Major Gifts

I have a friend who jokingly says to me: “Richard, do you believe what you believe?” And I laugh and respond that I do. But then, as I have been thinking about it, I really don’t believe everything I believe. I think I believe some things, but when I put them in the light of day, those beliefs are either outdated or just plain wrong...

With a $24 million gift to fund the comprehensive renovation of the historic Wilson Hall, Brown University will transform one of its most heavily trafficked undergraduate academic buildings into a state-of-the-art facility for teaching and learning in the heart of its College Hill campus. The gift from the Richard A. and Susan P. Friedman Family…

This will be the year when a solid group of enlightened nonprofit organizations jump fully into the overhead discussion that is rapidly gaining traction among leaders in this sector. My question for you is this: Are you ready to handle the questions, concerns and yes, heated discussions you might get into with a donor on your caseload regarding this subject?...

A CEO who is actively interested and engaged in fundraising is critical to attracting transformative philanthropic investment. For CEOs who have a passion for building relationships with donors or who perhaps served as fundraisers earlier in their careers, rolling their sleeves up and jumping into the fundraising fray comes naturally...

I’ve been thinking a lot about the C-level donors on your portfolio lately. Why? Well, I was reviewing a mid-level program the other day and tracking all the donors that have moved from mid-level to major-gift portfolios… It was quite impressive...

The entire nonprofit community—in the U.S. at any rate—is obsessed with “major gifts.” You know the ones. Those gifts, which are of such size, that create big waves as they wash up on the beach of the nonprofit...

Let me assure you, no matter how much success you have had with your “free-flow” approach, you would have had double the success had you been working with a system that harnessed that energy and directed it towards high-value activity—believe me...

Through my experiences of fear and working to move past it, I also know what it’s like to live in freedom. Believe me, that freedom place is so much better. Today, I’m going to outline what it looks like when major-gift professionals allow fear to take over and then what it looks like when we can live in freedom. ..

Boston Medical Center has received a $25 million gift—the largest in its history—and plans to use the money to fight what it calls the “heartbreaking” public-health crisis caused by drug addiction and the opioid epidemic. The donation to BMC, which serves more low-income patients than any other medical facility in New England, will create the…

Chance the Rapper held a press conference at Westcott Elementary School in Chicago to announce that he is donating $1 million to Chicago Public Schools. “Our kids should not be held hostage because of political positions,” he said. He later revealed that he and Common will speak on the phone to discuss further funding. The…