Giving is Good
Influence matters a great deal in the achievement of fundraising goals. The more influence an institutional leader, a gift officer, or a volunteer has with a donor or prospect, the greater the opportunity to encourage generous responses from that donor or prospect. People give to people. But the process of enhancing one’s interpersonal influence is…
Last night – Christmas Eve – we had snow in East Tennessee. This is a uncommon occurrence for us but a welcome one, especially given the holiday. Falling snow is mesmerizing to watch as it dances toward the ground under the watchful eyes of street lamps. And I spent some time bundled up on our…
Donate – inviting people to “donate” is akin to asking for hand-me-downs. People donate used items. They donate old clothes, or used cars. Generally speaking, donations are second-thought give-aways, not charitable investments in your mission. Use give, giving, and gift, instead. Appointment – advancement professionals don’t have appointments with donors. We have visits or meetings. …
How should we go about inviting Mrs. Howard to make the lead gift? You might be inclined to respond to this strategy question by seeking to know more about Mrs. Howard as a person and as a donor. You would probably want to know more about her history with your institution, her financial capacity, the…
Your donor database will always have more inaccurate or missing data than you think is acceptable. You can still raise more money. Your institution’s brand and messaging could always be more concise, clear, and compelling. You can still raise more money. Your case for support does not need to be completed for you to contact…
We talk often about “leaving legacies,” in development work. Mainly, of course, we talk about this concept with donors who might have an interest in making a planned gift of some sort. Another way to think of “leaving legacies,” though, is not nearly as future-casted and is focused on your choices as opposed to the…
In any given year, most advancement shops that work smart and with effort will focus on increasing either gift income or donor numbers. Those two metrics – gift income and donor numbers – are, easily, the most important when assessing the success of any given fundraising year. Occasionally, though, I’ll hear an advancement leader proudly…
The Messenger The Message The Medium Those are the 3 most important variables when inviting a gift. In that order. It doesn’t matter if it’s a modest annual gift, a major gift, or a planned gift. That’s the order of importance. Who does the asking is, without fail, more important than the message. And the…
If you want to raise more major gifts – especially during our disrupted world of 2020 – the path is simple: Invite more prospective donors to make them. That’s it. Sure, you can fret all you’d like over the impacts of the pandemic. You can spend your time commiserating with colleagues about the disruptions caused…
A class I had in graduate school still resonates with me. It was a research methodology class and we had just completed reading a series of research articles about educational leadership that, seemingly, didn’t provide many fresh or new insights on the topic. In class one evening, a classmate of mine spoke up to our…