Giving is Good
Advancement leaders should be expert question-askers. We should be asking strategic questions to better understand our donors. We should be asking encouraging questions to embolden those who report to us. We should be asking generative questions to inspire our boards and other volunteer leaders. We should ask questions to learn, to engage, and to raise…
Whether we have 5,000 or 500,000+ constituent records in our database, the percentage of “engaged constituents,” is far less. For example, if we define “engaged” as giving recently, or showing up at an event, or interacting via social media, or opening an email, or receiving a direct mail piece, etc., it is not uncommon for…
Advancement leaders talk a lot about “engaging our community.” It could be engaging our alumni community. Or, even more specifically, engaging our young alumni community. It could be engaging our town, city, or region. It could be engaging our campus community. Or, engaging our school community. But, we talk about “engaging our community” a lot….
“How do we compare to other institutions like us?” “How are other institutions responding to this situation?” “Have you tried ChatGPT to create the letter?” Regardless of the work or metrics, it seems we are being encouraged from all sides to become more identical, more indistinct, less original, and less inspired. And, in an increasingly…
If we are afraid of failing, we won’t try new things. If we are afraid of looking stupid in front of others, we won’t take the lead. If we are afraid the donor will say, “no,” we won’t invite the gift. If we are afraid of confrontation, we won’t speak plainly to each other. If…
Evaluating annual giving results can invite the following types of questions from annual giving directors and their supervisors: “Did our last direct mail solicitation raise as much money as last year’s?” “Is our phonathon on pace to meet our goal for dollars committed?” “What was the final giving total from our giving day?” But such…
The best advancement leaders and development folk understand that inviting others to give is important, but allowing others to care is essential. As leaders, we allow others on our team to care when we encourage them to try something new and, simultaneously, eliminate the anxiety of potential failure. If the new thing doesn’t work, ask,…
Fifty years from now, someone may write a history of your institution and it likely will include observations about today’s advancement program successes. For instance, the history might note that, during this period, your year-over-year total giving increased significantly. It might report on the fact that your comprehensive campaign went over goal by some significant…
Making it easier for donors to give is a fantastic technical success story. In the span of 25 years we have gone from a process that has taken days (even weeks) by giving through snail mail (with actual reply envelopes, paper checks, and live stamps), to almost instantaneous one-click, electronic giving on mobile devices. There…
Far too many of us in the advancement and development world misunderstand our role. We believe it’s to ask for money. Or, to steward donors. Or, to implement events. Or, to strengthen relationships. Or, to focus on some other technical aspect of our work. When really, we all are here to help more people believe…