Transform Philanthropy
|
|
|
|
…rt on campaigns contains some great information. For example: This year the gifts from the top 1% of donors comprise 71% of the average campaign total and those from the top 10% comprise 93%. The trend toward the dominance of major gifts is picking up steam. The decades of the 70s and 80s were the age of annual giving growth. Direct mail and telemarketing matured and started into decline. But each created enormous growth in donor rolls and resp…
Major gift fundraising is not a big mystery. Donors make big gifts because they believe in the charity’s ability to bring change. Major gift fundraisers are “teachers” who lead prospects to this belief. Gift officers create a “syllabus” for each donor and a “lesson plan” for each call. They schedule and make visits. It is simple, but far from easy. Teaching teachers is difficult. Some newcomers succeed, but many fail. How can something so simple…
…e. After serving recently as vice president for development and external relations at Claremont McKenna College, Bill rejoined Bentz Whaley Flessner. Bill is particularly knowledgeable in the areas of advancement planning, major gift program development and campaign implementation. He has provided his services to such clients as The Blake School, California Polytechnic State University, Capital University, Gallaudet University, University o…
After seven years, the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a new high on October 7, 2006. What does this mean for our work with major donors and prospective major donors? Opportunities/Caveats Catching Up. For many of our donors, the Dow’s record high may signal that their stock portfolios are “catching up” to where they were in January 2000. This may mean some of their formerly highly appreciated stocks and mutual funds are once again candid…
There is tremendous attention paid to prospect management in relation to major gifts work. An equal amount of attention should be applied when thinking about prospect management within your annual giving or direct marketing programs. Whether engaging alumni, parents, patients and their families, or members, for most non-profits the annual giving program serves as the primary relationship management tool. In that role, the program builds and main…
In this issue of Bentz Whaley Flessner’s Points of Practice, author Thomas W. Grabau discusses how to track the right major gift metrics for the best donor results. Read the full edition here …
To paraphrase one on my colleagues, “Do you know what the all major gift donors have in common? They had the money to give!” If you think about it, it is a pretty rock solid concept. One of our challenges in fundraising is that we will run after new shiny objects. For example, last week Forbes published an awe inspiring article about America’s Millionaire Capitals which talked about concentrations of wealthy individuals. It might be a good pl…
“Fundraising is the business of optimism.” When making a case for giving to your organization, Bentz Whaley Flessner‘s Jim Daniel says it’s not about why your organization needs the money, it’s about how your organization is going to make the world a better place with the money. Daniel says communicating this point is especially crucial when in pursuit of major gifts. So what is a good way to get that message out on…
Weary of plastic litter, Grand Canyon National Park officials were in the final stages of imposing a ban on the sale of disposable water bottles in the Grand Canyon late last year when the nation’s parks chief abruptly blocked the plan after conversations with Coca-Cola, a major donor to the National Park Foundation. Stephen P. Martin, the architect of the plan and the top parks official at the Grand Canyon, said his superiors told him two weeks…
CASE has released Bobbie Strand’s latest book on prospect research, A Kaleidoscope of Prospect Development: The Shapes and Shades of Major Donor Prospecting, and it has received very positive reviews. For three decades Bobbie Strand has been a leader in prospecting, and this work highlights best practices including new tools, data mining, database screening, volunteer screening, fact-finding, ratings, prospect pyramids, track and donor man…
