Today, we may want more resources for our annual giving program. On the other hand, tomorrow we may want to have more dollars raised from our annual giving program. Today, we may want another gift officer to meet with more donors. On the other hand, tomorrow we may want to have more discovery visits completed…
Author: Jason McNeal
I provide leadership, advancement and fundraising consulting services to educational, healthcare, and non-profit organizations.
How Many?
Because so much of our work is counted or can be counted, advancement folk often ask this question first. How many donors should we send this solicitation to? How many donor calls should we make so that we end the year strong? How many gifts will make this giving day successful? A far better question…
Little, Powerful Phrases
Instead of simply saying these phrases each day, what if we made the effort to mean these phrases each day? “Thank you.” “You’re welcome.” “How are you?” “Good morning.” “I’m sorry.” “I appreciate you.” “See you tomorrow.” If we made a habit of saying these common, everyday phrases animated by their real meaning: advancement team…
The Same, But Different
Productive annual giving messaging often gets changed too quickly because the type of message feels “the same” and change feels like progress. Example: “Let’s not use a student scholarship story for our end of calendar year direct mail annual fund letter since we used a student story in the last annual fund letter.” Similarly, productive…
“No one cares!”
Turns out, this statement is right. “No one cares that your organization needs more money.” “No one cares that your campaign is under goal.” “No one cares that your development program is understaffed and overworked.” But. . . “A lot of people care about your mission.” “A lot of people care about those you serve.”…
Paradoxical Life Lessons
Three fundamental life lessons that humans must learn in order to lead productive and satisfying lives (they build on each other in paradoxical ways): 1. “It’s not about me.” 2. “While it’s not about me, I end up with more when I give than when I receive.” 3. “While I end up with more when…
Value, Growth, and Raising More Money
In the stock market investing world, two fundamental approaches hold court: Value Investing and Growth Investing. Value investing suggests that investors pay attention to the stock price of a company and compare that price to what they believe is the actual value of the company. If the current stock price is low compared to the…
The Case for the Annual Fund
What if the annual fund wasn’t viewed as “operational support?” What if the annual fund wasn’t viewed as the “black hole of giving?” What if the annual fund wasn’t viewed as being “too general” to be marketable? What if, instead, the annual fund was viewed as a critical and compelling part of your institution? And…
How Will AI Change Our Future?
Since I don’t conduct technology-focused research and I’m not in the Artificial Intelligence market in any significant way, my best and most honest answer to this question is, “I don’t know.” But I’m also not convinced that this should be a concern for me. Here’s a quick framework to prioritize our thinking about future developments:…
Giving And Letting Go
In our advancement work, we consistently focus on the process of and decisions surrounding giving. We facilitate giving and gifts from donors. We guide donors on how their gifts might make the biggest difference that is meaningful to them. We thank donors for giving. Clearly, the process and the decisions involved with giving are important…