The conversation got me thinking. The story is compelling. The project is real. And it’s easy to imagine a donor seeing him or herself making a difference. Why can’t we answer? Why haven’t we anticipated the question? Answer to both: Because we aren’t thinking in...
This is major gift fundraising. It’s the most important fundraising we can do, and it’s not even close. In a perfect world, we would be treating every one of our donors as major gift prospects – individually cultivating their interest and matching them with opportunities...
He tells her that he could not imagine a future in which young people would not have access to such a place. That he was so glad she was helping protect it. That it was time for him to make a difference. He asks her...
2 June 2026 By David Allen, Development for Conservation The following is a post I published in 2018. I have reposted variations on this theme every year since. This week, I am out fishing in eastern Oregon, so it seems timely to republish the original. In 2017,...
Equivalency language should be legitimate, and that means it probably shouldn’t be used for levels of membership. Assigning equivalency to an ask string of $35, $100, $250, $500 and Other will ALWAYS be forced and gimmicky, and it will come across that way. ...
We could be raising a lot more, but we’re focused on small-ball fundraising. We fail to put big visions on the table – visions that might attract big money. We focus on raising money through digital marketing instead of building long-term relationships with individual donors....
17 September 2024 By David Allen, Development for Conservation It’s the middle of September and you have a lot riding on the next few months. Seventy percent of the money given away every year is given between October and January. And half of YOUR money will come...
14 May 2024 By David Allen, Development for Conservation A few days ago, Richard Perry (Passionate Giving Blog) reposted an item he originally posted in 2021 about common strategies used by nonprofits that actually suppress donor giving. It’s interesting, because the items he lists are items that...
30 January 2024 By David Allen, Development for Conservation One day, back in my TNC days, a donor walked in and told us that he was taking his company public and that he wanted to make a million-dollar gift. He was not unknown to us. He had...
5 December 2023 By David Allen, Development for Conservation I think $250 is a magic number in fundraising. It’s a small enough number that everyone can afford it. Some will argue that point, but I’m talking about $20 a month – there aren't many people in the country...