Category Archives: Philanthopy

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

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 #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

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

Posted in Development Directors, Donor-Centered, Major Gift Officers, Major Gifts, Marketing Plans, Philanthopy | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

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

Five New Year’s Resolutions for an Outstanding 2013–#4—Practice Gratitude

You may be thinking, “Practicing gratitude? How do you practice gratitude? Don’t you just show gratitude?” Well, yes and no.  Yes, you can show gratitude toward another person, but the kind of gratitude I’m talking about requires discipline.  “Gosh, Jeff, … Continue reading

Posted in Donor-Centered, Major Gift Officers, Major Gifts, Non-Profits, Philanthopy | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Five New Year’s Resolutions for an Outstanding 2013–#3—Do Less.

You might be reading the title to this blog post and seriously wondering if I’ve gone off the deep end. Do less?  Yes, that is my third New Year’s resolution for 2013.  Will you join me?  Here’s what I’m getting … Continue reading

Posted in Major Gift Officers, Philanthopy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Five New Year’s Resolutions for an Outstanding 2013–#2—Prioritize Your Life

How many times during the day do you find yourself in the middle of something you and stop and say, “Why am I doing this?”  Or, as you look back over the last month or last year, how many things … Continue reading

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