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Publicly and Privately

Posted on May 30, 2025May 25, 2025 by Jason McNeal

One sign of an unhealthy advancement team culture can be found in the way people talk about themselves. Not the friendly Monday morning sharing of how our weekend was. But, the “peel the onion back,” “let’s hear how you really feel,” observations we all make when times get difficult.  For example, when progress is not…

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Integrative DX

Posted on May 28, 2025May 28, 2025 by Jason McNeal

Most institutions have some form of “stewardship.” The definition and application of this term can vary widely from institution to institution. Generally speaking, though, “stewardship,” typically means, “how we thank our donors,” or “how we report back to donors on the impact of their giving.” Expressing our gratitude when donors give is, of course, important. …

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“How Can I Get The Biggest Gift From This Donor?”

Posted on May 26, 2025May 23, 2025 by Jason McNeal

This is the wrong question to pose. It’s far more helpful to ask, “how can I help this donor make the biggest difference through our mission?” Gaining agreement on the level of impact is the best precondition to receiving the biggest gift. Follow and share Jason’s Blog:

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Strategic Vulnerability

Posted on May 23, 2025 by Jason McNeal

A current-day, counter-cultural engagement strategy for nonprofit leaders is to share a level of strategic vulnerability with key donors, stakeholders, and institutional influencers. Strategic vulnerability is the purposeful sharing of key problems, concerns, shortcomings, and other issues faced by our institution and, then, inviting others to help. Far too many leaders believe that the most…

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Donor Expectations

Posted on May 21, 2025May 21, 2025 by Jason McNeal

“Use the gift as you see fit,” is not the same as, “there is no need to tell me how my gift made a difference.” “I won’t be able to make the event,” is not the same as, “I’m not interested in making a gift.” “As a gift officer, he’s a warm and engaging guy,”…

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Advancement Outcomes Matrix

Posted on May 19, 2025May 18, 2025 by Jason McNeal

Here is a simple way to think about the potential advancement outcomes related to our annual planning. First, some definitions: Goals are qualitative statements that support our longer-term aspirations.  The word “goals,” includes the word, “go” – a reminder that “Goals” are direction setting statements, describing the focus we plan to embrace. Objectives, on the…

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Another Way

Posted on May 16, 2025May 15, 2025 by Jason McNeal

The next time someone asks you what you do for work, explain your role without using the following 3 words: fundraiser (or fundraising) advancement development Being able to explain what you actually do – in a compelling and winsome way – is far more helpful than sharing your title. . . or leading people to…

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Who Needs To See?

Posted on May 14, 2025May 14, 2025 by Jason McNeal

As a child I remember our family traveling a couple of times each year over the mountains to visit my grandparents.  From Maryland to West Virginia, these trips weren’t short and my two sisters and I would be somewhere flip-flopping and complaining in the backseat (of course, long before child safety seats or even regularly…

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The Best and Most Human Things

Posted on May 12, 2025May 12, 2025 by Jason McNeal

As A.I. grows in applicability and opportunities for content creation multiply, there remains a space in which the best advancement professionals can shine.  Here’s how: We can empathize. We can show care. We can over-communicate. We can cooperate. We can give the benefit of the doubt. We can connect. We can smile and laugh. We…

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Work Worth Doing

Posted on May 9, 2025 by Jason McNeal

We don’t talk a lot about adding value to our work, to our colleagues, to our programs, or to our organizations. We do talk a good bit about being too busy, about being over-scheduled, and about being rushed. But, if we focused more on adding value – and how to do that more often –…

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