Making big gifts is most often a function of age. The older you are, the more capable you tend to be of making a major gift. It’s perhaps one of the few areas where it’s more beneficial to be older rather than younger.

The five-tool fundraiser is curious and will explore and understand the emerging trends and opportunities in philanthropy. Recently, we explored DAFs. Today, we dig into gifts via crypto currencies. Tomorrow, we will be on the forefront of AI.

Attitude, as the expression goes, is everything. The best fundraisers embody an extremely positive energy, are forever the optimists, and have the capacity to infect others into attitudes and acts of kindness and generosity and positivity. The best fundraisers create a happier world.

A fresh perspective is incredibly valuable to fundraisers. We have a tendency to develop tunnel vision or respond through our own limited experiences. Mentorship and collaborations are significant ways talented fundraisers develop unique strategies to solve challenges and create opportunities.

Fundraising growth is best achieved through intentional planning that forces an organization to stop raising money one year at a time and instead take a multi-year approach that creates longer-term goals, forecasts, budgets, accountability.

If I had a nickel for every time a development professional complained about their database/CRM, I’d be a very rich person.

If you don’t ask, the answer will always be no.

Opening doors is one of the incredible talents of the five-tool fundraiser. Some might stop when they don’t have a relationship, can’t find someone in their network, or find one dead end. The five-tool fundraiser finds a way.

Development professionals put the “fun” in fundraising. If you’re not having fun when fundraising, you might be doing something wrong.

The “Goldilocks Syndrome” exists in fundraising. You want to avoid asking for a gift too large and avoid asking for a gift too small. You want to ask for a gift that is “just right”.

A substantive meeting with a donor or prospective donor without a formal call report logged into the CRM system is like receiving a gift without sending a thank you note. Sure, it happened and it’s beneficial. But the missing step can absolutely destroy your future efforts.

You can’t fly as a fundraiser until you know the fundamentals.

Some of the best fundraisers I know are among the worst staff and department managers and some of the best managers are among the worst front-line fundraisers. It’s rare to find the development professional capable of succeeding in both spheres. Elevating the major gifts star into the chief development officer role can be tricky and fraught with peril. Enter into this arrangement with eyes wide open and be prepared to provide lots of management training.

The FAQ (frequently asked questions) document can be a lifesaver for volunteers and staff. When it’s their turn to present the case for support and they don’t have the intimate knowledge of an insider, the FAQ helps answer those anticipated questions that might otherwise bring an objection that cannot be overcome.

Overcoming the objections of a prospective donor before, during, and after an ask is a common occurrence for the best fundraisers. An objection is nothing more than a signal or marker for something else. In response, instead of going inward and getting defensive, the best response is to get curious.

Avoid the standard rubber chicken dinner at all costs. Think creatively in terms of location, entertainment, food, schedule flow, honorees, media, integration of social media, and more.