On February 20, we offered a free webinar on “The Role of the Board in Fundraising.” This timely subject proved to be one of our most popular webinars yet with nearly 100 nonprofit staff and board members tuning in. Our extensive work with nonprofits over the past 24 years has provided us the opportunity to… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Fundraising
Tips for a Successful Annual Giving Program: Harris Connect Presents at AFP-HR
This week at the Association of Fundraising Professionals-Hampton Roads luncheon, Kurt Worrell, general manager, Fundraising Solutions Division at Harris Connect, presented on the topic of annual giving. Kurt began with the statement that running a successful annual giving program can be time intensive and costly. However, he continued, it’s an integral part of any fundraising… Read more »
Engaging Board Members in Fundraising is Key to Success, Latest NRC Study Finds
The latest Nonprofit Research Collaborative (NRC) study on board member engagement in fundraising concludes, among other things, that board members serve two primary fundraising functions: helping the organization reach new prospective donors (access) and indicating the organization’s value to the community by their own association with the group (signaling). Here are some key findings: –… Read more »
The Giving Institute’s Eight Steps for Selecting Fundraising Counsel
The Curtis Group has been a member of The Giving Institute for nearly five years. Established in 1935, The Giving Institute has been the thought leader membership organization for fundraising consultants and nonprofit services firms. One of the many resources they offer to nonprofit leaders is a list of the eight steps on how to… Read more »
Seven Habits of Highly Effective Fundraisers: Notes from Virginia Fundraising Institute 2012
Last week The Curtis Group sponsored and attended the annual conference hosted by the Virginia Fundraising Institute (VFRI) in Richmond, VA. We have been involved in VFRI for nearly a decade and we always look forward to this gathering of fundraising leaders from across the Commonwealth. The conference, composed primarily of development professionals, provides an… Read more »
Make the Most of Your Data
Last week we participated in a webinar on donor databases titled “Data Data Everywhere. Mining for Gold in your Donor Database.” This hour-long discussion was conducted by Fundraising Success magazine and featured three presenters: Amanda Mallinger Reinartz, Manager Product Development, Metafile; Jodi Scheib, Vice President, Fundraising, DMW Direct; and Joe Hamilton, Director of Development, Franciscan Friars…. Read more »
Raising Money Like an Entrepreneur: “Selling” Advice to Nonprofits
This week we came across an interesting article in our Twitter feed by Charles Moldow, a partner at a Venture Capital firm. Although the blog post from the website Tech Crunch is written for entrepreneurs seeking start up investments, there are clear parallels to be drawn for small nonprofits soliciting gifts from individuals. At the end… Read more »
Tracking the True Cost of Fundraising
Earlier this spring, The Giving Institute hosted an interesting webinar on “The Cost of Fundraising” presented by fellow Giving Institute member, Melissa Brown of Melissa Brown and Associates. Melissa began by pointing out the fact that there are a lot of gaps that exist in fundraising costs today. In fact, the majority of organizations only track… Read more »
Building Excellence Grantees Reflect on Development Successes and Challenges
Earlier this week, The Hampton Roads Community Foundation gathered past grantees of its Building Excellence program to share ideas and discuss development challenges. The gathering not only produced very interesting conversation but some great ideas that we thought we’d share. Board engagement was a reoccurring theme that presented itself over the course of the lunch…. Read more »
Planning for Pledge Attrition
Speaking of questions that have come up following our presentations lately, someone recently inquired about pledge attrition after our webinar on effective capital campaigns. The question was: How can nonprofits best plan for unpaid pledges during a campaign? Because capital campaigns are built around multi-your pledges, a nonprofit can expect to experience some pledge attrition… Read more »
