Take a normal sized, white-paged flip chart and, with a black magic marker, draw a round, big dot – about the size of your fist.  Color it in fully.  Now, ask people what they see. Most everyone will say they see a big, black dot. Almost no one will say anything about the large white […]

Extending thoughtful gratitude to donors is one of the most fundamental and yet under-utilized aspects of the gift cycle. As development professionals we invest a lot of time and resources in the identification of prospects, their cultivation and their solicitation. However, I would argue that the final phase of the gift cycle – stewardship – […]

Financial journalist Felix Salmon, recently wrote an opinion piece for Reuters entitled, “Philanthropy:  You’re Doing It Wrong.”  The blog is worth a read, if only because it clearly articulates wrong-headed concepts about how best to engage philanthropists. Allow me to highlight Salmon’s thesis as best I understand it.  He is criticizing the “mega-philanthropists:  the people who […]

The most recent tax law passed by Congress and signed by President Obama, included the reinstatement of the charitable IRA rollover.   To recap the context of this rule, people who are 70.5 years old and have traditional IRAs must take required distributions and pay tax on the withdrawals.  This law reinstates the ability for […]