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Major Gift Solicitation

Giving USA 2019: Americans gave $427.71 billion to charity in 2018 during a complicated year for charitable giving

By All Posts, Boards + Leadership, Campaign Planning + Management, Capacity Building, Current Events/News, Donor Cultivation, Fundraising, Giving USA, Grants, Legislative + Advocacy, Major Gift Solicitation, News You Can Use, Planned Giving, Stewardship, Strategic Planning, The Giving Institute No Comments
Giving USA 2019: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2018 Americans gave $427.71 billion to charity in 2018 during a complicated year for charitable giving Shaped by a mixture of counteracting economic and policy factors, total contributions grew 0.7% in current dollars, declined 1.7% adjusted for inflation Editor's Note: If you live in the Greater Kansas City area,…
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Create Charitable Giving Magic – Without a Wand

By All Posts, Boards + Leadership, Commentary, Major Gift Solicitation, News You Can Use, Organizational + Personal Development, Stewardship No Comments
Beth Silverstein Senior Consultant When donor passion intersects with institutional aspiration, magic happens.  But the real magic is what it takes to get to the pinnacle of relationship where donor and cause are seamlessly, intensely aligned. It is a well-known trend that donors are beginning to focus their giving, narrowing the number of organizations they support.  They are also looking…
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Mindful Fundraising in Membership Organizations

By All Posts, Annual Giving, Capacity Building, Database Management, Donor Cultivation, Fundraising, Insights, Major Gift Solicitation, News You Can Use, Planned Giving, Stewardship, Strategic Planning No Comments
Jennifer Studebaker Coordinator of Administration + Consulting “We do not engage in fundraising. We’re a membership-based organization.” This is the response I have received when engaging with associations and other nonprofits that operate on a membership model. While I understand developing a giving program sounds like a lot of work, you do not need a sophisticated development department to make…
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The Campaign Planning Study:  Putting More Action into your Study

By All Posts, Campaign Planning + Management, Capacity Building, Fundraising, Insights, Major Gift Solicitation, News You Can Use, Strategic Planning No Comments
Heather Ehlert Chief Operating Officer Whether you call it a “Feasibility Study,” “Campaign Planning Study,” “Campaign Readiness Assessment” or “Oh-My-Gosh-We’re-Actually-Thinking-About-a-CAMPAIGN!” a planning study is critical to laying a solid foundation for a large-scale fundraising effort.  Not only does it help prepare your organization internally, but a (good) planning study also externally tests your project plans and campaign concept. But couldn’t/shouldn’t…
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Don’t Fear DAFs (Donor-Advised Funds)

By Annual Giving, Current Events/News, Donor Cultivation, Fiscal Management, Fundraising, Grants, Insights, Major Gift Solicitation, News You Can Use, Stewardship No Comments
Katie Lord Vice President Over the past several months there has been a lot of negative media attention cast upon the nonprofit sector relating to Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs).  But before I dive deeper into my thoughts about the matter, let’s start with the basics. I have to say you may have your head buried in the sand if you haven’t…
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Fundraising Fitness Test Guru Led a Workout in KC

By Annual Giving, Capacity Building, Database Management, Donor Cultivation, Fiscal Management, Fundraising, Insights, Major Gift Solicitation, News You Can Use, Stewardship, Uncategorized No Comments
Jennifer Studebaker Coordinator of Administration + Consulting And oh boy, was it a good one! Erik Daubert, MBA, ACFRE and Chair of the Growth in Giving Initiative and the Fundraising Effectiveness Project came to Kansas City for Nonprofit Connect’s 501(c) Success National Speaker Series on September 11. Erik dived right in with the history, purpose, and goals of the Fundraising Fitness…
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A Remarkable Act of Generosity

By Donor Cultivation, Fundraising, Major Gift Solicitation, News You Can Use, Stewardship No Comments
John Marshall Senior Vice President We have all heard about donors making million-dollar-plus gifts and the impact such generosity had on the recipient charity. Americans are clearly the most generous people on the face of the earth with million dollar gifts occurring annually in the thousands. Like most fundraisers, I think about what truly motivates a person to give that…
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Fundraising for your Botanical Gardens: If I Can Do It…

By All Posts, Boards + Leadership, Campaign Planning + Management, Capacity Building, Fundraising, Grants, Major Gift Solicitation, Planned Giving, Stewardship No Comments
Eric Tschanz Senior Consultant When I arrived at Powell Gardens, I told the Board I could build their garden, but I was NOT a fundraiser.  As President and Executive Director, I soon realized the need for outside funding if the Gardens were going to grow and prosper. Membership programs were started, earned income streams were developed, capital campaigns were initiated…
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Do Your Homework, Sit Still and LISTEN

By All Posts, Donor Cultivation, Fundraising, Major Gift Solicitation, News You Can Use, Organizational + Personal Development, Prospect Research, Volunteers No Comments
Jeffrey D. Byrne, President + CEO We know to do our homework on prospective donors. You’ve heard me say time and again “Don’t commit fundraising malpractice!” (See my blog piece on the benefits of prospect research here.)That means do your research – because it reveals information about the wealth and capacity of prospects as well as information about philanthropic giving…
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Donor Relationships: transform donors into partners

By All Posts, Annual Giving, Donor Cultivation, Major Gift Solicitation, News You Can Use, Stewardship No Comments
Bruce Broce, M.A., Vice President  A Board member once asked me if I considered our philanthropic supporters to be “donors” or “partners.” I answered by saying they ideally should be both. Every nonprofit has donors, but the really successful ones expand their relationship with their constituents beyond the financial plane and nurture them as partners who can help move forward…
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