Fundraiser Education

Ted Hart speaks with Linda Lysakowski from CharityChannel Press, international superstar consultant Kay Sprinkel Grace, John Murcott from Crowdster.com, Mark Sutton from FrontStream, Gabe Cohen from GuideStar and Eva Aldridge from CFRE.org on his fifth anniversary Nonprofit Coach radio show.

To address the situation of risk management, Teach For America's Tracy-Elizabeth Clay, senior vice president of legal affairs, general counsel and board secretary of the organization, will present at the inaugural NonProfit PRO Leadership Conference. In her session, Risk Management: Harnessing Risk, Clay will discuss strategic and practical ways to harness risk as a nonprofit leader.

Statistically, more than one-third of all charitable dollars given annually in the United States is directed to religion, and research indicates that faith practitioners are the country's most generous donors.

Here are four fundraising questions I can't answer that have been haunting me lately.

Rich Rumsey, vice president of development and communications at Project HOPE, is all about breaking down silos. Join Rich and your nonprofit colleagues at the NonProfit PRO Leadership Conference May 5 in Washington, D.C.

To get a handle on what’s in store for 2015, NonProfit PRO rounded up some of the nonprofit industry’s finest, who were kind enough to share their nonprofit trends for 2015. Here are five trends on fundraising.

If you want to maximize your career in philanthropy, you should strive to blend theory and practice. You should also enjoy meeting prospects, donors, volunteers and individuals who have made a difference in their community for many years.

I recently partook of some pre-spring skiing. As I was heading down the slopes, I was thinking about some parallels between skiing and fundraising. "It's all downhill from here" is a saying that means that the hard part is over, but for fundraisers, it can often seem we're moving from one "emergency" to the next instead of enjoying the smoother ride and keeping the exhilaration alive. But as is true with skiing, some simple steps can make the journey more enjoyable.

If you are going to miss this year's AFP International Conference, what will you do to fill that void? If you are going to be in Baltimore, I'd appreciate your help in keeping me up to speed on what is being shared. I'll miss the knowledge; the time to step back and think strategically and creatively; and especially miss the opportunity to connect with so many friends and colleagues who remind me how proud I am to be associated with them, to be a member of AFP and to be a member of this noble profession.

I believe you can teach old dogs new major gifts tricks if you are focused and willing to learn. Use every opportunity for growth, and continually practice your craft. In today's world of fundraising, status quo is not an option!