In today’s development field the phrase, “donor engagement,” get tossed around like a football owned by Peyton Manning. Everyone uses it. But not many people pause long enough to provide any definitional specificity to the phrase. What do we really mean when we say we need to “engage” donors? And why is it really important…
Category: Fundraising
Asking Too Early or Asking Too Late
Both are bad. But asking too early is worse. You risk injuring the relationship by signaling that you value the donor’s money more than the donor. And sometimes that is never repaired fully. When you ask too late you risk getting a smaller gift (you didn’t strike while the iron was hot). And you risk…
The Social Media Question for Development Professionals
The most often-asked question about social media is, “How can we raise more money using Facebook/Twitter/Foursquare/YouTube/etc?” But this question has it a bit backwards. The more helpful question for us to ask is, “How can we use Facebook/Twitter/Foursquare/YouTube/etc., to raise more money?” When we turn the question around, our focus becomes using social media not…
Is Your Mission Worth Sacrificing For?
When talking with Board members or other major donor prospects, we often use the words, “meaningful” and “personal” when describing the characteristics of the gift commitments we would like them to consider making. But, I find fewer and fewer advancement professionals who are using the word “sacrificial” when describing the types of major gift commitments…
Time vs. Money
Many people shy away from the process of asking others for a financial gift. Interestingly, the level of trepidation usually is much lower when people are confronted with the task of asking someone to spend their time (and not their money) helping out a good cause. Based on the differential responses to these activities,…
So Who Wants Some “Cookies and Cream”?
You know, the ice cream flavor that regularly is voted as a favorite flavor of ice cream lovers everywhere. Do you know where this ice cream flavor was created? The University Dairy at South Dakota State University, in Brookings. This is only one of the fun reasons that effective advancement professionals should consider one of…
Why our Definition of “Donor Research” Must Change
When your major gift colleague says, “I need more research on this prospect to have a better sense of his capacity,” what do you think she means? My strong suspicion is that you believe she is talking about quantifiable, database-driven, wealth-indicating research. Research that is done principally online and answers such questions as: How…
Encouraging Others to Look Beyond The Blot
Take a normal sized, white-paged flip chart and, with a black magic marker, draw a round, big dot – about the size of your fist. Color it in fully. Now, ask people what they see. Most everyone will say they see a big, black dot. Almost no one will say anything about the large white…
Are you “of” or “for”?
What is your title? Assistant Director of Annual Giving? or Assistant Director for Annual Giving? Associate Vice President of Development? or Associate Vice President for Development? Vice President of Advancement? or Vice President for Advancement? You get the point. Little words – even those we regularly gloss over – can have a big impact on…
5 Inexpensive (And Better) Ways to Thank Your Donors
Extending thoughtful gratitude to donors is one of the most fundamental and yet under-utilized aspects of the gift cycle. As development professionals we invest a lot of time and resources in the identification of prospects, their cultivation and their solicitation. However, I would argue that the final phase of the gift cycle – stewardship –…