Most of my nonprofit executive coaching clients are surprised that so much of my “Ask Without Fear!” fundraising training is based on listening. I guess most of us fall into the trap of thinking that all we need to do is memorize a great schpeal, give it, and wait for the money to roll in.
It [...]

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With Ground Hog Day right around the corner here in the US, I thought we’d learn Fundraising Secret #11 from the perspective of the classic movie Ground Hog Day:
Fundraising Secret #11: Don’t be a Ned
Does this sound like your fundraising efforts?

Ned: Phil? Phil Connors? Phil Connors, I thought that was you!
Phil: Hi, thanks for [...]

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Many of us experienced the end of the fiscal year on June 30th. Before taking a well deserved vacation, this is a great time for catching our breath and re-assessing our position. Some of what I’m currently reading, Seth Godin’s new book, The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When [...]

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Mark Nakumara pointed me to this great blog post by Guy Kawaski about ways to used LinkedIn.
Can you imagine how cool it would be if donors started researching you before a solicitation call! Very cool!
To read the Guy’s blog post click here.
My LinkedIn profile is here.

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There’s a great article about the philanthropy of Myra Kraft (owner of the New England Patriots) in the Boston Globe called Giving Large.
It’s long but read the whole thing. It’s a great insight into what motivates giving.
Here’s a sample:
Kraft treats board work like a job…She says she comes at the work with no [...]

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Looks like Blackbaud’s moved the Gift Range Calculator to their site.
Give it a whirl. It’s a very useful tool!

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I love feedback. I wouid probably constantly take surveys and assessments if I could.
So I loved this idea from Katya’s Nonprofit Marketing Blog as shared by Jeff Brooks on his Donor Power Blog: “Be Your Donor” day.
Read the post and then give it a try.

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Here in the US, we’re about a week away from Thanksgiving. Have you mentally checked out of work or are you preparing for the biggest time of giving in the calendar year?
Before you put your work on hold, consider implementing this tip from Jeffrey Fox’s book How to be a Rainmaker. (It’s the reason I got [...]

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Since last fall, we’ve been working through the basics of asking people for money with the simple four-step formula: R.E.A.L.

Research,
Engage,
Ask, and
Love ‘em/Like ‘em/Live with their decision.

So far, we’ve looked at RESEARCH and ENGAGE and ASK. I hope these steps seem incredibly simple, common sense.
Asking people for money is not rocket science. Don’t get lost in [...]

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All fall, we’ve been working through the basics of asking people for money with the simple four-step formula: R.E.A.L.

Research,
Engage,
Ask, and
Love ‘em.

I love asking people for money! I hope that outlining a simple process like this will help get other people as fired-up about fundraising as I am!
So far, we’ve looked at RESEARCH and ENGAGE. (You [...]

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