It's true. Your non-profit really should be in a capital campaign right now. If you aren't in a campaign currently, that’s OK. Just make sure you're getting ready for your next one! Why? The obvious answer is that capital campaigns help you do big, mission-critical things—the kind of stuff that your annual fund, or your golf tournament just can’t do for you. Whether it's building buildings, adding programs, or … [Read more...] about You Need to Be in a Campaign
Major Gifts Systems
Let’s face it: big gifts move the needle. Direct mail is fine, and yes, every gift is meaningful. But think about truly advancing the mission of your organization. Do $100 checks have the power to take you to a new, better place? How much time and money do you spend pursuing $100 checks? And are you as intentional and systematic when it comes to your major gifts program? You can be. Because it’s one thing to get a major gift from … [Read more...] about Major Gifts Systems
Are you setting your MGOs up to fail?
I received zero training in my first MGO job. Or support for that matter. My boss showed me the donor files, made sure I got into the database, and then said, “OK, go raise some money!” I was scared to death. … [Read more...] about Are you setting your MGOs up to fail?
Stewardship Tactics
This is the final post in our series on donor stewardship. So far, our guiding principles have been: 1) stewardship is the right thing to do, and 2) good stewardship is a driver of future fundraising results. As always, we started big-picture. The first post was on the psychology of donor stewardship. It’s so important to understand what’s going on behind the scenes before diving into tactics. … [Read more...] about Stewardship Tactics
Auditing Your Stewardship Program
So, what does a high-functioning donor stewardship program look like? That’s a question I’ve been asking while thinking about my own organization’s stewardship efforts. We know stewardship is important. And, we have a sense that more would probably be better. But how much more? And more of what, specifically? There’s truly no limit to how much we could do in thanking, acknowledging, and celebrating our donors. But how do you get the most bang … [Read more...] about Auditing Your Stewardship Program