The planned giving world is inundated with so much legalese and technical jargon, a simple planned giving appeal letter usually reads like a privacy statement sent out by a credit card company. It’s enough to send a corporate lawyer straight to sleep — and those are the folks who write privacy statements! Appeal to emotion.
Traditional planned giving newsletters were great in the 60's. Today, these Mesozoic tools will soon be extinct.
Has something like this ever happened to you? You’re at a development conference, sitting at a table with a stranger. You introduce yourself … and the person takes your friendliness as an invitation to go all in. Next thing you know, they’re telling you about a recent operation (including all the gory details) and finish it off by yanking up their shirt for a grand reveal of a very large incision scar. The same thing can happen when a nonprofit tries to track down donor information - you don't need to know every little thing! Here's how to find the sweet spot!
We've all known someone who collected stuff in his garage. Always parked his car outside because he had no space. Eventually, he built a second garage for his car. Of course, over time he filled the second garage with more “junk,” too. Work can be like that-- you can fill your days with so much busywork that you need to add another hour, then another hour... and so on and so on, until your days are gone!
Ethereum. Doegecoin. Ripple. Litecoin. Stellar. Bitcoin. Unless you’re familiar with cryptocurrency, those names probably look like something straight out of a science fiction story. But it’s no fiction: Cryptocurrency presents a huge—and largely untapped—opportunity for nonprofits.
To say that the last year-plus has presented challenges for the philanthropy world is the very definition of an understatement. Nonprofits across the country have been forced to close their doors. Others might not make it through 2021. Meanwhile, the need for nonprofits has risen sharply, driven by the pandemic, natural disasters, and a host of other challenges that seem, at times, never-ending.
Will a positive attitude alone make you succeed? No. You need far more than that if you want to be successful. Here's why a positive outlook is worthless, unless you have more in your quiver.
As fundraising professionals, we often make mistakes that discourage donors, instead of encourage them. Don't do that! Instead, inspire and engage them. Here's how!
For years, these individuals have been in the background dressed up at your galas. They have introduced you and your staff to their peers and professional colleagues and have assisted at the registration tables for your events. They highlight articles in newspapers or trade journals relevant to your sector and share them with your communications and development staff. They may even go out of their way to send you marketing materials from other organizations that solicit their hard-earned dollars. But you need to acknowledge donor mortality.
Valuable resource: Summary of Robert Sharpe’s white paper The Pandemic & Philanthropy: What Have We Learned and Where Do We Go from Here? Based on input from charitable organizations across the country and professional advisors for nonprofits and philanthropists. Here's what pandemic philanthropy has taught us...
I do not recall where I collected this information, but I just found it in the "back of my drawer." Good motivation to start off the week. Here are some empowering career thoughts for you!
Grown powerful elephants can be tied down in their place with a thin rope around their neck. It doesn’t seem to make sense. Is your nonprofit - like these elephants - tied down by self limiting beliefs?
Making Estate Planning Accessible, Simple, Personal, Secure and FREE!
Bequests are up, cash is down. Empower your donors to plan their will and invest their legacy in the cause they support the most.
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