New gift officers typically have many questions. Perhaps the question that dominates the thinking of new gift officers the most is some version of the following: “Do I know enough about my new organization/the program I’m assigned to/the campaign/etc., to answer questions from donors?” Framing the question this way puts the new gift officer at…
Author: Jason McNeal
I provide leadership, advancement and fundraising consulting services to educational, healthcare, and non-profit organizations.
Time and Difference
What if we took the time to. . . listen to the perspective of others who don’t live like us? talk face to face more often instead of using a digital medium? read something written from a serious writer that challenges our worldview? volunteer to serve others or in the service of something bigger than…
20/20/60
Most people work in the tactical realm. To-do lists. Deadlines. Budgets. Some people lift their heads up and work in the strategy realm. Planning. Considering opportunities, strengths, and weaknesses. Coordinating tactics. But few people pause to work in the generative realm. Distinguishing which questions are most important to be asking and answering. Identifying institutional values. …
Copy & Please
Many advancement leaders want to adopt what the “other institutions like us are doing.” Copying is safe and easy, even if whatever it is that we are copying doesn’t necessarily work well for our institution. Similarly, many advancement leaders are people pleasers. For example, if two donors out of 5,000 responded negatively to a giving…
Too Busy
You almost never hear someone say they are too busy to scroll social media. Or, too busy to play Words With Friends. Or, too busy to watch T.V. Or, too busy to shop online. Or, too busy to listen to the latest gossip. But, you will regularly hear people say they are too busy to…
Taking Donors For Granted
It doesn’t matter how elevated a donor’s wealth screen score is. It doesn’t matter how generous a donor’s giving history with your institution is. It doesn’t matter if a donor attends every event you hold. It doesn’t matter how passionately a donor has previously championed your mission to others. If we invite this donor to…
Asking the Wrong Question
“What impact would you like to make with your giving?” is a fashionable question for gift officers to ask donors. Supposedly, questions focused on “impact,” will help the donor think about increasing their giving so that the impact also will increase. But I remain unconvinced that this is a helpful line of questioning. First, many…
“How Long Does It Take?”
A relatively new-to-advancement university president and I were recently discussing a strategy he might use to propose a significant gift to a donor. After a few minutes of tossing around potential ways to frame the importance of the gift to the donor, the president stopped me and asked, “I just want to know. How long…
Discouraging Generosity
Every day, I see advancement teams make decisions that discourage acts of generosity or involvement from others. The direct mail thank you note and receipt for the donor’s most recent gift that also includes an ask for another gift. The governing board or advisory council meeting agenda that only presents the wonderful and positive updates…
“Just For The Money”
Recently, a gift officer said to me, “My biggest concern with donor visits is that I don’t want them to think I’m only visiting just for the money.” “What do you want them to think you are there for instead?” I asked. “I want them to know that we appreciate them and to thank them…