After decades of donor interactions and thousands of donor interviews, here is a list of what I’ve heard from major gift donors about what they want but don’t always get: Follow-up and follow-through; Recognition – even, if only privately; Timely responses; Mission-centered impact reporting – doesn’t have to be specific (i.e., “your gift provided the…
Category: Branding
How Many?
How many incoming media/content/messaging streams are you managing right now? How many tasks do you have on your to-do list today? How many transition periods (i.e., where you can breathe and reset) do you have built into your calendar today? We claim we are constantly overwhelmed. We complain about our schedule being too busy. We…
Taking Responsibility
If we want to get the philanthropic results that make the biggest difference in the lives of others, there is no getting around the notion that we also have to take responsibility. Here is a beginning list of ways we have to take responsibility if we want our work with donors to make a significant…
Asking, Inviting, and Nudging
Less effective gift officers ask for gifts. When we ask a donor for a gift we don’t position ourselves (nor our missions) in the most attractive light. We may even feel bad about asking because we don’t want to be a bother. Asking reinforces a sense of “haves and have nots,” that reduces our influence…
Strategy Clarification or Avoidance Mechanism
Seeking answers to strategy exceptions can be helpful. For example, if our strategy is to establish visits with each Board member and invite their gift in support of our newly-approved multi-year, comprehensive campaign, it becomes helpful to agree on how our strategy might change for Board members who have already given this year versus Board…
5 Questions For Every Advisory Group
If you are involved in facilitating an advancement-related advisory group for your organization, the following 5 questions are critical to getting the most out of their engagement: What is the topic on which you are seeking their advice, perspective, feedback? Having a specific topic-focused theme for each advisory group meeting is an essential starting point. …
Distinctive Experiences
“What makes our institution different or distinctive?” This question dominates most every nonprofit marketing and branding conversation. And, in a world in which competition seemingly continues to escalate – for students, patients, donors, and volunteers – each institution wants to differentiate themselves from the others. We want others to view our brand based on unique…
On The Path To Better
The first behavior to avoid if we want to get better is assessing blame over what could have been better, over what went wrong. Assessing blame is such a seductive act, though, because it’s easy to point to a co-worker, or a boss, or a partner and identify their shortcomings. How they slighted us. How…
Mastering vs. Replacing
Artificial Intelligence (AI) scares many people. I’m not yet sure whether I am one of them. At this point in its evolution, I don’t believe I am. Here’s why. New technology almost always has a scary aspect to it. Driverless cars? Doctors operating with the assistance of robots? And, don’t forget, that 150 or so…
Intentionally Seeking Fewer
Not fewer charitable gifts. Not fewer givers or sponsors. Not fewer charitable gift dollars. But, we might be far better off intentionally seeking fewer goals and fewer metrics. What significant difference does it make if the number of sybunts giving again this year is up, when the total number of donors is down? What real…