Your case statement isn’t designed to delight every prospect. Your proposal isn’t crafted to appeal to every donor. Your website can’t be created to attract every visitor. Your direct mail solicitation isn’t written to enthrall every reader. You shouldn’t be seeking to connect with everyone. That’s a fool’s errand. Far too wide and too broad…
Category: Branding
Why I’m Not Donating During This Season of Giving
In 2 days, over 2 billion people worldwide (or about 1/3 of the world’s population) will celebrate the Christmas holiday. Whether folks celebrate Christmas as a religious or cultural event, a primary component of the holiday is the act of “gift giving.” During the Christmas season, people give gifts to friends. They give gifts to…
Things Good Leaders Say
Not long ago I had the good experience of listening to Adam Weinberg, president of Denison University address parents and families of current students. He delivered prepared remarks for about 15 minutes (no powerpoint) and he spent another 45 minutes addressing questions from the audience. Here are 3 things president Weinberg said that struck me:…
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!
Systems Of Care
“We’re sorry to hear of your loss of Mamie, and our hearts go out to you. We know this time is tough, and we’re always here if you need anything. Love, Jair, Chewy.com” With the recent passing of our family pet, one of the chores we had to complete was ending the autoship arrangement we…
Working Large
All advancement programs have finite resources, both human and financial. The idea that you can spend whatever you wish to accomplish your goals and aims is not reality. Sure, advancement budgets at some institutions are larger than at others, but there is always a limit. And, over the last few years – regardless of the…
3 Leadership Statements That Build Team Trust
One version of leadership posits the leader as a know-it-all. This is the supremely confident individual who has most all the answers and always knows a direction for future growth. The strongman (or woman) model. However, under this form of leadership, team trust is rarely optimized, which means that team effectiveness is rarely optimized. In…
The Donor Awareness Matrix
A key aim of our advancement work should be to gain deeper awareness of our donors (and prospective donors). What do they believe about our institution? What is their motivation to volunteer? To give? What are their specific reasons for engaging with us? How would they describe their values? What other organizations do they support…