Donor-advised funds began in the 1930s, but in recent years these funds have become the fastest growing vehicle in philanthropy. Contributions to donor-advised funds grew at three times the rate of total charitable giving in 2016 according to the National Philanthropic Trust. Donor-advised funds defined: Donor-advised funds (DAF) are donor-established philanthropic funds that are maintained, operated… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Major Gifts Programs
5 ways to make your major gifts program a major success
Putting a major gifts process in place doesn’t happen overnight; it takes a strategic cultivation plan tailored to each potential donor. But as we’ve seen time and again, the result is always worth the effort. Here are five important ways to improve your chances for success: 1. Know your “rights.” Is it bad timing? Am… Read more »
Resolve to focus on major gifts: 4 tips to get you started
I love New Year’s. I love New Year’s resolutions or really any reason to think fresh, set new goals and take stock of progress. If you’re like me, you’ve probably made one too many New Year’s resolutions you didn’t keep. What are your goals for your development program next year? If you want to focus… Read more »
Tips to Help Your Board Raise Major Gifts – As Published in The Major Gifts Report
As a nonprofit staff member, how can you help create a board of directors who are both willing and able to do their part in raising major gifts for your organization? Nonprofit consultant Keith Curtis, whose company The Curtis Group provides board development training, among other consulting services, says the process starts with board recruitment and continues… Read more »
Giving as an Investment
At the Volunteer Hampton Roads conference last Friday, we heard a speaker talking about giving as an investment. If you’ve heard us speak about major gift fundraising, you’ve heard us say that donors, now more than ever, view their major gifts as investments. That means that we, as development professionals and board members, need to be prepared… Read more »
Major Gifts: Guidance from the Experts
Last week Wendy and I taught a two-day Development and Fundraising course at Tidewater Community College’s Academy for Nonprofit Excellence. On the second day, Kay Stine of Norfolk Collegiate School, Billy Foster of TowneBank, and Christine Morris of Hampton Roads Community Foundation served on a panel that addressed issues surrounding major gift asks. All of… Read more »
Study Says In-Person Asks Get Bigger Gifts
You know how we’re always saying you need to ask for major gifts in person? A new study by Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy and Campbell & Company, “Significant Gifts: Where Donors Direct Their Largest Gifts and Why” proves us right. The study reports that donors who were asked to give in person (to secular… Read more »