Giving is Good
We can hold one of two divergent beliefs about the purpose of our lives: First, we can order our lives with the belief that our purpose is to seek comfort, ease, luxury, or convenience for ourselves. Or, second, we can order our lives with the belief that our purpose is to seek meaning, significance, and consequence…
Few people will disagree with the notion that their advancement team could be more productive in some way(s). “I know we need to, and could, raise more money,” they will say. Or, “I agree that our donor communications and stewardship could be more consistent,” they will acquiesce. But, most people resoundingly disagree with the notion…
For many folks in North America, we are now entering the coldest days and weeks of the year. Yet, we know that the shortest day of the year – the day with the least amount of sunlight hitting North America – was December 21, the Winter Solstice, just over a month ago. Why, then, when…
My son’s high school basketball team regularly finds themselves at our house. They come over after practice. They come over to watch film. They come over between school ending and their game that night. They are around a lot. We enjoy having the them in our home – even with the noise, the mess, and…
If we want to be less productive, achieve fewer meaningful results, and invite frustration, anxiety, and fear into our work as advancement leaders, we can simply allow one of the following perceptions to captivate us: The Past – the perception of our advancement program’s past is rarely accurate, but is almost always presented as unquestionable…
Around the time of each Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday in the U.S., I pause to re-read, “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” written by King to Christian and Jewish clergy in April of 1963. I encourage you to read it if you haven’t recently. It only takes me 10 minutes and I’m not a super-fast reader….
Raising more money isn’t a function of “finding the next, best new idea.” Creating more trust with your alumni base won’t occur because you spent a half day in a brainstorming session to identify how best to communicate with them. Your next campaign won’t be successful because you came up with the most imaginative, viral…
It’s helpful to know why we are reaching out to a donor or prospective donor prior to the call, email, letter, or note. Are we calling to secure a gift commitment? Calling to set up a visit? Calling to invite them to an event? Calling as a follow-up to a past visit? Or, are we…
Easily, one of the most unhelpful questions to ask someone in development, especially during a position interview. In many instances: The money received today was actually raised months, years, even decades ago; Even if the money received today was raised today, there were, most likely, other people and diverse motivations encouraging the donor to give;…
Hope gets a bad wrap. It’s viewed as tentative. Easy. Even foolish. Anyone can hope. To be viewed as strategic or consequential, we are told to: create written plans with measurable goals, or else we are just wishing; speak of lofty aspirations with timelines, or else we aren’t serious; build gantt charts with individual assignments,…