Giving is Good
What if your institution could attract new donors unlike any other? What if the programs and services you offered were so compelling that you really had no competition? These are two of the questions Blue Ocean Strategy by Kim and Mauborgne encouraged me to think about. If you’ve not read Blue Ocean, I would highly…
How do you ask lybunts, sybunts, and others to support your work during phonathons? Does the outline of your script look something like this? Introduction Rapport Building Make Case for Support Make Ask Ask to Send Pledge Card Ask If They Want to Pay with Credit Card Thank Them for Their Commitment and/or Time I…
Imagine an empty mason jar. Now, visualize taking rocks about the size of golfballs and placing them into the jar until the rocks reach the lip of the jar opening. Is the mason jar full? Now, imagine taking sand and pouring it into the jar. As the sand finds its way through the wide gaps…
The Chronicle of Philanthropy has posted a video that shows six examples of what are purported to be online and social media fundraising successes. I work with clients regularly to shape and integrate their online and social media messages with other traditional message vehicles. However, I remain a bit concerned that we aren’t being as…
Ambition is important for exceptional leadership, but probably in ways that you’ll find surprising. Studies show that early career ambition is a plus. “He’s a real go-getter” and “She’s determined and motivated,” are usually positive statements found on the early-career performance evaluations of rising stars. But, to paraphrase an old line, “a funny thing happens…
The Ancient Chinese were known for their trading prowess (the early uses of The Silk Road) and for their technological and scientific advancements (the development of writing, a calendar, gunpowder, silk, paper and the compass, for example). They impacted cultures, knowledge, customs, and ideas well beyond their borders. At one time, the Chinese were the…
So, the alumni at Antioch College (OH) are stepping up – good for them! While the institution thrived as a bastion of social activism in the 1960s, Antioch had witnessed declines in enrollment and fundraising totals since the 1970s. What happened that led to the decision in 2007 to close the school that graduated Coretta…
Recently, I gave a presentation to a diverse group of educational, healthcare, and non-profit executives on performance metrics for development officers. For years I have helped leaders and teams create and implement performance metrics so I know in each audience there are a small percentage who can be turned off by the topic. My sense…
What percentage of your database have never made a gift? Why haven’t they given to you? A few years ago, a report from the Economic and Social Research Council and the National Council for Voluntary Organizations, both of the United Kingdom, suggested the following reasons why people may not make a charitable gift: Denial of…
Institutions of all sizes spend lots of money to test the feasibility of conducting fundraising efforts. Reports, which are sometimes encyclopedic in size, are generated with all sorts of data attached (some helpful, some not-so-much) to help answer a simple question: How much money can we raise? But when you get right down to it,…