Development Audit

20 Oct Fall Appeal First Drop – (And Some Thoughts About Acknowledging In-Kind Contributions)

Posted at 05:45h in Communication, Development Audit, Featured, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

OK, so as a practical matter, this is the last week you can drop the first letter of your Fall Appeal if you intend to drop three letters. (I actually prefer that the first letter get dropped in early October.) Mailing this early means that...

13 Oct Taking Stock – Q3

Posted at 04:19h in Board Development, Communication, Development Audit, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Foundations, Membership, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 1 Comment

The forecasting question is simply this: Given what I know right now about what foundations, corporations, and individuals have committed, and what I know right now about what requests are still out there, and what I know right now about the requests I will yet...

29 Sep Lapsed Members and Five-Wednesday Months

Posted at 05:18h in Board Development, Communication, Development Audit, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Uncategorized 0 Comments

Are you keeping track of your lapsed members? This is one of those five-Wednesday months I referred to in April , which means it’s a good time to review where you are with your 2015 renewals. Looking back on all the individuals who gave you...

25 Aug Join Yourself

Posted at 20:15h in Board Development, Communication, Development Audit, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

Replace your ability to narrate in the third person with an ability to testify in the first person. So with that in mind, I suggest that you join the organization you support....

18 Aug Membership Drives

Posted at 06:04h in Communication, Development Audit, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

I have yet to meet a land trust that felt it had enough members. On the one hand, it’s both difficult to argue with and hardly surprising. On the other hand, recruiting new members can become an obsession that results in serious neglect of the...

21 Jul Taking Stock – Q2

Posted at 05:55h in Board Development, Development Audit, Featured, Foundations, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

Back in May, I talked about periodically using some reflective time to “take stock” of where you are right now versus where you thought you’d be at this time (See Taking Stock). Presumably, if you acted on the advice, you a) redoubled your effort to...

14 Jul Board Screening of Foundation Officers

Posted at 05:48h in Board Development, Development Audit, Featured, Foundations, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

Foundation grants should be written by the person closest to the project - the project manager or land steward. Board members have a role to play here as well, because (hopefully!) they are well connected in the community and know key decision-makers. Now – in...

19 May Taking Stock

Posted at 05:37h in Board Development, Communication, Development Audit, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Membership, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

There’s a problem with measuring your year in twelfths. It works for expenses like rent, which is the same each month. But it doesn’t work for insurance which sits at 0% of budget until the month it’s due and then zooms all the way to...

17 Dec Board Policy on Grant Administration

Posted at 08:39h in Board Development, Development Audit, Featured, Foundations, Plans and Budgets, Staff Development, Uncategorized 0 Comments

My Board is considering adopting a resolution that stipulates that 20% of every grant will be used for admin ...

23 Sep One Time to Give the Money Back

Posted at 11:19h in Board Development, Communication, Development Audit, Donor Cultivation, Featured, Uncategorized 0 Comments

If a major donor requests that their gift be treated as anonymous – even from the board, give the money back....