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Category: Advancement

Attracting and Keeping Great Team Members

Posted on June 14, 2023 by Jason McNeal

When thinking about hiring and retaining productive and positive team members, its easy to lean on 3 employee-centric decisions: Higher pay; Better title; More flexibility with schedule. While most advancement leaders would relish the opportunity to be able to pay team members more, to promote people consistently, and to add more flexibility to people’s schedules…

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“Yes” and “No” Are Overrated

Posted on June 9, 2023June 7, 2023 by Jason McNeal

“I’m writing to let you know that we will make the gift of $50,000.” “Unfortunately, we aren’t going to be able to give this year.” The first quote represents the wonderful news that the donor will give.  Yes!  This is a fantastic message to receive and we rejoice in receiving it. The second quote, on…

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Receiving and Inviting

Posted on June 7, 2023 by Jason McNeal

Many advancement teams have a primary culture of receiving gifts. In general, these teams spend the bulk of their time, energy, and resources after gifts have been made.  They are really good at responding, thanking, stewarding, and showing gratitude. Some advancement teams have a primary culture of inviting gifts. These teams spend more time, energy,…

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Why Consistent Giving Is So Difficult

Posted on June 5, 2023 by Jason McNeal

According to the Fundraising Effectiveness Project, the average nonprofit donor retention rate (or, the percentage of your donors who gave last year who also will give to your institution this year), is about 45%. Advancement leaders have lamented this “below 50%” data point for years. In response, all kinds of analyses and solutions have been…

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Extending Conversations

Posted on June 2, 2023 by Jason McNeal

Invite the gift when the prospect poses a question like, “What do you all need to make this happen?” Turn the conversation toward your campaign priorities when the prospect asks, “What are you all working on today?” “Could you see yourself providing a leadership gift for this project?” is a fantastic response when a major…

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2 Types of Meetings

Posted on May 31, 2023May 31, 2023 by Jason McNeal

Collaborative Meetings.  These meetings are designed to brainstorm together, to collectively create, to “bounce ideas off of each other.”  The purpose of these meetings is to involve others in the idea formation process. Responsive Meetings.  These meetings are designed to react to a proposal, to refine an idea, to improve a plan.  The purpose of…

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Leading Volunteers

Posted on May 29, 2023April 4, 2023 by Jason McNeal

What’s the reason our institution utilizes volunteers?  What’s the point?  The purpose? If we expect our volunteers to provide the definitive answers to these questions, we may want to re-think our role. As advancement professionals who engage volunteers, our first duty is to understand clearly why they are being asked to volunteer.  Our second duty…

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The 3 Most Critical Steps To Create Lasting Change

Posted on May 26, 2023April 4, 2023 by Jason McNeal

If your goal is to make your advancement program more effective. If your goal is to make your program more professional. If your goal is to raise significantly more money than you’ve done previously. If your goal is to engage your volunteers in activities they’ve never done before. If your goal is to create any…

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Tribes or Ecosystems

Posted on May 24, 2023April 4, 2023 by Jason McNeal

Brand tribes have been a buzz concept in marketing circles for a few years now. From a marketing perspective, tribes – or customer communities made up of like-minded people who gather together based on shared interests and brands and the values those brands project – represent an opportunity to efficiently engage and motivate a large…

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The Big Gift vs. The Best Gifts

Posted on May 22, 2023April 16, 2023 by Jason McNeal

We can be convinced that the solution to our problems must be in receiving the “big gift” from our wealthiest donor prospect.  Maybe for your institution that’s $25 million.  Maybe it’s $10 million.  Maybe its $1 million. For a time about 20 years ago, the idea of the “mega gift” and the people with the…

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