Are you as engaged in fundraising as you should be? If not, December is a great month to change that – by saying thank you. Making calls to donors and members carries the twin benefits of increasing their connection to the organization and increasing...
Eliminating term limits for board directors is a bad idea. Boards without term limits have no incentive to recruit, and without the constant stimulation new recruits bring, organizations can get stale and inbred over time and fail to grow. Furthermore, organizations that are growing have...
An important concept in fundraising is that of “access” to current and potential donors. Access in fundraising means that if you send someone an email or leave a voice message, it will be returned. Each of us has a circle of friends, family, business colleagues,...
I encourage all board members to regularly deliver their elevator speech to the entire board, as a form of ritualized practice. Practicing is just good "practice" anyway, but hearing what others say can help you refine and hone your own message. Delivering such a speech...
At a designated board meeting, s/he reports formally on the Standard, noting all the practices and policies underneath it, and offering an opinion as to the degree to which the organization is currently compliant. S/he offers recommendations for improvement or wording changes as appropriate. Any...
The case I meant to make is that $1,000 is not a lot of money in today's world. $84 a month, $21 a week. Think about all the things we buy without thinking that fall into that category: restaurant meals, designer coffee, wine/beer, internet/cable service,...
The point is that the Board Development Committee should be looking at least 7-10 years out. What kind of person do we need to cultivate (or get to know) NOW, so they are ready to come onto the Board in 2-3 years - so they...
Early last year, six foundations with a history of funding Executive Director Sabbaticals released a study documenting their effectiveness, entitled Creative Disruption: Sabbaticals for Capacity Building and Leadership Development In the Nonprofit Sector. According to the study: Organizational capacity increased as the second tier of leadership took...
The first quarter of each calendar year is the best time to run your annual Board campaign. Doing so: opens the door for quarterly or monthly pledges, making larger gifts possible, assures 100% participation early in the year, establishes the “moral authority” for Board members asking other donors...
I’ve been writing about year-end tasks that seemingly always need to be done, but also seem to quickly fall off the table in favor of more urgent activities. Things like taking time to thank the donors who make your organization’s work possible, reviewing 2009 giving...