Fundraiser Education

How do donors want charities to approach them? That’s the question at the heart of new research by Rogare, a fundraising think tank at Plymouth University Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy in the United Kingdom. Led by Dr. Adrian Sargeant and sponsored by Pursuant and Bloomerang, the comprehensive, four-volume study provides a detailed look at relationship fundraising and the potential benefits it can have for nonprofits...

If there is one thing we can expect in fundraising, it’s the unexpected. We’re sure it’s a winner, but the donors don’t respond to an e-appeal or direct mail. The worst drought in history ends on the night of the gala. The website goes down right as we announce a big fundraising campaign...

Success is a funny thing. We all want it, but not all of us are comfortable with it. I remember sitting with a group of major gift officers (MGOs) once, and we were talking about the important work each of them did. In the middle of the discussion I asked the question: "You all do…

We’ve all been there. The absolute perfect potential investor is now within our reach. We’ve been practicing Principle 5 of The Eight Principles, “Work From the Inside Out,” with religious fervor. And now it’s paying off. There’s just one hurdle. It seems this “perfect” donor to our cause—serious interest, serious values-match and serious resources—has a keeper. That keeper sees this donor as proprietary. That is—his property...

Can you recite your nonprofit's mission statement? Does it inspire and energize? Or is it more like a laundry list of tasks? If it sounds like tasks, it's hurting your fundraising. Your nonprofit's mission is vital. It's needed. It should inspire passion. When it does, it can transform your community. Giving your mission statement a…

If you’re like me, you didn’t start out intending to be a fundraiser. I stumbled into fundraising more than 16 years ago when I transitioned from working for a regional grant-making foundation to my first development director job—and it was love at first sight. I loved my job. And I’d finally found my passion! But after two short years, I walked out the door. Why did I leave? And what can you learn from my departure from what remains, to this day, one of my favorite jobs?...

In the competitive environment of NGO fundraising, understanding where you’ll get the best return on investment can often be the difference between keeping afloat and sinking. From the perspective of an international NGO, successful fundraising or business development can utilize a number of different approaches, each with its own set of particulars...

The most common complaint I hear from people trying to raise money is that they don’t have enough time. “There aren’t enough hours in the day,” “I can’t get everything done,” “I’m just one person,” “How do those other nonprofits get it all done?” Sound familiar? Here’s some good news: You’ll never get it all…

There are just three components to hiring a great development director: Get a good candidate pool. Ask the right questions. Recognize the right answers. For the moment, I’m going to assume you know how to get a good candidate pool. I addressed the second item, asking the right questions, in my earlier post, "Great Interview…

When I work with clients on strategy, one of my greatest responsibilities is to shift their thinking so they can look at things in new ways, step up to a higher plane and think big. Boards of directors and staff alike usually are too mired in today’s challenges to envision a dramatically improved future, let…