In some instances, we simply hold wrong beliefs. For example, we might believe that donors are motivated to give primarily when they see a direct and defined return on their support. We know this to be wrong, because research has shown repeatedly that donors give primarily when their personal values align with the cause or…
Category: Constituency Service
Brand Sentiment
The U.S. Stock Market can be intimidating. It can be hard to understand what it is and how it works, especially in times like these. The people who seem to know – financial talk show hosts and reporters, for example – tend to communicate in a different language. They regularly use words like, “puts,” and…
Touch and Connection
Quantum physics has taught us that we never really touch anything. What we think and feel related to touch is an illusion created in our minds to help us navigate the physical world. The seat you’re sitting on? Your rear is not really touching it. The keyboard in front of you? Your fingertips are not…
Caring More, Today and Tomorrow
Getting someone to show they care is a much different piece of work than getting someone who already cares to show they care more. If our goal is to get more folks to show they care, we should use donor acquisition metrics to gauge our success. How many donors did we add? We should recognize…
An Advancement Brand
Beyond your advancement mission statement (which should concisely describe what it is that you do as an advancement team), what is your advancement brand? As expressed as a tag line for your advancement team and program, you might come up with something like the following: “Generosity that inspires,” or, “Generosity that matters,” or, “Giving that…
Mission Motivation
We know from a number of studies that a primary motivating factor for giving to a particular institution is a belief in the goodness of the mission. It’s not that there aren’t other motivating factors that encourage giving, but study after study shows that “belief in mission” is a top response when donors are asked…
Framing Volunteer Expectations
It is common for advancement leaders to share a list of “expectations” for Board members, Advisory Council members, and other volunteer leaders. Among a number of expectations, the list might include items like: We expect each member to be prepared for and to engage fully in meetings; and, We expect each member to make a…
Who Is The Decider?
A common advancement team complaint can sound like this: “It takes too long to get something approved.” Think campaign case statement and materials. Or, a magazine. Or, an e-newsletter. Or, a direct mail solicitation letter. Or, even an event invitation. When this type of concern is voiced, what normally comes next is a focus on…
What Agentic AI Models Won’t Change About Work
Recent news on the Artificial Intelligence front has centered around agentic AI models. Essentially, agentic AI can better understand the context and operate multi-step processes in order to achieve more complex goals. Agentic AI can plan for the next iterative step to achieve a goal and can do more than simply translate data into knowledge. …
What Else Could We Be Doing?
For most everyone in higher education advancement, the spring and summer seasons are the time for annual goal setting, strategy setting, and plan making. If your team is like most, one of the questions asked during these days of planning is, “what else could we be doing?” The idea behind the question is that most…