If you’ve never done this gut-check exercise, I urge you to do this immediately. Even if you have 150 donors in your portfolio right now — the maximum number of donors in a qualified portfolio — my guess is that over half of them would not pass the gut-check test.
The Lilly School of Philanthropy, which provides world class education in my backyard, continually plans for the future of philanthropy. This school, along with others across the country, are continually striving with respect to philanthropy, to advance knowledge.
Organizations are requiring more robust software functionality to ensure virtual and hybrid campaigns connect as deeply with participants and donors as in-person events. In response, peer-to-peer software vendors are offering more tools for organizations and participants to engage in richer and more meaningful ways.
Over the years, I’ve worked with nonprofits of all sizes — small, midsize, large — when it comes to monthly donors. A few of those smaller organizations started out earlier this year with 15 monthly donors. Now, a few months later, they are at 65 by introducing just a few additional ways to generate new monthly donors.
The average tenure for a major gifts officer is sitting at 16 months with replacement costs sitting at more than $127,650. What is causing MGOs to burn out? Think about what you can do to deal with the very things that, if they continue for you, will literally rip the spirit right out of you and cause your revenue to go down.
Establishing a strategy for your peer-to-peer fundraising email communications is critically important. Of course, when you have a lot to do, taking time to think about strategy might seem like a luxury. But keep in mind that there’s no point in sending emails just to send emails. They need a purpose.
Employees who self-evaluate are typically happier, more committed, more productive, and more loyal to the organizations they serve. A tool that can be used for self-analysis is a SWOT Analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats).
Instead of getting great at running events, we should have been systematizing and improving methods that foster community. Providing peer-to-peer participants with a way to communicate with each other is key. We have been shouting at constituents instead of building ways for them to talk to each other.
What’s the first nonprofit you think of with a huge sustainer program? Did you guess your local public broadcasting station? Probably not. But yet, most public TV and radio stations are leading the pact when it comes to sustainer giving. They started asking for monthly gifts many years ago.
I hear too many speeches, sit in too many meetings, and receive too many communications (written and electronic) where the author starts off by building the case and then finally gets to the reason for building it. This tactic will confuse your major donor.
