Category: Branding

Here are 3 simple advancement resolutions for the New Year, which, if implemented consistently, are guaranteed to make 2024 one of the best years you and your team have experienced. Invite more people.  Consistently invite more people to volunteer, to give their advice, to offer their feedback, to visit with you, to attend an event,…

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  John 3:16 I memorized that verse as a child in Sunday School but never paid much attention to the lead-in phrase: “For God so loved the world that he…

Whether we have 1,000, 10,000, or 100,000+ donors, when we decide to invite each of them to make a gift we have choices to make. Typically, the first and most discussed choice is focused on segmenting our donors, or deciding which of these donors will receive which of our specific invitations. If we are doing…

Except when. . . it’s really about creating a culture where more people care enough to respond generously; it’s really about growing the board’s understanding of their philanthropic leadership; it’s really about helping the CEO experience the joy of inviting others to be supportive; it’s really about encouraging others to embrace the act of giving…

Our culture celebrates those with the grit, determination, force of will, and interpersonal skills to bend reality in their favor. It can be easy, for instance, to embrace the notion that the best development folk, “never take ‘no’ for an answer” from a donor. The effective fundraisers, this ubiquitous thinking goes, are the ones with…

Advancement professionals routinely talk about their desire to “create a culture of philanthropy.” Far better, I think, to “create a culture for philanthropy.” Our cultures shouldn’t be of philanthropy.  Our cultures shouldn’t be idly possessed or inactively influenced by philanthropy. Instead, our institutional cultures should be for philanthropy.  Our cultures should actively promote, enthusiastically inspire,…

There are 2 primary components that lead to effectively inviting people to engage more deeply. First, we have to have clarity in what we want them to do.  What, specifically, are we asking of them? Give for the first time? Attend an event?  Be a member of the governing board? Increase their giving to a…

There are two types of pressures gift officers can embrace. On the one hand, many gift officers can feel pressured to invite the biggest possible gift from a donor as quickly as possible. This pressure can cause gift officers to feel as if they have to “ask big,” and “not leave money on the table,”…

Last Thursday in the United States (back on October 9 for our Canadian friends), the Thanksgiving holiday was celebrated. This holiday has evolved into a time for pausing to feel gratitude, to count one’s blessings, and to focus on the positive, even when the negative may be surrounding us. Yesterday was “Giving Tuesday.”  A day,…

“We’ve gotten some push-back from the direct mail piece we sent.  People are saying we ask for money all the time.” “People complained that we sent too many emails on our giving day.” “We’ve had people hang up on our phonathon callers.” Whenever I hear these types of observations from advancement folk, I regularly ask…