Articles
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Your mission in their words
We remember better the things that we say much better than the things that are said to us. Think about your most recent conversation. It's likely that you have a better recall of the things that you said than the things that were said to you. As a major gifts...
7 Reasons why you didn’t get the gift
You were excited to get the meeting. The donor you visited had been supporting the organization for a long time. You put together a compelling proposal. Sure, you were asking for more than the donor had ever given. But this gift would allow the organization...
Get in the Way of Success
Success isn’t an accident. You need a proven system to put you directly in the way of success.
Thanksgiving Week Calls to your donors
I often ask organizations whether they have a stewardship process or a donation receipt procedure. There's a big difference. Of course we must acknowledge the contributions of our supporters. We must send a gift receipt. We must say thank you. If you aren't doing...
Why the points system works
When I was starting out in my career as a fundraiser I attended a seminar with Jerry Panas. Jerry is an inspiration, and inspiring people are often associated with "big picture" ideas. At that seminar, though, Jerry shared something so incredibly basic and practical....
What makes a great fundraiser?
What makes a great fundraiser? As a consultant with more than a decade of professional experience, more than a thousand donor meetings, and millions of dollars raised, I am often asked by non profit executives and board members, "what makes a great fundraiser?" When...
Good things (and bad things) happen when you’re meeting with donors
You know how some days your're good and some days you're great? You're asking the right questions and dealing with objections and it's like you're in harmony with the universe. I was on a trip recently with a client and I had the exact opposite kind of day. I've...
Think your boss has you doing tasks that take away from fundraising?
I was recently participating in a panel discussion before an audience of fundraising professionals. Most of the people in this room had less than 3 years of experience as professional fundraisers and some had only a few months. One of the participants asked me how...
What to say when a donor asks you — the professional fundraiser — “what do you do?”
I was consulting with an organization recently that asked me to address how to respond to donors when asksed "so what do you do exactly?" You're a professional fundraiser. Maybe your job title is development officer or director of the annual fund or even executive...
Two months to go
It's November 1st. We're down to the final two months of the year. What other gifts are on the table you can close before the end of the year? Actually you have less than 2 months. You're probably not going to have many donor visits Thanksgiving week. And...
End of the year is coming. Will you get that year-end contribution?
The end of the year is coming. Maybe you're looking over your list of donors at what they've done in year's past that last week of December. Are you counting on those gifts this year? You shouldn't. There's a phrase I use all the time. I tell my clients: You've got to...
That’s a really great question…
I shared recently about how I was on a donor call with a development officer who is new to the industry. Before the meeting I was talking about the importance of asking good questions. It's not enough just to listen. You have to ask great questions that elicit...