Ocean waves are constant. If you’re like me, that constancy is big part of the allure of a beach vacation. The dependability of both the visual and aural “white noise” of waves at the beach cause an immediate sense of peace and calm for me. But ocean (or Gulf) waves are more essential than providing…
Category: Advancement
Volunteers As Priceless Reviewers
If you are seeking a service, a product, or an experience, you can find an online review as quickly as you can access Google. Of course, finding online reviews quickly is not the same as trusting online reviews. In fact, it is estimated that between 30 – 50% of all online reviews are fake and…
Trust-Based Philanthropy And Who Knows Best
“Trust-based philanthropy,” is all over the business news pages these days. Essentially, in a trust-based model of giving, donors embrace three perspectives regarding their support: Unrestricted giving, when done through helpful nonprofit partners, offers the best type of philanthropic support to make a difference; Helpful nonprofit partners are those who are willing to be transparent…
Life’s Most Fundamental Lesson
“It’s not about me.” If there is a bigger lesson life’s developmental process is designed to teach us than that statement, I don’t know what it is. From infancy to childhood to adolescence to middle age to growing older, our lives are broken down into various moments and seasons of re-learning this fundamental lesson. Siblings…
The “Well Won’t Go Dry” As Long As You Do This
You’ve heard the expression in advancement and development circles, “We can’t keep going to the same donors over and over again. The well will go dry.” That’s not altogether true. But since it’s such a widely-used analogy, let’s play with it a bit. Certainly real water wells can “go dry.” So, that part is accurate….
5 Simple Steps to Raise More Money
The 5 critically-important, unvarnished, and uncomplicated steps to raising considerably more money: Start by creating an institution-wide strategic plan that invites input and perspectives from a variety of constituents. The finished plan should specifically identify key priorities your institution will pursue over the next 3-5 years and should paint an inspirational narrative of how you…
Becoming Expert vs. Becoming An Expert
Becoming expert (adjective) is different than becoming an expert (noun). The former implies a willingness to embrace a developmental journey focused on enhancing one’s experience, knowledge, skill, adroitness. The latter evokes a desire to seek a position or standing among others. Becoming an expert is an end result in which one is viewed as a…
The Future of Stewardship
In today’s advancement world, the function of “stewardship” is constrained (typically and artificially) to those activities and responses the institution makes once a gift has been made. For instance, we steward a donor through our public recognition programs and how we extend thanks based on their giving level, etc. But this constrained view of stewardship…
Translations
The primary role of your case statement is to translate the funding priorities of your institution into messages prospective donors will embrace with enthusiasm. This translation occurs in two fundamental ways: First, your case needs to do the practical work of translating all of your “institutional speak” into everyday language that regular folk understand. Acronyms,…
Indirect Skills
A list of skills not directly related to advancement but all of which will make you better as an advancement professional (with some linked resources to become better): How not to take things personally; Building strong connections with others; How to ask better; Failing well. Building more trust in teams. Enjoy!