In 1945, Pablo Picasso famously created, The Bull, a series of 11 lithographs which showed the evolution of a picture of a bull from more detailed version down to the essence of the animal. The evolution between Picasso’s first bull and the last bull in the series is striking: The first version of the bull…
Author: Jason McNeal
I provide leadership, advancement and fundraising consulting services to educational, healthcare, and non-profit organizations.
The N=Me Fallacy
Here are some potentially less helpful starting points when brainstorming new advancement strategies with colleagues: “I wouldn’t go to that event . . .” “I don’t respond to direct mail . . .” “I’m not seeing that much at all on my social media . . .” There are 2 potential problems with these strategy-setting…
Jimmy Buffett Can’t Sing
Even if you aren’t a “parrothead” (the endearing term given to Jimmy Buffett’s most loyal fans), you probably know at least a few lines of a Buffett song. “Wastin’ away again in Margaritaville. . .” is a classic many recognize. If you’ve ever been to a Jimmy Buffett concert, you know that a whole lot…
“Why Should I Care?”
Everything we do in advancement should help a current, past, or prospective donor answer this question concisely and easily. “Why should I care about the campaign?” “Why should I care about the institution’s end of fiscal year?” “Why should I care about being a consecutive year donor?” “Why should I care about responding to this…
The Same River Twice
We know “we can’t step into the same river twice.” Typically, we think about the river itself changing which makes it a different river over time. However, we also change over time and so we can’t step into the same river twice as well. So many variables and complexities wrapped in this simple reminder. Why,…
The Real Reason ‘Dollars Raised’ Is A Horrible Evaluation Metric – Part 2 of 2
In part 1 of this post, I made the case that evaluating how gift officers approach their work is far more important than the outcome. That using a “dollars raised” metric as part of gift officer’s evaluation is unhelpful and unhealthy for gift officer and program development. Today, I turn attention to 3 fundamentally effective…
The Real Reason ‘Dollars Raised’ Is A Horrible Evaluation Metric – Part 1 of 2
For gift officers and development leaders there is not a more damaging, distorting, and destructive evaluation metric than ‘dollars raised.’ Yes, I’m aware that just about every gift officer and development leader uses ‘dollars raised,” as an evaluative tool today. Yes, I understand that current industry-wide thinking is that raising more money this year as…
Motivations
We regularly discuss donor motivations, why people give and get involved, and how to appeal to their interests. What’s far less common are discussions focused on why we ask donors to give, why we invite volunteers to get involved, or how to appeal to our own motivating factors. If you are an advancement leader and…
Asking Questions
If your aim is to be a high-quality, effective leader, ask your questions early. Be genuinely curious. Gather information. Listen to understand perspectives and positions. Empathize with different experiences. Learn what you don’t know. And then, use what you’ve learned from others and their realities to offer solutions. Waiting until after a solution is offered…
The Donors We Inherit
Every advancement team inherits most of its donors. You may be new to your role, or you may have been at your institution for years. But the bulk of the donors you will engage have a giving history with your institution that precedes you. Percentage wise, a few of these inherited donors are exceptionally generous…