KNOWLEDGE

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.

Placing the name of a donor (living and deceased) on your institution and/or institution’s building(s) can be fraught with peril. Nonprofits must carefully consider all factors when contemplating permanent physical naming opportunities including those circumstances where it is reasonable and necessary to remove the naming. Be sure to accurately record all potential circumstances in the gift agreement.

Meeting the prospective donor where they are in their journey with you and your institution, and being donor-centric, is essential. That being said, you must also responsibly guide and direct the conversation and relationship toward the intended destination to prevent aimlessly drifting.

The future will require us to operate in two worlds simultaneously – the virtual world and the in-person world. Without prejudice toward either, there will be choices to be made about which setting offers the greatest yield and this adds yet another layer of complexity to the already significant list of key questions you must answer in preparation for your next solicitation of a prospective donor.

Philanthropy is always evolving. The acceleration of globalization means greater acceptance of and participation in philanthropy. Additionally, the number of donors giving across borders continues to grow, and this trend is very likely to continue.

Volunteers are much more likely to give and give more significantly and more predictably. The talented development professional is uniquely adept at sourcing volunteer opportunities that increase engagement and giving.

Many people use personal trainers. They can help teach you best practices, evaluate and correct your technique, motivate you, and often just keep you accountable to your goals. The development professional often serves as that personal trainer for the CEO, volunteers and Board members. Don’t underestimate the positive influence this type of “personal training” can have when it comes to enhancing fundraising success.

The CFO and CDO often speak different languages when it comes to counting and recognizing philanthropic revenue. The CFO speaks a language called GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) while the CDO speaks a language called CEYC (Count Everything You Can). We all know the language the donor prefers and which the auditor prefers. It’s not about right or wrong. It’s a necessary and healthy push and pull.

Memorial gifts and honor gifts are very effective methods of raising funds. Memorial gifts provide thoughtful ways to remember loved ones who have passed away. Honor gifts celebrate special occasions or recognize someone special.

You create your own luck in fundraising. John Milton named it when he said, “Luck is the residue of design.” I usually trace my good fortune back to the conscious, intentional steps I took earlier that supported my intended outcome.

The best fundraising is selfless. Creating something meaningful for those you don’t know who will benefit from the possibilities you create today is philanthropy at its core. We are thankful to those who came before us and left a lasting, permanent legacy for us to enjoy, and a passion for us to follow. As Rev. Peter Raible noted, “We sit in the shade of trees we did not plant. We drink from wells we did not dig…Together we can build across the generations.”

Words like “support” and “partner” rather than donate can increase donations significantly because they invite people into a relationship.

Dan Pallotta said it best when he commented that “our generation does not want its epitaph to read, ‘We kept charity overhead low.’ We want it to read that we changed the world.” As Dan counsels, too much emphasis on low overhead can stifle innovation and impact.

If you can effectively appeal to your most critical donor, you can effectively appeal to almost any donor. The friction and difficulty and challenge sharpens our language and approach.

Great fundraisers are big tenters, always working to gather together every key individual even when some of those people might be dissenting voices. Key thought-leaders and market-makers are among those invited into the big tent to create awareness, build consensus, develop ownership, and activate an army of ambassadors and salespeople for the objective.

Understanding the profile of your organization’s best donors provides the five-tool fundraiser with significant guidance toward identifying the most likely candidates to become the significant donors of the future.