Give and Take

Managers care about titles. Leaders care about people.​ If you dare to be a leader, this is a must-read article by Wayne Olson.

A few essential pieces of data help fuel a powerful development department. These metrics, often called Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs, help fundraisers gauge the health of their activities. Another essential KPI for fundraisers is the Average Gift Amount.

You’ve finally decided to create an estate plan instead of taking the path of Abraham Lincoln, Bob Marley and Aretha Franklin. Congratulations! But how do you choose an executor or trustee? We have a few tips that will help.

There are good causes with plenty of people and projects in need of support as they strive to make the world a better place. You might like to consider supporting them as part of your estate plan, making a charitable donation with the wealth you leave behind. This can be a wonderful way to give something back to the world, leave a positive impression, and support a cause that matters or means something to you personally. It also feels great, which is why so many people opt to add a charitable donation to their estate plan. But how does it all work? And what’s the best way to go about it? Here's a five-step guide to learn all about charitable giving in estate planning.

We all know them. The phone rings and the caller ID shows this is a call from someone who we know will be trouble. He or she is calling to complain, and it will not be pleasant. Around the room, people suddenly get busy so they will not have to take the dreaded call. Accelerate your career by taking the call!

The collection plate is drying up—and too many churches are praying instead of planning. Shrinking attendance, aging donors, and ignored legacy opportunities are putting ministries at risk. This isn’t a crisis of faith; it’s a crisis of fundraising strategy. Packed with real stats, biblical precedent, and blunt advice, this piece is a wake-up call for church leaders: Stop waiting on miracles. Start asking for planned gifts. Because "hope" isn’t a stewardship strategy.

There’s something that some fundraisers don’t get that good marketers know instinctively: You’re not selling a product, gift plan, or naming rights. To paraphrase Steve Jobs, “You’re selling a dream.”   It doesn’t matter if you’re buying a Ferrari or Ford, a Rolex or a Timex, diamond earrings or cubic zirconia, a villa on a lake or a weekend at an Airbnb: You’re buying a dream of something bigger, better, shinier, or easier.  The same goes for donors. Your donors are buying a painting visualized in their minds. They’re not “buying” your mission. They’re buying a dream of lasting legacies; philanthropic hopes; and transformative outcomes. Objects are a commodity. Whether it’s a Ferrari Testarossa or a Ford Focus, it’s just a car. But a dream is something different. It’s a very personal thing, and you — the fundraiser or “salesperson” — cannot put a price tag on it. That’s for the

Planned giving can present a unique challenge for marketing, because the unspoken message is that a death must occur for a gift to be fully realized. Here are two ways to alleviate the macabre undertone.

This will sound familiar. A fundraiser has a good relationship with a donor and wants to prepare to make a major gift ask. Extensive research has been collected about the donor. It includes a philanthropic capacity estimate from services like iwave and DonorSearch, and whatever else could be found online. Notes from conversations, street research from people who know the donor, and the donor’s giving history to her organization are also gathered. Despite all of the research, the fundraiser has an uneasy feeling that whatever ask amount is settled upon, it will, at best, be a guess.

We have all unfortunately been there. A meeting that could have been an email. A lengthy meeting that left all attendees confused about what was accomplished. A brainstorming session where personalities derailed the discussion. What these situations all needed is an effective facilitator. Learn how to run respectful and productive gatherings with these basic facilitation tips.

We’ve all read the breathless projections of up to $140 trillion of wealth that will be inherited by Gen X and the Millennials over the next number of years. And as professionals in philanthropy, I expect we’ve all been waiting for that transfer to begin and make the great impact on charities we’ve imagined it will. But I admit my hair is getting grayer — and disappearing — as I wait for the great reward of this promised inheritance.

Endowments are most often associated with institutions of higher learning and huge nonprofits like hospitals. But an endowment may be a great fit for one of your prospective planned giving donors.

Establishing a major donor strategy is arguably one of the most effective ways to establish a significant, long-term funding source for your nonprofit. Ideally, major donors and nonprofits enjoy a long, mutually-beneficial relationship where the donor uses their resources to make big things happen at an organization they cherish. But how do you begin to build this strategy? How do you discover the giving potential of those in your community? Below are three top tools to help complete donor prospect research.

Corporations and businesses continue to adopt philanthropic strategies as consumers attempt to make more ethical purchasing choices. This makes corporate sponsorships a wonderful major gift partnership between businesses near you and your nonprofit. Whether your organization resides near some corporate headquarters in a major city or a rural area with family-owned businesses, corporate sponsorships can provide a helpful fundraising boost and open up possibilities for mutually beneficial partnerships.

Having a professional mentor sounds like an inspiring boost to anyone’s professional development. Being able to benefit from the wisdom and expertise of someone you trust sounds like a fantastic way to learn essential lessons and plan your next moves. But how do you find a mentor? What makes a healthy mentor relationship? Can a non-traditional mentorship still provide similar benefits? Read on to learn practical ways to infuse priceless expertise into your professional development.

A board governance committee serves as a powerful tool for nonprofits who wish to boost their board recruitment and better prepare for an organization's inevitable “rainy days”. This committee, along with others like a finance committee and development committee, are vital sources of support for nonprofit leaders.

Planned giving donors can choose from several different kinds of giving vehicles to leave their legacy with your organization. One of those vehicles is a donor-advised fund. While these different tools may sound complicated, you can learn the basics of these tools to help guide your donors. Donor-advised funds are a dynamic planned giving vehicle that can provide a major gift to a nonprofit while also delivering peace of mind to your major donor.