I’ve been a leadership guy a lot longer than I’ve been a fundraising coach. In fact, one of the things I love about nonprofit fundraising is that fundraising impacts all areas of leadership: mission, vision, values, staff recruitment and retention,...
Last week, I was invited to give a full day Ask Without Fear!® training in Kansas City. We had a blast. One of the exercises involved overcoming objections…even before they come up. The process was: The participants pictured someone on their “chicken list” –...
Or how to answer the question “What do you do with your time?” In the last couple weeks, I’ve found myself sharing a tool with each of my private coaching clients. So I thought I’d share it with you too! As a fundraiser, I know that I’m...
I find it so easy to keep looking for the new thing, pressing toward the next deadline, looking for the next big “win,” that I tend to forget routine maintenance systems. But just like our cars need routine maintenance or they’ll fall apart, so do...
This morning, I read a great post by Terry St. Marie called “The Critical First Step For Great Leadership: The Journey From ‘I’ to ‘We’.” His movement from ego-centricity to inclusiveness is something as critical in fundraising as...
I love that we live in a time of actual research of fundraising. We’re finally moving beyond anecdotes to verified research by groups like the Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy. (In the interest of full disclosure: I am on the Advisory Panel for the think tank...
