Recently, we’ve had a lot of people ask about the best way to solicit leadership gifts from board members. As with any major gift solicitation (because that’s what you’re aiming for, right?), it’s always best to make an in-person ask. Having a board member solicit another board member in-person, is hands-down the most effective way… Read more »
This question was posed online in the Chronicle of Philanthropy earlier this month and really struck us as good food for thought. The article recounts a debate over whether board performance is the responsibility of a nonprofit’s Executive Director/CEO or the board itself? We see this debate amongst our clients on a daily basis. Many… Read more »
We recently read an article in the Wall Street Journal regarding nonprofits campaigning against a provision in President Obama’s jobs bill that would limit itemized deductions, including charitable contributions, for individuals with an annual income of $200,000 or more. The federal proposal, which would cap itemized deductions at 28% from the current 35%, provoked an… Read more »
Because promoting philanthropy is our life’s work, we felt the need to comment on a series of articles, as well as an editorial that ran in our local newspaper, The Virginian-Pilot, over the past several days on “professional fundraising companies” (i.e., telemarketing firms and professional solicitors, who differ greatly from professional fundraising counsel like The Curtis Group)…. Read more »
Last week Wendy and I attended an interesting presentation on annual giving at our Hampton Roads AFP chapter meeting. Kim Sperling, Director of Development at the Mason School of Business at William and Mary, revealed “Ten Truths and a Myth about Annual Giving,” which reiterated much of the advice we’ve been giving recently around the… Read more »
It struck me today as we presented our first Curtis Group-sponsored webinar to over 100 individuals from South Carolina all the way to New York and as far west as Indiana, about the ever-changing world in which we live. I began working as a fundraising consultant over 25 years ago and founded The Curtis Group… Read more »
Back in May we wrote a post on leadership being “The Key to Successful Fundraising.” Last month, a survey of nonprofit executive directors entitled, “Daring to Lead,” honed in on the importance of strong nonprofit boards in not only supporting and sustaining executive directors but creating sustainable organizations. Weak board performance was cited among respondents… Read more »
Earlier this week we participated in a Giving Institute-sponsored webinar, entitled “Engaging Millennials Now For the Future Prosperity of Your Development Program.” The webinar cited a lot of interesting research from a recently published survey of millennial donors. We thought we’d share some of the highlights: Giving/Motivations for Giving: 93% of Millennials surveyed gave to nonprofit… Read more »
Online giving challenges are a growing trend among corporations these days and it’s easy to see why. It’s a great way for corporate entities to not only fulfill their philanthropic obligations but heavily market their brand while they’re at it. From a nonprofit’s standpoint this can certainly be an enticing opportunity; after all, how difficult… Read more »
If you’ve visited our Facebook page lately you’ve seen some of our takeaways from the Giving Institute’s recent Summer Symposium. The annual event, co-chaired this year by Keith, drew a diverse crowd of Giving Institute board members, senior managers from member and guest firms, as well as distinguished practitioners from across the country. After four… Read more »
