Tuesday, February 28, 2012

There are many reasons why you might wish to write and publish a book: to enhance your professional reputation, improve your career opportunities, supplement your income, achieve a lifelong dream, or just give back to the world in some way. For me, I had always dreamed of....

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Fundraising is NOT about money. It is about meeting mission. And mission is about meeting needs – meeting the needs of your donor and meeting the needs of your organization. If you meet the needs of your donor, they will respond by meeting the needs of your organization which, in turn, meets the needs of your clients, thus fulfilling your mission. Today, I am going to talk about meeting the needs of one type of donor: foundations.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Fundraising is not all about asking for money. Fundraising is about forming those relationships that best promote fulfillment of your mission. It is about forming partnerships. Partnerships where all parties get something of value. And the first step in structuring such partnerships is by identifying what who your potential partners might be.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Trying to determine what a donor's goals were when they gave you a gift decades ago can be a challenging task. Especially when you don't have all the original information, no family members to contact, and the donors are deceased. In this post I briefly explore the journey from the sale of land and creation of the  "James and Judy Mars Endowment Fund for Educational Research" (names changed) to the eventual realization that James and Joyce wanted students to be able to study local plant and animal life.

Thursday, February 09, 2012

To me, fundraising is all about forming mission-related partnerships. As I explain in my upcoming CharityChannel Press book, The Partnership Paradigm: Fundraising for a Solid Future, a partner is more than just a collaborator. A partner is any person or group who....

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Yesterday my new books arrived at my doorstep, Raise More Money from Your Business Community. It’s always a relief to see the finished product arrive after months, or years, of work. I think this book has been in my mind for more than twenty years so it was really a rewarding experience to get it down in black and white. Coming from a business background myself, this topic has always been near and dear to me, and my hope is that the publication of this book will lead to an increase in corporate giving, pulling it out of that small minority of 5 percent of all philanthropic giving in the United States. My hope is that we will see that number rise to 10 percent because nonprofits will have learned how to better approach businesses in their communities.

Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Has your organization broken out of the grant writing, event planning, and direct mail mold? Have you tried (with success or failure) to fundraise from individuals?

If so, I’d love to hear from you. I’m currently collecting stories from executive directors, fundraising professionals, and board members to include in my third book to be published by CharityChannel Press. The stories should focus on your experience (or lack thereof) getting started fundraising from individuals in a personal, face-to-face way.

Please help your fellow fundraisers learn from your real-world successes, as well your failures, challenges and frustrations. I want to hear about them all!

Wednesday, February 01, 2012

When it comes to seeking major gifts, there are any number of things that can interfere with getting out there and getting the job done.  In today's post I share a confession about what holds me back.  And how to get over it.

I also have a big question for you.  “What is your biggest obstacle to one-on-one gift solicitation?”

You'll read about some of our research findings on the subject and get some insight about the barriers some of your colleagues face.

Read on to find out ...