Category Archives: Major Gift Officers

Three Things that Bother Me About Our Industry–#1—Leadership Will Not Raise Money.

Generally, I consider myself to be a positive person.  I can usually see hope in almost any situation.  But lately, a few things have really been bugging me so much about the industry I love and they keep coming at … Continue reading

Posted in Donor-Centered, Major Gift Officers, Major Gifts, Philanthopy, Social Networking | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Not Asking Donors? Don’t blame the Major Gift Officer

If you are afraid to ask someone for money you should not be involved in major gift fundraising.  That sounds pretty logical, right?  Yet, when Richard and I get involved in helping non-profits with their major gift programs, we find … Continue reading

Posted in Development Directors, Major Gift Officers, Major Gifts, Non-Profits, Philanthopy | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Events: What are they good for?

Several months ago I was on a Skype call with a friend of mine who is a priest living in the mountains of Bolivia.  He’s working with some of the poorest people in South America.  He wanted my advice on … Continue reading

Posted in Donor-Centered, Major Gift Officers, Non-Profits | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Trust the Process

Recently, I was sitting across the table from the CEO of a very large non-profit we work with.  He said, “Jeff, tell me how our MGOs are doing.”  “Well”, I said, “all of your MGOs have exceeded their revenue goals … Continue reading

Posted in Development Directors, Donor-Centered, Major Gift Officers, Major Gifts, Non-Profits, Philanthopy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Five Things You Must Do At The Beginning of This Calendar Year #5 – How Well Did You Thank & Report Back To Your Donors?

“Thank you”, according to the dictionary, “is a conventional expression of gratitude”.  I would suppose that if I do not feel thankful or say the words, “thank you”, that I am not really grateful. I have thought about this quite … Continue reading

Posted in Development Directors, Donor-Centered, Major Gift Officers, Major Gifts, Philanthopy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Five Things You Must Do At The Beginning of This Calendar Year #4 – Review Your Use of Time

The waste or misuse of time is one of the key reasons an MGO fails at his or her job. Now, as soon as some MGOs read this statement many will say that their manager gave them some lousy donors … Continue reading

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Five Things You Must Do At The Beginning of This Calendar Year #3 – Analyze Your Strategies – Did They Work?

I love analyzing cause and effect. In fact, my wife gets a little irritated by my constant WHY questions.  “I wonder why this happened?”, and “What was the cause of that?”, etc. It is a basic curiosity that drives me … Continue reading

Posted in Development Directors, Major Gift Officers, Major Gifts, Marketing Plans, Non-Profits, Philanthopy | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Five Things You Must Do At The Beginning of This Calendar Year #2 – Review The Performance Of Each Donor On Your Caseload

I will never forget the meeting I had with an MGO one day last year in late January. I had asked him to come to our meeting prepared to review how each of his donors had performed in the year … Continue reading

Posted in Development Directors, Impact, Major Gift Officers, Major Gifts, Non-Profits, Social Networking, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Five Things You Must Do At The Beginning of This Calendar Year

Don’t let one more minute of this new calendar year go by before you take steps to do the following five things as relates your major gift work: Review your caseload and make donor additions and deletions. Look at each … Continue reading

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Five New Year’s Resolutions for an Outstanding 2013–#5—Move Forward

New Year’s resolutions can be powerful.  They can either take you to a new place in life or have the power to make you feel like a complete loser. Over the years I have made dozens of New Year’s resolutions.  … Continue reading

Posted in Major Gift Officers, Mission, Non-Profits, Philanthopy | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments