When do you feel the need to act most urgently during the gift giving process? Perhaps this sounds like an odd question. It may, though, be an important one for you and your team. I have experienced many development professionals who become especially urgent during the stewardship phase of the gift giving cycle. Once the…
Category: Fundraising
Customer or Community Member
If people talk about your institution as “being a community” (or words to that effect) and yet, you don’t consistently ask people to give of themselves and their resources, you are only talking about community, you don’t have community. Many institutions behave toward their constituents as if they were customers, not community members. Customers are…
Generosity as Genius
We tend to think of genius as a gift bestowed genetically on individuals in various ways – intellectually, artistically, scientifically, even athletically. Genius emerges based on a predisposition to greatness in some field or endeavor. While we understand that training, practice, effort, and focus are components of genius, perhaps honing and sharpening the raw, natural…
Why It Can Be Difficult to Ask
Here are some examples of well-worn statements that underscore the culture-wide bias we have against asking. . . If we are in a jam: “I’ll never ask you for anything ever again. . .” or, “I wouldn’t ask you, but. . .” If we are uncomfortable: “He didn’t bring it up, so I didn’t ask…
The 3 Most Damaging Fund Raising Myths – Part III
Note: This post is part III of a series of III in which I identify 3 separate fund raising myths that make us less productive. The first installment in this series focused on the myth of donors giving only (or substantially more) for restricted purposes. The second post discussed the myth that case statements which focus…
The 3 Most Damaging Fund Raising Myths – Part I
Note: Over the next few posts, I will identify 3 separate fund raising myths that make us less productive. This is Part I of III. Fund raising myths abound. People who have not been called into our noble profession will regularly (and perhaps disdainfully) inquire of us, “how can you ask other people for…
A Hypothetical Letter to a Non-Profit Board Member
Dear Board Member: I am back in my office having just completed our most recent Board meeting. As I reflect on our work together in support of our institution’s mission and vision, a number of thoughts are occurring to me. The most important of these thoughts, I believe, involve offering my sincere thanks and an…
The Tyranny of Knowing
What do you know about your work? I mean, really know? The reality is that we all believe we know a lot more than we actually do. In fact, in all facets of life, we walk through situations believing we have more knowledge than we do. It’s part of being human. Each day our brains…
3 Differences Between Nonprofit and For-Profit Boards
Nonprofit organizations, including colleges, universities, and schools, seek financially-successful, influential, and generous individuals to serve as governing board members. In seeking individuals who fit this profile, nonprofits will regularly pull from a pool of successful for-profit leaders. Not only do many leaders in the for-profit world have access to significant financial resources, they also can…
“This Needs To Be Run More Like A Business!”
Recently, I facilitated a focus group populated with private higher education governing board members. One slice of the discussion included a board member lamenting, “Our business model in higher education is broken. I simply do not understand why our tuition and fees are not sufficient to cover our costs. We need to be run more…