Fundraiser Education

Starting my professional career as a program officer for a statewide grant-maker is a slightly unusual story, one that is filled with gratitude for my mentors. Leaving grant-making for grant-seeking and eventually grant consulting, another unusual twist in the story...

At the end of the day our organization and I need highly trained and motivated volunteers to help in a variety of roles, especially fundraising. A board retreat is a great tool to use for this purpose. I strongly encourage annual retreats...

Mistakes are inevitable, how a fundraiser responds to those errors is what can really set the organization apart. Instead of spending all our time on looking for someone (anyone but me!) to blame, our first priority needs to be our donors...

For a number of years, I attempted to take up golf. I say “attempted” inasmuch as after three rounds of lessons and many hours invested, I never really got beyond the frustration level of competence. It’s a great game. You’re often in beautiful settings with the opportunity to spend time with people you like. So, why didn’t I do better?...

Let’s face it—there’s a plethora of information out in the vast cyberspace about different types of technologies available to help improve your nonprofit. It can all get a little confusing, can’t it? But it all comes down to what your nonprofit it looking to improve. Are you looking to create more brand awareness to drive more donations? Let’s take a look at a tool out there that we’ve all heard of, but (maybe) are not taking advantage of...

Events are a great way to boost donations and donors too. With the right team, strategies and tools, turn any event to an a success.

UCLA has received a generous $1.5 million gift from the Anthony and Jeanne Pritzker Family Foundation to support faculty members competing for the NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE. The funds will support the team’s efforts to develop a process for capturing carbon dioxide and converting it into a material that can be used in building and…

Some years ago, I was having dinner with a client and her husband, Bill. In the course of the meal, it came up that Bill was going to be doing a DIY event to raise money for breast cancer research, and they asked if I would consider sponsoring Bill for $100 for his event…

Ethical dilemmas are inevitable. They happen to the best of us, but not to fear! The good news is that it’s not the end of the world. It might seem like it when these dilemmas initially hit, but have faith that you can handle the pressure...

There’s quite a bit of noise out there in the major gift world on management—what next step to take, how to approach the donor, how to frame the ask, etc. And still, with all of that information, Jeff and I find hundreds of major gift officers frustrated in their jobs...