Fundraiser Education

I graduated college just as the U.S. job market tanked in May 2008, and I accepted the only offer I received: a volunteer coordinator at a scrappy environmental education nonprofit. The work we did was important, and the problems the organization fights against are mighty. We attracted talented employees who willingly worked long hours in…

Donald Trump has risen to power; as of last night, he is the Republican nominee for the president of the United States. To some, inexplicable. According to the mechanics of the human mind, however, perfectly reasonable...

Good instructional design and delivery engages people’s brains, eyes, ears and bodies. People pay attention more, they learn something, they retain it better, and there is a better chance of them applying what they learned. There are many creative ways to engage learners during a training—both face-to-face and online. Moving around is better than sitting…

If anything, working from the underground up taught me to concentrate on what really matters, because, frankly, I didn’t have time for the stuff that didn’t. I trimmed off all of the extraneous stuff so that I could maintain a laser-like focus when it came to working the key areas that eventually would grow my business to what it is today...

During a drink with one of my favorite program officers, I brought up some feedback about how onerous her organization's grant-reporting process was. Even though the foundation is really flexible on how the funds can be used, it still asks for exactly how much of each line item the foundation pays for. And its line…

Having been both a fundraiser and a board member, it’s been interesting to see both sides of the conversation about board fundraising. I have to say, having had a seat at the board table and now being a board chair, I have a lot more empathy for what board members are feeling when they are…

Many of the nonprofit people I’ve known are highly empathetic. That’s a big advantage for our work. Fundraisers, especially, need to be comfortable with emotions. They’re how we communicate–if we’re doing it well. But empathy can also have its downside. Some of us truly feel another’s pain. And for most of us, spending all day thinking about…

This has been a crazy week—I co-presented a webinar for NonProfit PRO and am heading to Washington, D.C., for the annual Bridge Conference (as a learner, not a presenter). Why? Because I am absolutely passionate about continuing education, both for myself and what I share with others when I can. And I want to energize you about continuing education, too, which is why I write about investing in you about once a year...

The two most dangerous assumptions in fundraising are: Thinking the reasons why people give don’t matter. Thinking we know why people give. Assumption No. 1 is beyond redemption. (You can’t fix stupid!) Thankfully, although it still pervades a few of the bigger, aggressive, fundraising departments, it’s largely on its way out. But the second is…

Whenever people sign up to receive my emails, they’re encouraged to share their biggest fundraising challenges. Here’s one such challenge recently shared with me that many organizations face: The biggest challenge we are facing at the moment is with landing larger donations ($1,000 to $5,000+), both in terms of attracting new, higher-level donors and also…