In our world today, there are many who chase after acknowledgment without a proficiency in any art form. Their goal is not to develop a craft, aptitude, or skill. They simply want to be famous. And, because a proficiency in an art is absent, others wonder aloud as to how these folk achieve any level…
Category: Fundraising
Developing A Social Media ‘Point Of View’
Every institution that my firm, Gonser Gerber, works with has the same question when it comes to social media: How can facebook, Twitter, Google+, and other social media help us raise more money? Truth is, we are spending more time with our social networks – keeping content fresh, moderating discussions, etc. – and the energy…
Getting What You Want By Giving What They Want
So our good friends at The National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia have released the findings from their latest national survey of marital happiness. They surveyed 1,400 married couples and found that the level of generosity – or the amount of give and take that goes on in the relationship – is a…
What Is Important To Your Donors?
There is a story of an art collector who had amassed a sizeable and valuable collection of art masterpieces – paintings, sculptures, and other art pieces. He had grown up without the privilege of formal education beyond high school and had worked to establish and build a successful business. By the time he was 55…
Alleviating “Ask Fright”
We’ve all heard of stage fright – that fear that grips a performer when the lights come on and the audience is watching intently. A favorite method of alleviating stage fright is to take the focus off of yourself as the performer. Instead, acting coaches will encourage the performer to focus on the audience. “Imagine…
Why a Donor-Centered Approach Is Wrong
Over the last decade, the concept of “donor-centered” fundraising has gained traction for institutions of all sizes. Books have been written on the topic and a Google search of the phrase turned up 364,000 results! The idea – that all institutional activities and behaviors should be concentrated and focused in ways that best serve donors…
The Rise of Fe-lanthropy
Recently, frogloop posted a story about the rise of the she-conomy. A story that should remind us that donors are not a monolithic category of people. Homogeneous groups, based on important variables, as well as all individuals, approach philanthropy differently. Our role as advancement leaders is to build the knowledge and capacity of our institutions…
What’s Really Important in Grant Writing?
One of my favorite bloggers, Seth Godin, had a great riff recently about getting good at the important things in our work. Seth suggests that sometimes we “quickly jump ahead to the new thing, failing to get good enough at the important thing.” Good point – and I would add a bit to it. In…
The Problem with “Donors”
We use the terms “donors,” “funders,” and, in some instances, “giving units” (yuck!) to refer to those individuals, businesses, foundations, churches, and other organizations that provide our institutions with gift income. Each of these terms is incomplete and, I believe, short-circuits our thinking about how we should relate to these important individuals and organizations. When…
Solve Their Problems
What problems do your prospects and donors have? What concerns do they carry? What issues are they facing? Do you know? Do you seek out their problems so that you can help solve them? They might not want to tell you about their problems (or they may not even know they have a problem!). So,…