Major Gifts

It’s amazing to Richard and me how nonprofits—that do such great things with the programs and projects they have making the world a better place—have a total disregard for their major donors. One example of this was a story I heard from someone who quit her position as an major gift officer several years ago...

Most people hesitate to give criticism or honest feedback. I’ve done it myself—sugarcoating my comments rather than telling someone what I really think. Unless someone asks me specifically what I really think, probing in various specific areas, I’m more inclined to give positive feedback...

You have most certainly experienced the fear of a board member whose term is coming up, and they are one of your best donors. You’re thinking, “How do I get them to continue their giving?” Richard and I would say that is the wrong way to think about this...

If I gave you $1 million, but told you I needed to control the investment and after one full year, the investment became $520,000—then at the end of the second year, the investment became $330,000—you would think I was either the worst financial advisor or just plain crazy...

The University of Arkansas announced it will establish a new School of Art with a $120 million gift from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation, the philanthropic enterprise started by the family of late Walmart founder Sam Walton. Calling the donation the largest-ever gift given to a university in support of an art school, the university…

Why do organizations mount major gift or capital campaigns? Hopefully the answer is to reach strategic objectives that expand their mission, that add new and improved programs or services, or that uniquely address significant needs of those they serve. In other words, campaigns are about change...

Once you get over your misconceptions that rich people are so different and that they won’t want to talk with you, you’ll find that if you share common interests, you can bridge the wealth gap and build a relationship that may well lead to a gift...

You’ve heard of the term, “solo player.” It refers most often in a sales environment to someone who does everything alone and won’t include others in the work. In most cases they are not very successful. In fact, we see a tremendous amount of burnout from this type of MGO...

The Virginia Commonwealth School of Engineering announced Thursday it has received a $25 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to build on its efforts to reduce the costs of lifesaving medications. The grant will build on VCU’s Medicines for All Initiative, which has found ways to drive down the cost of three…

I want to talk about how callousness reduces us to mere cogs in a fundraising machine vs. the caring individuals we want and need to be. And then I want to share with you how to deal with this very common dynamic in the life of a MGO...