Development for Conservation |

12 Nov How to Start a Major Gift Program in 2020 – The January Donor Planning Meeting

Posted at 10:05h in Donor Cultivation, Donor Stewardship, Fundraising Planning, Major Gift Fundraising 1 Comment

12 November 2019 By David Allen, Development for Conservation Major gift development isn’t hard. It’s a discipline. And it’s scalable. So just start. Let movement create momentum and let momentum create habit. It starts in January, and it could start for you in January 2020. You can do this for ten donors....

10 Sep Chasing Lost Donors

Posted at 05:42h in Donor Cultivation, Major Gift Fundraising 2 Comments

By David Allen, Development for Conservation Several weeks ago, I posted an imaginary conversation with “Well-Meaning Tom” about a person who had made a gift of land to a land trust and subsequently hadn’t given anything at all. (See It’s OK to Ask.) In fact, I...

27 Aug What is a Donor? And What is “Donor-Centric”?

Posted at 05:06h in Donor Cultivation 1 Comment

“Donor-Centric” fundraising is fundraising that brings the donor into the center where the action is. Instead of being “out there” supporting the stuff “we’re” doing, Donor-centric fundraising invites donors into the center. And I think that’s a good thing. ...

06 Aug Building a Culture of Philanthropy

Posted at 06:14h in Donor Cultivation, Donor Stewardship, Major Gift Fundraising 6 Comments

By David Allen, Development for Conservation I’m interested in your thoughts about building a “Culture of Philanthropy.” Give it some thought – maybe we can do a Rally presentation on the topic someday. One promising definition goes something like this: Culture of Philanthropy is a set of organizational...

02 Jul Fundraising Discipline

Posted at 08:18h in Donor Cultivation, Major Gift Fundraising 4 Comments

By David Allen, Development for Conservation Dis ci pline: control gained by enforcing orderly or prescribed conduct or pattern of behavior (Adapted from the online Merriam-Webster dictionary.) Here’s a TRUTH sequence to start your day today: If you include planned giving and family foundations, individuals account for more...

18 Jun CrowdFunding and the Dollar Store

Posted at 07:37h in Donor Cultivation, Fundraising Planning 0 Comments

By David Allen, Development for Conservation I get asked about crowdfunding, and other forms of social media campaigns a lot. I have an opinion, which I am not shy about sharing, but my essential answer is this: “Sure, if you are doing everything you can to build...

11 Jun Fresh Thinking About Donor Engagement Events

Posted at 08:09h in Donor Cultivation, Donor Stewardship, Membership 2 Comments

By David Allen, Development for Conservation Your land trust probably uses events for all sorts of reasons. You might have an annual “olly-olly-oxen-free” member meeting. Maybe an annual fundraising event, gala, or auction. Maybe an event just to show donors how much you appreciate them. And then...

15 May Transactional Donors Are Not Really Donors – Yet

Posted at 05:04h in Donor Cultivation 0 Comments

We confuse transactional donors with mission donors all the time. We even call them “members.” We send them the same types of information in the same quantities as if they were mission donors. We include them in donor reports. And we try to “renew” them...

13 Mar What is a Qualified Major Gift Prospect?

Posted at 05:32h in Donor Cultivation 1 Comment

A Qualified Major Gift Prospect is a donor we are actively building a relationship with - intentionally cultivating for a $5,000 (or more) ask within the next three years in support of a specific project, program, or outcome....

16 Jan Cultivating Top Donors

Posted at 05:29h in Donor Cultivation 2 Comments

You will want to imagine the relationship from the donor’s perspective. What will they see from the organization? Will it come from a single “voice” (better)? Or will each communication be from someone different (not as good)?...

Donor Cultivation