Giving is Good
We are responsible for showing up with a willing attitude. We are responsible for being prepared, being strategic, and being detailed. We are responsible for communicating with inspiration and with an empathetic nod to the circumstances of others. We are responsible for inviting others well – to volunteer, to attend, to give, and to care….
The first president I worked for who understood philanthropy was fond of saying, “We can never thank a donor too much.” I used to believe that and would even repeat the phrase. But, as I’ve aged in this work, I’ve changed my tune a bit. It’s not that the sentiment hits wrong. . . or…
Identify a Progress Direction– Are we aiming to grow our number of donors? Is our goal to raise more dollars overall or for a specific priority? Is our objective to make our database more hygienic? What major progress will we make as a team? Affirm Metrics That Progress Evidence – What are the specific number…
The best governing boards have: Foresight – they ensure a cultural and practical framework for longer-term and strategic planning for the institution. Oversight – they embrace the concept of “noses in and fingers out.” They ensure that progress is being made on important outcomes and they ask what is needed to gain additional successes. Insight…
If a generous, consistent donor stopped giving to you today, what would they miss? The joy? The meaning and impact? The community of being part of a cause with others? The sense of being a good, generous person? The interactions with your institution’s leaders? The interactions with those your institution serves? Something else. . ….
Seventeen years ago when my consulting career began, I also began flying much more – just about every week, in fact. As I got used to the new daily rhythms of airports, rental cars, and hotels, I started experiencing the amount of time spent standing in line from a new perspective. The time it took…
We tend to think of those who are artistic or inventive or imaginative as “creative” types. We also tend to box our creative colleagues into the advancement roles of graphic and web design, or marketing, or photography, or communications. But when we deeply think about the important outcomes of advancement work we should consider everyone…
In the rush (or pressure?) to grow our annual fund gift receipts year-over-year, we can lose the broader understanding of context and, in fact, advancement program health. What if, for example, we grew an annual fund from $1,000,000 to $5,000,000 over the course of a 5 year period. And, during that same time period total…
If our goals are vague, we can hide. If our performance metrics are vague, we can hide. If our annual evaluation criteria are vague, we can hide. We may say that we want to show up. We want to make a difference. We want to have an impact. But if we’re not willing to be…
One sign of an unhealthy advancement team culture can be found in the way people talk about themselves. Not the friendly Monday morning sharing of how our weekend was. But, the “peel the onion back,” “let’s hear how you really feel,” observations we all make when times get difficult. For example, when progress is not…