Fundraising maven Pamela Grow has presented her followers with a daring challenge: for one whole year, cease donor acquisition activities. “What if you made 2013 the year of the individual donor and got off the acquisition treadmill, once and for all?” she asks. (Read more here.) I get her point, despite my aversion to either/or [...]
Debtors don’t donors make, unless . . .
May 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment
It’s commencement season on college and university campuses across America. That wonderful time of year when starry-eyed graduates march into life to the strains of Pomp and Circumstance, diplomas in hand, dreams in their hearts, and a dark cloud of debt over their heads. Sorry for raining on the graduation parade with my mention of [...]
Two century-old fundraising wisdom from the second Mrs. Judson
May 13, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Donor-centered fundraising has never been as important as it is now. Or so goes the buzz among development gurus. I’ve said as much myself – first in Growing Givers’ Hearts: Treating Fundraising as Ministry and then again (and again and again) in my interaction with clients. When it comes to nurturing loyal giving, nothing beats [...]
Generosity in quotes: Anne Lamott
May 10, 2013 By Leave a Comment
“Astonishing material and revelation appear in our lives all the time. Let it be. Unto us, so much is given. We just have to be open for business. Sometimes — oh, just once in a blue moon — I resist being receptive to God’s generosity, because I’m busy with a project and trying to manipulate [...]
Data even donors can love
May 8, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Previously I referenced research that claims donors aren’t much impressed by outcomes data. It’s heart-warming stories givers want, we’re told, not bone-dry facts. But not all data points are tedious. Some are as interesting and as encouraging to the folks writing checks as the best told tale. Consider, for example, findings from a recent study [...]
Donors may not care about results, but boards should
May 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment
“Despite years of claiming the contrary, donors still don’t really care about nonprofit performance or impact.” In fact, as blogger and student of philanthropy Tim Ogden reports, a majority of donors believe there “isn’t much difference between nonprofits, that any giving is good, and performance measures are a waste of time and money.” For all [...]
Generosity in quotes: William Enright
May 3, 2013 By Leave a Comment
“As the three Abrahamic faiths – Judaism, Christianity, Islam – all teach, we humans live out our love for God by loving our neighbor and these two loves cannot be separated from each other. In Judaism the phrase tikkun olam reflects the conviction that we care for the world when we work to mend and [...]
Two strategies for improving your board’s fiduciary behavior
May 1, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Once upon a time, minding your board’s fiduciary P’s and Q’s consisted of dotting organizational I’s and crossing legal T’s and little more. But no longer. Or so say the members of an august panel of governance veterans featured in the March/April 2013 issue of Trusteeship magazine. As they tell it, fiduciary stewardship stretches well [...]
