“What will our donor get when they make their gift?” In some advancement shops, the response to this question is something specific – a pair of socks, tickets to a football game, a naming right, a tchotchke. In other advancement shops, the response to this question is nothing specific. A thank-you letter or a handwritten…
Author: Jason McNeal
I provide leadership, advancement and fundraising consulting services to educational, healthcare, and non-profit organizations.
Persuasive vs. Manipulative
It is common for some in advancement to hear the word, “persuasive,” and think, “manipulative.” But, the two are very different. When we aim to be persuasive, we: are ethical, transparent, factual, and logical; seek fair, win-win outcomes with others; respect people’s rights and responsibilities to choose for themselves, based on what they believe, feel,…
The Professional Development Environment Leaders Create
Advancement leaders can create 3 professional development environments for those in their care. These professional development environments can encourage team members to: Learn More Skills – develop the technical skills related to their work; Receive More Instruction – learn from others about how they have enhanced their work; Think More – reflect on what our…
Performance-Based vs. Responsibility-Based Metrics
The concept of “performance-based metrics,” is well known in our advancement work. But, saying something is well known does not mean that it is well understood. In fact, in the case of “performance-based metrics,” I would suggest the concept is very poorly understood. What “performance” are we talking about? Does “performance” equate to outputs? Like…
Compared To What?
If we want the most helpful evaluative process for our development program, an important first question to answer is, “what are we using as our comparison?” For example, we might make the following evaluations, “Overall, our fundraising results haven’t been very productive.” Or, “We are making great progress with our fundraising.” But, neither of those…
A Cause or A Job
Are working for a cause? Or, are you working a job? The answer to that question makes all the difference.
More Data, More Ideas, and More Results
We don’t need more data. We have so much of it we don’t know how to use or store it all. We don’t need more ideas. We have more of them at our fingertips than we can possibly implement. More advancement results typically don’t come from more data or more ideas. More advancement results typically…
The Real World
Listening as higher education presidents or nonprofit CEOs stand before their faculty, employees, volunteers and state that what they do isn’t “the real world,” is a sad statement. I don’t find these types of statements sad because I happen to disagree with them. I find them sad because the statements themselves show a deep lack…
“I Wouldn’t Respond To That”
The personalized letter from the president that invites people to join the President’s Circle by giving at least $1,000 is not for everyone. The purpose of any call to action is not to get everyone to respond. It’s to understand the profile of the core audience, identify those who fit that profile, and how someone…
Buying Into Change
The saying, “Most people like the idea of change. Very few like being changed,” rings true. It is not uncommon for people to approach a strategic planning process or any kind of change management experience with skepticism. If change is needed, but ‘very few like being changed,’ a leader is wise to begin by first…