
2018
Questioning the Status Quo
I am always questioning the status quo. Even as a child, my parents used to get so frustrated with me because I questioned everything. Ad nauseum. Now,...
Jan
19
2018
The V-formation — a Lesson in Life
Do you ever wonder why geese fly in a V-formation? It is a pretty neat reason — it has been proven that by doing so, they...
Dec
15
2017
Your database might be your biggest asset
This is a particularly busy time of the season for those in the fundraising world. Many of our donors choose to pay off their pledges (or...
Dec
01
2017
Small development offices vs large ones
In Canada, most fundraising organizations have a professional staff of fewer than five people. That is pretty amazing, considering all that they do. It is those...
Nov
17
2017
NO “I” in Team…but there is an “M” and an “E”
So much of what impacts a fundraiser’s success is predicated on having the right people around him/her, I have found that fundraising is much more of...