Your best donors are those who believe deeply in your mission. They believe so sincerely that, in most instances, your most significant donors are those who encourage others to give as well. Perhaps they host an event for your institution. Or perhaps they speak publicly or privately about why they give. Or perhaps, they are…
Author: Jason McNeal
I provide leadership, advancement and fundraising consulting services to educational, healthcare, and non-profit organizations.
5 Important Tasks of a “Working Board”
Occasionally, I confidently am told by education or non-profit governing board members that they serve on a “working board.” This statement is most often uttered as the follow-up to another less self-confident admission – namely that the board is not one that focuses on the topic of philanthropy. During these conversations, I am reminded that…
21 Advancement Truths
The success of your ask was determined during the cultivation. Donors don’t give to institutions, they give through institutions. And they give through institutions to people they trust. Doing the fundamentals consistently is “the silver bullet.” Generous people don’t grow tired of giving, they grow tired of being solicited. When it is time to ask,…
AIM To Communicate Effectively
If your goal is to educate, engage, and delight more donors, friends, supporters, or funders through communication vehicles, ask yourself if the AIM of your message is on point. For every written solicitation, every webpage, every special events invitation, every magazine article, and every newsletter story, etc., ask yourself if what you are communicating is:…
Annual Giving and Major Giving: Key Distinctions
If you want to enjoy strong results through your annual giving program, you should focus on educating/reminding people why your institution/program/service matters. The well-crafted annual ask encourages people to look back on the value of your institution/program/service and reflect on its importance. Donors make annual gifts to your institution because they have come to believe…
Writing Contact Reports That Matter
One of the most important and yet most misunderstood responsibilities of a development officer is to write helpful prospect contact reports on a consistent basis. Most development folk understand that they should write contact reports, but only some recognize why they are so vital to effective fundraising, and even fewer grasp how to write them well….
Which Story Are You Seeking?
When I was a higher education vice president some years ago, our institution was asking important questions about student retention. We brought in experts from around the country to look at our retention efforts and implemented a number of first-year and curriculum-wide programs to help more students persist until graduation. While we made some progress,…
Solving The Wrong Problem
It is rare that the first problem presented in a team setting is the most crucial to solve. In most instances, the first problem presented – usually in the form of a complaint – may have an urgent quality to it, but, represents only a symptom of a deeper, more fundamental issue that needs solving….
Aspirations, Angels, and Agreement
If your goal is to engage others and do work of substance and consequence, utilize the “Essential A’s”: Aspirations – help others dream and establish the highest possible aspirations for your institution or program. It’s easy to get distracted and discouraged in the weeds of work (which is why some people choose to live there,…
“They Are Going To Do Something”
When working with natural partners (such as presidents, other administrators, or faculty) and volunteers in major gifts, one of the most troublesome statements I can hear during major gift donor strategy sessions is, “They are going to do something.” Almost always, what this seemingly positive statement actually means is something akin to the following: “I…