Development leaders talk with donors each day about “leaving a legacy.” Typically, this legacy talk involves a major or planned gift. It may involve naming a building or establishing an endowment. We position the gift as transformational for a program, a service, or our entire institution. Our “leaving a legacy” pitch can be very compelling….
Author: Jason McNeal
I provide leadership, advancement and fundraising consulting services to educational, healthcare, and non-profit organizations.
Are You Asking or Inviting?
Are you asking donors for something? Or, are you inviting donors to participate in something? Asking suggests a power imbalance and that you hold the donor’s giving capacity in high esteem. Inviting suggests a partnership and that you hold the donor in high esteem. Giving has significant benefits for both the giver and the recipient….
3 Ways to Increase Your Fiscal Year End Giving Totals
The fiscal year for many institutions is quickly coming to an close. Like the calendar year end, the fiscal year end gives development leaders an opportunity to increase the giving urgency factor, especially in the annual giving program. “Give now so your gift can be counted,” is the overarching message. Every institution should create a…
Are You Achieving Success or Significance?
You can complete tasks and cross off items on your to-do list. Success. You can implement an event that participants evaluate as a wonderful evening. Success. You can accurately claim that giving to your institution over the last year increased by some huge percentage. Success. But. But, while you may claim success, can you also…
Why Millennials Give
Why do Millennial donors give? According to a new study just released by Achieve and Johnson, Grossnickle, and Associates, 3000 donors age 20-35 reported a preference to give to organizations with a compelling mission and in whom they trust. Once they’ve made their decision to give, they prefer to make their gifts online. A couple…
How Professionalism Is Endangering Fundraising Success
Development practitioners pride themselves on their professionalism. Certifications like Certified Fundraising Executive or the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy Fellows program are growing in prominence. And I can understand why. In our world today, education is almost universally viewed as a good investment. And I’m all for education. But, I have a problem with our…
Ship Or Be Average
Today, I read a Chronicle of Philanthropy article focused on the new IRS data which suggests that Americans gave much less than “Giving USA” reported during 2008-2009. Ok. And what exactly should this mean for development professionals? I’m not a huge fan of giving projections. First, no one really knows how much is given. But…
Developing Perspectives or Skills
Are you more invested in developing new skills or developing new perspectives? Many development professionals seek to acquire new skills. However, developing new perspectives makes you a truly valuable professional. Developing a skill may help you write a tighter, more effective phonathon script. Developing a new perspective would encourage you to integrate your social media,…
Haute Couture Fundraising
The phrase, “haute couture” refers to the creation of exclusive, custom-fitting clothing. This clothing is made from high-quality, expensive fabric, sewn expertly by the most experienced of seamstresses, and form-fitted for a particular client. Haute couture emerged in the mid 1800s in France. You know the names of many of the official haute couture firms…
Communication Frequencies
At what communication frequency do you most comfortably operate? Do you resonate most on the email frequency? Or maybe it is the face-to-face frequency? Or the phone frequency? Or the text frequency? Or the social media frequency? Or possibly there are still a few out there who resonate most with the touch-intensive letter frequency. Most…