To Will and Kate, with best wishes. Earlier today, I tore myself away from the telly just long enough to click over to the charitable gift fund that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (aka Will and Kate) established soon after announcing their engagement to the world. I selected “children fulfilling their potential” and [...]
Procrastinators, read this NOW, not later!
April 27, 2011 By 4 Comments
This past week, two of my favorite bloggers, Seth Godin and Steve Thomas, both gave the nod to Steven Pressfield’s Do the Work. That piqued my interest, so I clicked on over to Amazon.com to check out the book for myself. A few pages into the sample sections, I’m hooked (and squirming like a worm). The chapters on beginning and resistance are [...]
Movie Mondays help fundraisers improve their moves
April 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment
I just discovered an amazing resource that development officers everywhere — and most especially those in small to mid-size fundraising shops – are going to love. It’s called Movie Mondays and here’s how it works. (Please don’t tell me I’m the last kid on my block to hear about this. I’ll be crushed.) Christopher Davenport, the guy behind Movie Mondays, [...]
Wile E. Coyote and board recruitment strategies
April 20, 2011 By 1 Comment
I recently came across a fantastic apologetic for mixing it up when recruiting new board members — and it’s done without once using the “d” word. Robert Fabricant’s playful references to Wile E.Coyote in communicating serious points about creativity and the importance of diversity (that’s the “d” word of my reference) of perspectives, make for a fun read (to be expected from a firm [...]
For major gifts, in the IRS we trust.
April 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Tax day has come late this year, giving nonprofits a little extra time to tout the benefits of charitable giving as a way of avoiding the big hand of Uncle Sam. A whole lot of fundraisers – including within faith based organizations – truly believe that without the incentive of a tax deduction, giving would drop like a proverbial stone. [...]
Friday afternoon reflections on another week of generous matters
April 15, 2011 By 1 Comment
Matching walk to talk – My friend Mark Vincent’s caution about using ”Christian” as an adjective isn’t just for business owners. His words have application for fundraisers well. Swap out “fundraiser” for “business” and “donors” for “customers,” and you get the point. I hear “Christian business” and I want (expect) standards to be higher. I suspect most everyone else does as well. [...]
As tax day approaches, be glad you are not the IRS
April 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment
As we count down to April 15 (April 18 this year), income taxes are on my mind. And I suspect this is true for most Generous Matters readers. My passion for fundraising as ministry has me on high alert for requests for funds that connect tax season and faith-filled giving. Such an example showed up [...]
So what that evangelical leaders are divided over tithing?
April 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment
My friend Devin Manzullo-Thomas over at The Search for Piety and Obedience tipped me off to waning loyalty to the biblical tithe among evangelical leaders. In a survey sponsored by the National Association of Evangelicals, 58 percent of respondent said they do not believe the Bible requires a tithe, while 42 percent said they do. Interestingly, 95 percent [...]
Young alum, can you share a tenth?
April 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment
As the clock ticks down on the fiscal year, anxiety ticks up in development offices over percent of alumni as donors. It’s amazing what fundraising staffs will do to boost alumni participation. Some encourage seniors to turn over their housing deposits as first gifts to the institution. Others peg the suggested gift amount to the [...]
