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25 Oct Comes the (Electronic) Revolution

Posted at 06:16h in Communication, Development Audit, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 6 Comments

Dr. Stan Temple was a board member with whom I worked closely at both The Nature Conservancy and Sand County Foundation. He shared with me that once upon a time, his doctoral students did all their research work in the Library. Today, virtually no one...

18 Oct Development Planning from Scratch – Foundation Funders

Posted at 04:30h in Development Audit, Featured, Foundations, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

There are several important things to keep in mind when writing grants proposals to foundations...

11 Oct Development Planning from Scratch – Corporate Funders

Posted at 06:01h in Communication, Development Audit, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Foundations, Membership, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

I doubt there is any donor segment more confusing to plan for than corporate/business. It’s confusing because of the stories we make up about why particular companies SHOULD give us money. It’s confusing because of United Way. ...

04 Oct Development Planning from Scratch – Corporate and Foundation versus Individual Donors

Posted at 05:46h in Development Audit, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Foundations, Plans and Budgets, Uncategorized 1 Comment

The planning idea behind segmenting is that you identify separate groups for separate consideration such that they are then removed completely from the larger prospect group. This is an important consideration because it forces you to plan in a way that is donor-centric instead of...

27 Sep October Already?

Posted at 05:36h in Communication, Development Audit, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

Your whole fundraising year comes down to the next four months. Are you ready? Here’s what I’m thinking about in October. For a significant number of organizations, donors giving at least $1,000 as their membership gift account for less than 10% of the donor base...

20 Sep Gift Acceptance Policy

Posted at 03:31h in Board Development, Development Audit, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

If a donor wanted to give you any stock, or other items, such as a car or truck, a piece of furniture, jewelry, or art - do you know what to do? What about gifts of Life Insurance or land that has little or no...

13 Sep Development Planning from Scratch – Annual Giving Leaders

Posted at 06:16h in Board Development, Communication, Development Audit, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

30 Aug Are You Ready for September?

Posted at 05:56h in Board Development, Communication, Development Audit, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 2 Comments

Thursday is September the 1st – where has the summer gone? As we cruise toward the Autumnal Equinox, here’s what I’m thinking about for September. What are YOU thinking about?...

23 Aug Development Planning from Scratch – Cultivating Top 100 Donors

Posted at 06:25h in Board Development, Communication, Development Audit, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

One of the donor segments that should be pulled out for special attention is the Major Gift Prospect segment. I call it the Top 100, even though the actual number of donors you cultivate at this level may not actually number 100. Each donor in...

09 Aug Development Planning from Scratch – Soliciting the Board

Posted at 05:50h in Board Development, Communication, Development Audit, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

Make a fundraising plan for the first – and arguably most important – segment: the Board members. The first thing we need to do is to set a Goal....

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