It’s All About the ‘Give”
I’m frequently asked by executive directors and chairs with whom I work about board giving policies. Specifically, they’re always looking for reasons to dilute the board members’ responsibilities for giving.…
Category: Major Gifts
New (Fiscal) Year’s Resolutions for Development Pros
Happy new (fiscal) year. For a majority of nonprofits, July 1, marks the start of a new fiscal year. And even if your organization’s fiscal starts on October 1, January…
The Simple Art of Thank You
If somebody comes to your house on your birthday and gives you a gift, what do you say? Do you say “thank you” or do you ignore the person and…
Summer Reading List for Nonprofit Pros
As the pages of the calendar turn to June, our thoughts turn to fiscal year-end (for many nonprofits) and summer vacations. In addition to the latest from Steel, Grishman, or…
Resolutions for Fundraisers: 2018 Edition
I love the year-end holidays. Yes, it’s a time of madness, both personally and professionally. But it’s all worth it for what comes next: the new year. Like a gajillion…
The Secret Sauce of Major Gifts Success
Much has been written about successful major gift fundraising. Screening and research, gift pyramids and moves management, cultivation and donor relations…these are all important topics. There are articles, website, books,…
Fundraising: Donor Relations vs. Stewardship
After decades in fundraising, I get really excited when someone or something stops me in my tracks and makes me go, “hmmm.” It happened recently. It was something somewhat radical…
Nancy Says: Why Is It So Hard to Find a Good Major Gifts Officer?
Yes, it is. Yes, it’s going to be hard to do a search. Hiring a major gift officer is like finding the winning thoroughbred in a corral of horses.
You have to kiss a lot of horses to get there. No way around it. It’s hard work.