Giving is Good
Whatever “it” is – more budgetary support, an additional team member, increased giving totals – that statement is almost never true. Manufacturing emergencies and creating a sense of urgency can capture attention and can make people respond. But they rarely respond with their best. They rarely respond with inspiration. They rarely respond generously. If we…
To aid in the success of giving discussions with donors, gift officers have been taught for decades to use questions or statements they believe the donor will respond favorably to. For example: “Since we agree that the mass spectrometer is critical to the future of the chemistry program. . . ” or, “Because the impact…
Recently, I had a head of school ask me a question about paying a fundraiser a percentage of what they might raise for the school. “My board is filled with business people and they think this is the best way to motivate someone to fundraise more.” I shared with him the fact that every significant…
During the Season of Giving that just occurred, we were encouraged in overt and various ways to move closer to actualizing the biggest human development lesson of all, “it’s not about me.” This lifelong lesson is a hard one for humans to consistently embrace, in part, because it is counter-intuitive. In the moment, it can…
Let’s say we spend $250,000 to raise $1,000,000. Our cost to raise $1 is 25 cents. Now, let’s say we spend $500,000, and because of the additional resources, we are able to raise $1,500,000. Now, our cost to raise $1 has ballooned to 33 cents and it would appear that we have become less efficient….
If I lead from my ego, I care about getting the credit. But, if I lead from our mission, I care about sharing the credit. If I lead from my ego, I worry that I’ll look bad if we miss a goal. But, if I lead from our mission, I worry that someone we serve…
It’s easy to equate the word “generosity,” with financial giving, or gift giving of some kind, or volunteerism. Far less often do we include the notion of kind gestures, offering compliments, sharing an encouraging word, or simple smiling as forms of “generosity.” Possibly, though, these micro-generosities may have the biggest impacts – on others and…
There is a straightforward, fundamental, and easy-to-understand distance concept when it comes to advancement: “We can’t be exceptional in this work if we aren’t close to our donors.” Most advancement practitioners will find this an easy concept to agree with. And yet, many gift officers complain that their calendars are so cluttered with institutional meetings…
Some advancement professionals chase wealth in their databases. The thinking is simple: If we don’t work toward building relationships with those who have enhanced wealth profiles, we won’t raise as much money as we could. These prospective donors have the money to give. But having money is not the same as being generous. Some of…
If your fundraising year runs on the calendar year, yesterday you started over. If you are everyone else, yesterday still offers you the opportunity to start over personally. All around us we are told that a new year brings with it big, new possibilities, fresh growth potential, new learnings, and even, reinvention. We might even…