Fundraiser Education

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!

One of the lessons I've learned (sadly, by watching others' mistakes) is that when nonprofit organizations and employees don't think like businesspeople, they can end up "out of business," either corporately or personally. But there is a better way …

Fundraising employment transition becomes a pothole in a sense that it causes disruption, loss of revenue, loss of relationships and many other negative implications. Think about your job experiences. Do you mandate a complete debrief of information when your employees leave employment? Do you ask board members to help bridge significant relationships to keep engagement and donor momentum in place? Do you provide new fundraising professional hires with solid prospect and donor information gleaned from former employees? How can this issue be dealt with in a positive way, especially when some departures are negative in scope?  

For whatever reason you became a fundraiser, if you want to grow in the field you're going to end up doing more and learning more than you ever thought you wanted to do and learn. You may not have signed up for these things, but they can help make you a better fundraiser. For example …

Shoe drive fundraising events are a fast, easy and innovative way to raise money for your organization and make a greater impact than you thought possible.

Among the ever-evolving buzzwords and old debates in the nonprofit sector, a new concept has entered the fray: running your nonprofit like a for-profit.