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Category Archives: Fundraising
10 shalls to Putting the Fun in Fundraising.
Fundraisers are an overly serious and no fun bunch, too often. An absence of humor is sadly lacking in our non-profit endeavors, and scarce of late in our civic life. Last year was almost entirely humorless, overly full of moral … Continue reading
Posted in Annual Fund, Fundraising, Leadership
Tagged 2015, envelope stuffing, Fundraising, lunch dates, sponsorship
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Should Fundraisers be Board Members?
This is for my Fellow Fundraisers. Nobody in the Verse frets over Board Members and their frailties like the Fundraisers I know. No one. Those Things They promised to do, Refused To Do, said They Would Do and Forgot About. … Continue reading
Posted in Board Development, Fundraising, Leadership
Tagged board development, dating advice, Fundraising, non-profit leadership
2 Comments
The Foolproof, Infallible, Magic Bullet of Fundraising for 2015 (Part I).
Pick Up The Phone. There. Now you know. The Grand Secret to Fundraising success. Four words. Go and thrive my friends. But many of you won’t do it. I make a good living working with non-profits of all sizes and … Continue reading
Posted in Annual Fund, Fundraising
Tagged Fundraising, non-profits, organizations, Pick Up The Phone
1 Comment
Philanthopy, Stinky Cheese, and You: Keeping it Local.
A tornado passes over the house, sending a 60 foot maple tree into the sunroom and leaving an unrecognizable scene. I am not there when it happens but arrive several hours after, in the dark, to a numbing sight. A … Continue reading
Posted in Fundraising, Philanthropy
Tagged Chai Latte, Local, Philanthropy, Red Cross, Super Storm Sandy
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Call in The Bobs. Six Times to Hire Fundraising Consultants.
One of my favorite clients over the past couple of years has an energetic board leader who calls me and Bob Swaney The Bobs, a reference to a masterpiece of cinema, Office Space. If you haven’t seen that film in … Continue reading
Posted in Annual Fund, Fundraising, Leadership
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Call your Granny. Don’t Be an Ingrate (Fundraiser).
The good folks at Bloomerang conducted a brilliant little experiment recently, making $5 online contributions to 50 Indianapolis area non-profit organizations to see how they would be acknowledged and engaged as new donors. They produced, without comment or analysis, a … Continue reading
Posted in Annual Fund, Fundraising
Tagged Bloomerang, Fundraising, Online Giving, Technology
11 Comments
Ice Bucket Fundraising: The Good, The Bad and the Viral Sublime.
Raising funds is an extraordinarily difficult task and there are no guaranteed shortcuts to catching the imagination of the public. Ours is a crowded field with a great many worth causes, smart non-profit leaders and a wary public. Case development, … Continue reading
Posted in Cultural Entrepreneurship, Fundraising
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Real Talk: Three Questions for us Board Members.
Swapping hats from consulting for a moment, this post is for my fellow board members. You know who you are. Non-profit leaders work tirelessly to activate us to our potential. Books are written. Seminars are developed. Consultants are engaged. But … Continue reading
Posted in Board Development, Fundraising, Leadership
Tagged Board members, board service, personal responsibility
8 Comments
Should Fundraisers Drive Nice Cars?
Like many American lads I truly entered adulthood after 30, an extended adolescence that included a run as a stagehand, nearly four wonderful years of grad school, and sailboat summers on Lake Monroe in Bloomington, Indiana. We don’t expect our … Continue reading
Posted in Fundraising, Performing Arts
1 Comment
Five Steps in June to Annual Fund Success (despite) Grill Season
Most of our organizations have a June 30 fiscal year and this is Just Lousy. The Annual Fund, and most of fundraising, is at the core an exercise in creating and sustaining momentum and activity, of spreading the work (and … Continue reading
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