Fundraiser Education

There’s an ongoing debate about whether or not fundraising is considered a profession. Majority of fundraisers (if not all) will argue that it is, and then there are some naysayers who will say that it’s not...

Most of us can identify with this experience: Agreeing to help out with a project or an organization, ending up more involved than we intended and vowing to say “no” to future requests. And yet, here I am, year after year, running tickets for Hot Times, Holy Enchilada and the other games of chance. The truth is, I fell prey to a technique we subscribe to at Turnkey to help our clients raise more money for their various missions...

As development professionals, the level of service and excellence in which your organization delivers its mission impacts us directly. We must be ever-vigilant in observing and being proactive in solving situations...

As development professionals, we come across many misconceptions about our profession and the nonprofit sector that dilute the power of philanthropy. By casting fundraisers in a negative light, myths prevent giving and deter qualified people from joining our industry as professional fundraisers...

When people ask you what you do for a living, how do you talk about it? When you are finished telling the person what you do and why, are they thinking: “Wow, this person really loves their job,” or “Hmm… I’m glad I’m not doing what they are doing...

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program aims to achieve two socially worthwhile goals: Reduce the debt burden on recent college graduates and entice people to enter traditionally low-paid public service careers...

Getting your fundraising program to deliver the ongoing revenue your organization needs to fulfill its important mission is often about focusing on better rather than more. As we work to generate the much-needed revenue, we often get lost in the rush to simply do more of what we’re already doing. That probably gives us some results, but at what cost?...

For many nonprofits, fundraising energy becomes sluggish as the temperatures rise. It may not be prime event season, donors may be too busy for a visit, mailing an appeal letter might be put off until fall, and online efforts take a back seat to vacation and “summer hours...

Have you ever wondered what the ideal number of people is to solicit a gift? Is a one-on-one meeting best? Perhaps you should bring two people—your president and campaign chair? Or perhaps three people would be even better—president, campaign chair and board member. Sounds reasonable, right? Get a power team to solicit a power gift! But here’s a story that will set you straight...

It is always amazing to me how smart, responsible adults can kill or at least smother a very good thing. I’m talking about the case at a southern university, which has 15 colleges and one major gift officer assigned to each college...