Is your nonprofit raising major gifts?

September 2, 2010 By Sandy 1 Comment

Many nonprofit staff  and volunteers dream of the day when a donor will walk into their office and hand them a large check.  But it’s only a dream because they don’t know how to find those donors, much less encourage them to give big money.

So here’s the thing:  it’s not rocket science.

Identifying and cultivating major donors is actually fairly easy, once you  know what to do.  I think that many people have built it up in their minds to be hard and uncomfortable, and they’ve talked themselves out of trying.  That’s too bad, because working with major donors can be a LOT of fun and very rewarding.  And it’s the one fundraising technique that is working well this year.

If you’d like to learn more about raising money from your major donors, join me for a 3-part webinar series called “Secrets to Getting Big Gifts.”  It starts September 7 and you can read all about it at http://getfullyfunded.com/secrets-of-major-gifts. I’ll tell you everything you need to know to find your major donor prospects and ask them for a gift.

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Achieving life-work balance

September 1, 2010 By Sandy 3 Comments

Last week at my local AFP chapter meeting, I had the privilege of hearing Eric Benson speak.  Eric is one of the most positive and energetic people I know and he spoke about achieving life-work balance.  Here’s some of what I took away from the presentation.

We think of work as something negative and play as something positive.  Why can’t work be fun, too? (It is for me!).  ANYTHING can be fun or drudgery.  It’s all in how we think about it.

Everything you do should have a purpose.  Everything. You should have a purpose for reading this blog and I should have one for writing it. Your purpose should be simple, clear, and 7 words or less.  For example, my purpose for writing this blog is “To share information, inspiration, and resources.”

Our purpose is the “what.” How we do things is different.  My purpose for writing is to share.  How I do it determines if it’s fun or work.

Be in the here and now.  If your mind is somewhere else, you should probably start moving your feet toward it.

Stop saying “I have to” and replace it with “I want to.”  Subtle but important difference.

Love the people you’re with. That’s what really matters.

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Can you steal donors away from other nonprofits?

August 31, 2010 By Sandy 6 Comments

“How can I make sure that another organization doesn’t steal my donors?”

I’ve been asked this many times. Let me put this to rest right now. You can’t “steal” someone else’s donors.

People give to the organizations and causes that they want to. There’s nothing you can do to change this. If the donor decides to give to a different cause, it’s because they perceive the new cause to be more worthy of their support. You can offer someone else’s donor information about your organization, but the decision to give is theirs. Likewise, another organization can offer your donors information about their work. If your donor goes away, it probably has more to do with your lack of donor relations than anything else.

Bottom line – you can’t steal donors from another organization. Nor can they steal yours.


Filed Under: General Fundraising Tagged With:

One person makes a difference

August 30, 2010 By Sandy 8 Comments

“Well-behaved women rarely make history.”

I  love this quote!  I saw it so clearly recently. I spent the weekend in Savannah, Georgia with my Mama and sister-in-law to celebrate my Mama’s birthday (she’s 74).  What I didn’t expect was to learn so much about the role women have played throughout history.

We learned the details of how Juliette Gordon Low started the Girl Scouts of America (and we saw a couple of scout groups touring Low’s home).  Interestingly, Low lost her hearing, but didn’t let that stop her from forming this wonderful organization for girls.

We learned about a group of women who stopped the destruction of the largest Live Oak tree in Savannah (it was awesome!) and others who rallied to prevent the destruction of various historic homes in the city.

It reminds me over and over of the difference one person can make.  One person decided to start a program for girls.  One person decided to save a beloved tree or a house.  And they made a big difference.

You’re one person.  What can you do to make a difference today? Can you offer a warm smile or a kind word to brighten someone’s day?

Filed Under: General Fundraising
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