Executive Issues

Do you want to learn more about engagement and revenue? I think it’s something we’d all like to learn about. I don’t know if there is such a thing as too much engagement or too much revenue. In the nonprofit sector, it’s never enough—especially when you’re going all-in for a cause you care...

At some point, you need to engage a development committee, key administration and community volunteers to review prospect research data and apply this data to develop a strategy for each prospect. The public information gleaned from wealth tools is a starting point...

Have you ever heard that quote in the title? If not, you might want to brush up on your sales skills. It could be the difference between getting a donation or not. Let’s set the record straight, I’m not diminishing fundraising as just “sales.” I’m elevating sales as a process and technique to help us be more successful in our fundraising...

Our market is changing, isn’t it? Not to say print is dead, but our industry has entered the digital era where almost everything is available electronically and new technologies are popping up like dandelions! To thrive in this new environment, we need to be adaptable—to always be able to acclimate to the changing market...

In every way they can, nonprofits make the "ask." The message is: We help people. We mend the holes in the social safety net. We educate. We feed. We shelter. We care. But do they? Or do they, by the nature of their funding, contribute a bit to the tearing of that net? Nonprofits are notorious for paying low salaries...

Nonprofit board members have a lot on their plate. Some are more educated and prepared to fill the role due to past board experience or an excellent board orientation and an ongoing education and evaluation program...

There is one important thing everyone involved in the process of creating a fundraising appeal has to remember: You are not the target audience. What you think or feel doesn’t matter. What matters is what the person being asked to make a donation thinks and feels...

What’s one quality that makes a great marketer (or even a great fundraiser)? You guessed it: Passion. When someone has great passion for something—whether it’s to to aid in wildlife conservation, to end world hunger, to prevent and find treatment for deadly diseases, to advocate women’s equality, to support the LGBT community...

Ask your Magic 8-Ball about the state of charitable giving in the next few years, and there’s a good chance it’ll tell you “outlook good.” As long as it’s getting its info from Marts & Lundy and the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University, that is...

A legendary name in fundraising, Roger Craver is co-founder of the “The Agitator” and author of “Retention Fundraising: The Art and Science of Keeping Your Donors for Life.” He is not your average fundraiser—a disruptor and a challenger of the status quo—in fact; he continues to bring light and knowledge about donor retention, one of the biggest challenges facing the nonprofit sector today...