Donor Relationship Management

Cultivation Builds Confidence and Yields Results
May 31, 2017 at 10:40 am

There is no substitute for effective and focused cultivation. It brings new donors into the fold, and it strengthens the bonds with existing donors. It also helps nurture staff and volunteers—coaching and training them for a campaign...

Marketing Your NonProfit With Zero Budget
May 30, 2017 at 12:32 pm

It was exciting to see, and frankly, I was a bit shocked. The campaign co-chair proclaimed to the campaign steering committee that she was over her apprehension of asking for money. “I’m passionate about what these gifts will mean, and I now understand that I will probably have to have a few friends decline gifts […]

Unraveling Donor-Centricity: Love Is the Answer
May 26, 2017 at 10:19 am

Great fundraising is focused on the long-term—taking that donor from first-time gift… to lifetime. And it’s built around the science of human behavior and what actually works. We see it time and time again: the very practice of donor-centricity leads to community...

Don’t Shortchange Your Philanthropic Potential
May 24, 2017 at 7:43 am

Build a culture of philanthropy. Challenge your board and staff to embrace a donor-focused, relational approach. Invest in your board and staff and build a development program that is built to last—through leadership transitions and that grows stronger and stronger with the success and capacity-building of each campaign...

It’s Time to Let Those Donors Go
May 22, 2017 at 9:43 am

Letting go… It’s not always easy, is it? Anyone who has had to take their child to college or end a relationship knows saying goodbye is never easy. It’s also not easy for you as a major gift officer (MGO) when a donor, who you have been stewarding and cultivating over time, no longer meets the criteria as a major donor...

25 Years on Relationship Fundraising
May 19, 2017 at 10:34 am

In this post-truth age, anyone who pretends they’re listening when they’re not may well be among the most under-informed, misguided and misled folks of all. It’s shocking to realize that people who’ve been nodding vigorously in agreement with you for decades may just have been humoring you all along, may have had little or no intention of actually doing what you thought they were so very enthusiastic about...

What Today’s Donor Wants: Managing Expectations and Measuring Impact
May 18, 2017 at 11:22 am

A transformation of sorts has occurred over the last 20 years in regard to donors’ expectations of nonprofits. In years past, donors were generally satisfied with the act of giving itself, relying on little more than the assurances of the nonprofit beneficiary of their donation that their funds were being put...