Major & Principal Giving

Creating successful major and principal giving programs

A Planned Giving Program for a Smaller Shop is All About Bequests

Are you ready to build or optimize your planned giving program? Planned giving programs do not need to be overly complicated but they do require intentional and consistent planning to be successful. A nonprofit can start with a simple, well-run program and then layer complexity as future needs merit. Here are 7 steps to build—and sustain—a planned giving program.

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How to Best Engage Donors in the Mission of Academic Medical Centers

In today’s healthcare landscape, academic medical centers (AMCs) play a critical role in advancing research, education, and patient care. Those who are familiar with AMCs understand the opportunities afforded to the community through these unique healthcare models. However, educating potential donors on the importance of AMCs and addressing the other challenges facing today’s academic healthcare organizations can be tricky. In this guide, we review everything you need to know to effectively engage donors in fundraising, communications, strategic planning, and relationship building to support the mission of academic medical centers.

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Giving USA 2023 Report Insights

BWF is excited to share the key findings from the 2023 Giving USA: The Annual Report on Philanthropy. Presented by the research team at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and the fundraising professionals at Giving USA Foundation, the Giving USA report is the longest-running, most extensive report on philanthropy in the United States. BWF is proud to be a member of The Giving Institute.

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Benefactor book authors

BeneFactors Preview of Chapter 8: The Leadership Factor

No longer is it enough to be the best fundraiser in the room. Leaders of the modern fundraising enterprise have the responsibility and privilege to be so much more. Through a commitment to character development, continual learning, confirming the fundamentals, innovation, and modeling excellence, the leader of a development program can bring out the best from their team and build a successful program of significance. This preview of BeneFactors showcases the depth this book offers.

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Due Diligence Isn’t Just for Gift Acceptance Policies Anymore

Due diligence is not a policy or program any organization wants to implement. Who wants to turn away much needed support or gifts to an organization, much less divert additional hard-earned resources to implement a process to support it? But as fiduciaries of our donors’ resources, we must. So where do you begin?

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Giving USA 2022

Giving USA 2022 Report Insights

BWF is excited to share the key findings from this year’s Giving USA: The Annual Report on Philanthropy. Presented by the research team at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and the fundraising professionals at Giving USA Foundation, the Giving USA report is the longest-running, most extensive report on philanthropy in the United States. BWF is proud to be a member of The Giving Institute.

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Communicating with the Philanthropic Unicorn

Have a moonshot idea that needs a transformational gift to make it a reality? Want to deepen your pipeline of well-heeled and influential donors looking to co-create philanthropic opportunities? Wondering if your strategies and communications are fully leveraged to reach this dynamic yet relatively small pool of UHNW individuals? This thought piece explores the motivations of UHNW individuals and provides insights into how best to ensure your communications approaches hit the mark.

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2021 BWF Healthcare Survey

2021 BWF Healthcare Survey Results Released

Read the results of the 2021 Healthcare Survey, What the Affluent Think About Giving to Healthcare, designed to keep you informed of the trends and attitudes regarding healthcare giving.

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CRM Analysis & Conversion

Discovery Calls, The First Hurdle

Many new major gift officers, including experienced MGOs in new positions, often struggle to connect with their new prospects. Most MGOs aim to meet metrics that set minimums for visits and other actions. Striving to hit those marks can become a high hurdle to clear when an MGO isn’t set up for success or doesn’t have the right tools to get started. Below are some techniques and strategies that can make it easier to clear the discovery call hurdle.

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