They aren’t. . . your donors. You are one of their charitable recipients. your Board members. You are one of their volunteer priorities. your staff. You are one of the key factors in their workplace satisfaction. your Twitter followers. You are one of their social media interests. your prospects. They may not even be aware…
Author: Jason McNeal
I provide leadership, advancement and fundraising consulting services to educational, healthcare, and non-profit organizations.
You Have 2 Missions – And You Should Choose to Accept Both
I sometimes wonder how many nonprofit leaders realize they are serving two distinct but related missions? First, of course, is the mission of service particular to your institution or organization. You may have an education mission, a healthcare mission, a nutrition mission, a faith-filled mission, a mission to assist the homeless, etc. Most nonprofit leaders…
You Are Not A Fundraiser
How do you respond when someone asks about your profession – what you do for a living? While it can be tempting to offer a knee-jerk and readily-understood response such as, “I’m a fundraiser,” please don’t. Ever again. For the sake of our authentically-transforming work, just don’t. Fundraising is the transactional, point-in-time act of donating. …
Every Donor Is An Exception
Over the last few years, I’ve taken to explaining the purpose of donor and prospect management as the “management of exceptions.” By that phrase, I simply mean that all major donors and major donor prospects are “exceptions” to any conceivable universal rule one might use to engage them as a group. Each of these identified…
5 Researched Reasons To Be Grateful For Your Work In Advancement
In a world seemingly plagued by insecurity, brittleness, volatility, anger, negativity, and senselessness, being involved as a professional in the arena of gift-giving and philanthropy is something for which you should be grateful. Each day you work in advancement, you are affirming the remarkable goodness of humanity through generosity. Consider what we know from research:…
On Meaning in the New Year
I invite you to begin your New Year by watching this short “ted talk,” which was actually a presentation by Viktor Frankl, the 20th Century Austrian psychologist and more importantly, Holocaust survivor. He reminds us all that we have a responsibility to lift up, to inspire, and to encourage others. Regardless of your circumstances,…
The Law of Supply and Demand – For Development Programs
We all recognize the “law of supply and demand,” as a basic economic construct in free markets which states that ultimately, the price of a good or service will be determined by the supply of and customer demand for that good or service. But I believe there is a development program version of “the law…
A Perspective on Purpose
It is well known that, given the choice, younger people will opt to meet new people and participate in new experiences as opposed to spending time with a sibling or other family members. Conversely, older folks tend to prefer spending time with those closest to them – family, long-held friends, etc. – as opposed to…
The New Tax Bill and Charitable Giving: Another Take
This week the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate passed the much-discussed tax cut and reform bill, which focuses, primarily, on reducing corporate tax rates and re-organizing the individual tax code. In the charitable giving sector, non-profit leaders have expressed concerns that the greatly-increased standard tax deduction levels included in the bill – from…
Best Practices or Best Thinking?
As an advancement professional, you see the hackneyed phrase, “best practices” a ton. Professional development opportunities tout the teaching of “best practices” for this advancement function or that one. Members of your team may spend time benchmarking other shops to identify, “best practices.” Perhaps even you have sought or are seeking the silver-bulleted “best practices”…