Despite how appealing a week marooned alone on a deserted island might sound in the fantasies of our hectic lives, the reality is that humans are intensely social creatures. When given the choice of aloneness versus togetherness, we dependably choose the fellowship of others. Think of the choices we’ve made over the eons of time….
Category: Fundraising
When Others Are Fearful. . .
Fresh from a conference with other college presidents, a client once called me to express his concern about moving forward with campaign plans. Like recent days, the markets had been up and down (mostly down) and the talk at the conference had apparently been about institutions pausing their campaign plans or stopping them altogether. “Jason,”…
Doing The Giving
The decision to make a “stretch gift” is driven, many times, more by the donor’s psyche and her beliefs about giving than by the value of the institution or the program. I’ve listened to donors long enough to know this to be true – and I’ve seen it at work in my own life. Here…
The Influence of Expensive Wine
Perception is reality. . . or it at least helps create reality. We have known for some time that wine drinkers reported on surveys that more expensive wine tasted better. The problem with these surveys, of course, is that we never really knew if it was the status of drinking expensive wine that led people…
What Do You Want To Get Better At Doing?
Whenever I’m in front of a group of development professionals, I like to ask a question that goes like this, “when someone asks about your work, what do you say you do?” In most instances, I hear thoughtful and serious responses similar to the following, “I say that I build relationships with people who have…
Why Better Storytelling Won’t Lead to Larger Gifts
Leaders of institutions often share with me the following general frustration about communicating with donors and prospects: “We don’t tell our story well!” When probed, one (or more) of three underlying concerns almost always surfaces: A need to articulate more clearly, concisely, and authentically the positive “facts” of how the institution impacts students, patients, the…
Clicks Don’t Equal Engagement
The 2011 donorCentrics Internet and Multichannel Giving Benchmarking Report was released last month. A lot of interesting info and findings from this research. Here are two key findings: More new donors aged 64 and younger give online as opposed to offline; With only 11% of online donors acquired in 2007 still giving in 2010, retention…
The Outcomes That Matter
Think about the following scenario: You log into your yahoo news page and click on a story about someone who has just lost their home. The story is a vivid, personal account of a hardworking woman who lost her good-paying job in the economic downturn and, after 9 months of no job, ended up taking…
The Fives Things Department Chairs Need to Know About Fundraising
If you serve an academic institution, check out my recent interview with Academic Impressions’ Higher Ed Impact. I’m discussing the five most important things department chairs need to know about development work. This is a follow-up to an interview I gave them last year. Development is about education. Sometimes we educate donors, other times we…
Calling All Advancement Leaders
Are you an advancement leader at your institution? Do you aspire to move up and become an advancement leader? If so, you will want to attend this upcoming workshop – Leading To Make A Difference. The Workshop is sponsored by GGTS and I’m serving as the keynote speaker. You will want to attend if: You’ve…