Thought Leadership
BWF is a recognized and respected thought leader in the philanthropic sector. We are constantly assessing the fundraising landscape and providing timely guidance and insights.
Three Keys to Successful Philanthropy Discovery Visits
Discovery visits—a tedious and often a dreaded task for major gift officers. Most fundraising professionals realize this necessity but often do it reluctantly. These visits are valuable for focusing your work, increasing philanthropic support, and can be personally rewarding.
Bridging the Divide Between Frontline Fundraisers and Operations Staff
One critical but often overlooked aspect in achieving a successful fundraising program is the relationship and interaction between gift officers and operations staff. While gift officers interact directly with donors and strive to build lasting relationships to garner support for the organization’s mission, operations staff are the gatekeepers of valuable data and ensure proper processes for data accuracy.
Best Practices for Processing Donor-Advised Funds
Donor-advised funds represent an important and growing fundraising opportunity. But what happens once a donor-advised fund transaction comes through a nonprofit organization’s door? Here are some best practices.
Best Practices for Data Storage and Collection
Storing large quantities of data is no longer a technological challenge. With the widespread adoption of fundraising analytics and the next generation of scoring systems on the horizon, the impulse is for organizations to store everything.
5 Tips for Successful Campaign Launch Events
Strategic and well-planned faculty/staff campaign launch events can be an incredible way to engage your campus community and spread campaign core messages. These five tips can help with successful campaign launch events.
The ROI of Investing in Digital for Fundraising
Why should you invest in digital media for fundraising? What is the cost of seeing lots of new donors, increasing retention, and engaging major gift donors? Read on to learn about the cost and ROI of investments in digital media for fundraising work.
Establishing Common-Sense Metrics for Prospect Research
We all know what amount of production is theoretically possible for a prospect research shop. However, the theoretical often breaks down once real-life circumstances are considered. What factors should we look to, then, to establish prospect research metrics?
Is 99-1 the new 80-20? And, if so, how do we deal with this?
Most of us have heard of the Pareto Principle, or the 80-20 rule (80% of production comes from 20% of the resources). How should you deal with your organization’s experiences with this rule? Here are two angles of approach.
Cold Calls, the First Hurdle
Major gift fundraising is not a big mystery. Donors make big gifts because they believe in the charity’s ability to bring change. Sounds simple, but it is far from easy. Here are some ways to simplify, strategize, and raise more money.
