Fundraiser Education
February 15, 2016 at 11:07 am
Total giving by the top 50 philanthropists in America, totaling $7 billion, dropped 30 percent last year, and marked the lowest amount since 2010, according to a new report. The Philanthropy 50 list, compiled by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, said the drop was partly due to massive one-time donations in 2014, including a $1.9 billion…
February 12, 2016 at 9:56 am
Last year was big across the fundraising landscape. While the industry continues to struggle with reduced performance (efficiency) of direct mail, leading groups were tackling the hard questions. By now, the book on 2015 should be closed for most organizations, and it won’t be long before we get the scorecard on our industry’s performance last year. In the meantime, I’ve highlighted some important observations on charitable giving in 2015 and their impact on 2016...
February 12, 2016 at 9:26 am
While Valentine's Day is very symbolic for us, I will never forget what I was told decades ago: to show affection every day of the year and not just one special, designated day. I always have carried that premise over to donors in my career. We need to love them all of the time. Unfortunately, many professionals have not developed a proper method or process to do this over time...
February 12, 2016 at 9:03 am
There is nothing more dangerous than a boring story. Don’t believe me? Think about a time when you watched a bad movie or tried to read a slow book. Maybe you fell asleep in the theater. Perhaps that book sat and gathered dust on your bedside table, but try…
February 10, 2016 at 11:27 am
A new study found that 2015’s charitable giving increased 1.6 percent over the previous year while online donations grew 9.2 percent in the same time frame. And don’t forget about mobile giving—14 percent of online donors are utilizing their smartphones and tablets....
February 10, 2016 at 11:26 am
In 2016, there are five fundamental skills nonprofits must master to guarantee success in an overcrowded marketplace. Some of these skills will seem familiar, but the way you employ them may need to be tweaked in order for you to survive and thrive in our digitally revolutionized society. Other skills may be things you’ve thought about or dabbled in, but haven’t really committed to with serious intent and dedicated resources....
February 10, 2016 at 11:21 am
Wow. We have never seen an election cycle like this one. To some it is edifying, and to others it is quite scary. No matter what your political persuasion, here are eight fundraising lessons we can take away from this primary season....
February 9, 2016 at 10:55 am
The nonprofit sector is changing, and you need to be ready. So, NonProfit PRO reached out to some of the sector’s brightest minds and biggest innovators for predictions on what’s in store for the 
coming year. In all, we received 80 trends from 44 leaders at 34 nonprofits, agencies and consulting groups, covering everything from leadership issues to giving trends to big ideas...
February 9, 2016 at 9:49 am
If you work for a nonprofit and are a leader in the direct-marketing space, you need to be in N.C. in May...
February 5, 2016 at 10:17 am
As his NFL career began in Indianapolis, I had the honor of working with Peyton Manning on a capital campaign I directed to build the St. Vincent Children’s Hospital, later to be renamed the Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital at St. Vincent. I noticed early on that he always was prepared for every meeting, interview, event and activity. He was all business and knew his role...
