Both are bad. But asking too early is worse. You risk injuring the relationship by signaling that you value the donor’s money more than the donor. And sometimes that is never repaired fully. When you ask too late you risk getting a smaller gift (you didn’t strike while the iron was hot). And you risk…
Author: Jason McNeal
I provide leadership, advancement and fundraising consulting services to educational, healthcare, and non-profit organizations.
The Social Media Question for Development Professionals
The most often-asked question about social media is, “How can we raise more money using Facebook/Twitter/Foursquare/YouTube/etc?” But this question has it a bit backwards. The more helpful question for us to ask is, “How can we use Facebook/Twitter/Foursquare/YouTube/etc., to raise more money?” When we turn the question around, our focus becomes using social media not…
Where Is Your Strategic Focus?
Recently, I was in attendance at a higher education institution’s Board meeting and watched as an administrative leader at the institution rose to address the members of the Board. As she began her presentation on the progress to date on the institution’s Strategic Plan, she projected a huge S-W-O-T Quadrant onto a screen behind her…
Is Your Mission Worth Sacrificing For?
When talking with Board members or other major donor prospects, we often use the words, “meaningful” and “personal” when describing the characteristics of the gift commitments we would like them to consider making. But, I find fewer and fewer advancement professionals who are using the word “sacrificial” when describing the types of major gift commitments…
Time vs. Money
Many people shy away from the process of asking others for a financial gift. Interestingly, the level of trepidation usually is much lower when people are confronted with the task of asking someone to spend their time (and not their money) helping out a good cause. Based on the differential responses to these activities,…
So Who Wants Some “Cookies and Cream”?
You know, the ice cream flavor that regularly is voted as a favorite flavor of ice cream lovers everywhere. Do you know where this ice cream flavor was created? The University Dairy at South Dakota State University, in Brookings. This is only one of the fun reasons that effective advancement professionals should consider one of…
Do Bonuses Really Work?
Following a general trend in society and, specifically, a practice held up as productive in for-profit world, our advancement profession has been overrun in recent years with examples of bonuses for exemplary efforts. Sounds like a simple and logical proposition. “Let’s reward the folks who are doing the best work!” But, there is a basic…
Why our Definition of “Donor Research” Must Change
When your major gift colleague says, “I need more research on this prospect to have a better sense of his capacity,” what do you think she means? My strong suspicion is that you believe she is talking about quantifiable, database-driven, wealth-indicating research. Research that is done principally online and answers such questions as: How…
Avoiding the Leadership “Comb Over”
We’ve all seen it. The older man, clearly going bald, with extra-long strands of hair combed across the top of his head. With a part beginning just above one ear, he carefully orchestrates these long hairs until their ends find their way somewhere near his other ear. The comb over. When we see it, we…
Encouraging Others to Look Beyond The Blot
Take a normal sized, white-paged flip chart and, with a black magic marker, draw a round, big dot – about the size of your fist. Color it in fully. Now, ask people what they see. Most everyone will say they see a big, black dot. Almost no one will say anything about the large white…