If you are interested in learning more about how to implement performance metrics well, I’ll be giving my take in an upcoming webcast sponsored by ALDE – the Association of Lutheran Development Executives. Here are the specifics: Date: Thursday, October 28, 2010 Time: 3:00 – 4:30pm Central Site Fee: $75 – you can’t beat this […]
Browsing the blog archives for September, 2010
28 Sep 10
27 Sep 10
Recently, our son who is four, appealed to my wife and I that he deserved to go to bed later than his older sister because he took a nap during the afternoon. The problem was that he, in fact, did not nap. But he argued to the contrary. Finally, after proving beyond all reasonable doubt […]
24 Sep 10
Development professionals work tirelessly to educate donors. In fact, I believe that donor education is really the core of our work. This education typically involves one or more of the following areas: Institutional education – we educate donors about our history, services provided, communities served, and institutional accolades; Vision education – we educate donors about […]
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Posted in Fundraising, Leadership
22 Sep 10
The value in understanding history lies not in the notion that times stay the same, but, rather, that human nature does. Take the case of Benedict Arnold. We all remember him as the traitor during the Revolutionary War. But for many of us, that is all we know of the story. When historians attempt to […]
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Posted in Leadership
19 Sep 10
Does your institution care more about its donors or their gifts? Before you answer, let me ask the same question in a more practical, perhaps more helpful way. After you receive the gift, how long does it take, on average, for your institution to thank and extend a gift receipt to a donor? In the […]
14 Sep 10
In prospect management meetings all across the country this week, advancement teams have prioritized donor portfolios based on the two most important variables currently in use: Capacity (a wealth estimate of some sort), and; Interest (an estimate of how ‘close’ or ‘engaged’ the prospect is with the institution). No matter the terms used for these […]
12 Sep 10
A Board is a collection of individuals. The important word here is “individuals.” Not “collection.” Each member of a Board brings her own passion, interests, abilities, capacities, and shortcomings to the group. Boards work and are generous, not because administrators engage the collective group, but rather because administrators first engage each peculiar, individual member in […]
7 Sep 10
I’m teaching a class on “Annual and Major Gifts Fundraising,” this fall in the Master of Nonprofit Management program at Northpark University. For one of the textbooks, I’m using Asking, by Jerry Panas. As one would expect, it’s a great, spot-on, quick read. Jerry offers many, time-tested examples of how to go about the process […]
