Beyond the Numbers: Asking the Right Questions in Fundraising
I recently got an email from Philanthropy Today with the headline, “Big Gifts Rise by 6% This Year, Aided by a Single Giant Donation.” Now, you probably will not read past that headline because, well, you’re busy. I get that, but what will happen is that everyone will...
When You Can’t See the Trees for the Forest
Yes, I know the phrase is “can’t see the forest for the trees,” and it calls out how we can get so wrapped up in the details that we can’t see the situation as a whole. But the opposite is also true, and it’s a significant problem in relationship management...
Question of the Month: Which fundraising metrics are the ones that actually matter?
Many fundraising managers rely on measuring fundraisers’ activity, i.e., how many phone calls an MGO makes, the number of face-to-face donor meetings each month, or the number of asks. The problem with action-based metrics is that they don’t demonstrate results, and...
Measure Something Meaningful
I was recently at a fundraising conference and there was a session on benchmarking. The discussion evolved around measuring the effectiveness of each stream of revenue, how to do that right, whether or not that was even relevant, etc. There was no discussion on how to...
For a Path to Sustainable Growth, Look Beyond Membership Programs
Are you a non-profit leader who sees the writing on the wall that maybe your membership program has hit a plateau? If so, you’re not alone! Here’s an example of what this might feel like. The membership program or giving society that your organization has relied on...TOP RATED PODCAST
Twice monthly, Richard and Jeff address current topics and classic problems in major gift fundraising.
